Frankentoys

I had the good fortune to go to the insanely fabulous event, Art Outside, and bring my Frankentoys project. What a thrill to be in the middle of it all, making art and having fun with kids, my favorite thing of all!

Puffy Paint

I can't believe I've never tried this project before. It was so easy and fun that I ended up doing it three times this week... first with my own kids, then as a project at my son's school, and then with our music class. I have a little bit of PTSD after working with lots and lots of squirrelly little 4 and 5 year olds. In particular my own kids, who tend to just dump out all the paint, smear it all over their bodies, and then run away screaming. They can engage with art projects sometimes, but it's a delicate trick... figuring out what will draw them in. This project was perfect because the bottles are just so irresistible to squeeze that no one could deny their hypnotic powers. And the finished products all ended up looking really cool... not that that is necessarily necessary.... I especially liked how it looked on the black background.

Puffy Paint

1 c. salt

1 c. flour

1 c. water

a healthy squirt of food coloring or tempera paint.

Put in squeeze bottles for Puffy Paint Paradise.

Art Camp wrap up

For our last day at art camp we created this kind of art opening/reception/museum kind of thing. I think it was a lot of fun and I was absolutely tickled by how kid-created most of it was, included several signs, a collaborative coloring book, and even a gift shop. Thanks to Stephen Henderson for the awesome photos.

Art Camp out in the wild!

On Wednesday Art Camp took to the streets. I really wanted to find an experience for them where they could make some art that would be semi-permanent and for all the world to see. Thanks once again to the wonders of Facebook, (I put my question out into the universe with little hope that the wall I wanted for them would appear) Treasure City Thrift gladly offered up their bare, boring side wall to be lavishly splattered and painted upon by enthusiastic young children. Hooray, hooray! Thanks to Stephen Henderson for the beautiful photos.

Sidewalk PAINT

You heard me, that's right. No not chalk, we are painting the sidewalk, is that blowing your mind?? So very very easy to make. Recipe from one of my favorite kid activity books: The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions.

SIDEWALK CHALK PAINT

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

good healthy squirt food coloring (6-10 drops)

Les petits artistes

I am back in the saddle again, teaching for the first time in two months (I assumed no one wanted to attend classes in my backyard during the blazing hot months of July and August) and it feels so so so SO good to be playing and painting and making art and getting messy with these SWEET little dears... I have been glowing all day and into the night from the wonderful energy of it all... and with not one but two of the youngest kids I've had in this class yet (12 months exactly) and they totally enjoyed it and enthusiastically participated, as you can see...
thanks to the brilliant and beautiful Kiera (mama to this adorable little blond Ari) for the fantastic photos!

Oh and additional sweetness for me... little Henny has attended my classes many times, as a babe in a sling, but this was her first time when she was big enough to join in.... how fun, what a milestone! She took to it like a duck to water, too.