Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Under the Sea


Hello Hello!! So I am currently in the the middle of my Kids Creation sessions at the Arts Castle and I had to share our shaving cream and liquid watercolor ocean project! I read the kids a book of poems about the ocean to reference water creatures, plants and movement.

I was so pleasantly surprised that not only did my students follow directions ( which is hard when there is shaving cream all over their hands ) , but they also came up with incredible stories about their drawings!


They also seemed to take the time to think about color choices and the layout of their pieces!

I am so proud of them!!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Via Colori before the Storm
















So if you are not from the Columbus area you probably never heard that a wind storm on Sunday September 14th put thousands upon thousands of us without power. And with the devastation in Texas and other states, all of our AEP guys/gals were there, so Columbus and surrounding areas were without power for at least 3 days and some are still waiting. I was one of the fortunate ones that didn't even see the lights flicker. But I did watch all the aluminum siding and shingles fly by our windows. Since no one saw this crazy wind coming, life ran as it normally would that weekend.










So the family and I went to Via Colori a 2-day street painting festival that raises funds for non- profit organizations. Here are some pics of the first day of the festival when the biggest problem was finishing and taking a picture of their work before it started to rain. Little did they know what Sunday's weather would bring.

I do have to say, it was a pleasant time!! The artist were spread out nicely, there was a nice flow of traffic between people, strollers, and pets...I just wish they didn't have to compete with the weather

so much. Makes me excited for next year. I 'd definitely love to participate.

And if a Via Colori festival comes to your town, make sure you visit. It's for a good cause.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

It's my BAG, BABY!!!

Okay! So yet again it was one of those days and I had this undying urge to go to SEW to SPEAK and get some fabric and make something! I walked in knowing that I was not leaving until I had a project to do. So I picked what I thought was the hardest project for me to tackle... The Amy Butler Weekender Bag. I love this bag, I had to have this bag, I would have paid for someone to make me this bag. But not today.... oh no .... today I was going to challenge myself and go completely outside of my comfort zone and follow directions and follow a pattern and measure things!!




So here it is!! My very first bag with a zipper and pockets and piping!! TA-DA!!


But don't look inside... it's a mess in there. - that's for another day.









Tuesday, September 9, 2008

A lesson on Line and Movement




Addison created this beautiful FLOWER in the wind!!






Hello!! So as most of you know, when I'm not raising my mini- me monster or designing and constructing monsters, I teach a few classes at the Arts Castle in Delaware, Ohio. If you've never been, you should go. It's lovely.

The class that is showcased today is my Kids Creations Class B. They range from 3-6 years old and are just super sweet!! Today we had our first class and talked about the importance of line. The kids made foil and yarn drawings where they "focused" on line, as opposed to color or shapes.
Oliver (top, in blue) calls this piece, Mountains.

This Squid creature was created by Patrig.

The students looked at a book about the importance of line, physically drew in the air, which prepared them for this project . They then used yarn and glue on foam core to "draw". A piece of foil was placed shiney side down and pressed/burnished with fingers til yarn was well defined.

This work is by SEAN, he tells me that this is his, DESIGN







Briona is the artist of this ROAD painting!!







Black Acrylic paint was added and lightly brushed off to define foil texture and yarn lines. Then colored acrylic paint was used to add details or an extra design element. I thought the kids did a great job and it was impressive to see them really think about how they laid down their lines and how they entitled their work!!

Check back again soon!! That bag will get done eventually!!

Monday, September 8, 2008

One Mobile = cute!! 2 or more mobiles = creepy.


Okay.. So I LOVE MOBILES!!!

And I was visiting one of my favorite sites, Threadbangers.com and somehow found a link which lead to another link, which led to a blog, which lead to a flickr account, yadda yadda ... and I find this picture!! And I'm pretty sure that along the way I was congratulated for winning a new ipod, 3 times!.... stupid advertisements.
Anyway!! I just fell in love with it and immediately started to think about how I was going to make it and then I saw that there was a pattern for the birds and then I wondered how many I could make, and maybe I could do a ton of different birds, then I thought, SHOOT, I could make a ton of different animals ... maybe snakes... my mind was out of control. Then I began to think about what the whole room would look like with these cute little mobiles! AND! that's where I came up with the formula: One Mobile = cute. 2 Or more mobiles = creepy. Isn't it so true!! I'm a great mathematician. :)

Check back soon for pictures of my new bag project!! Oh the name of the site I found this on was The Long Thread.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Safe and Secure finally!!




Okay, first off I would like to say that before my daughter was born I worked on 3 different projects to make the ultimate baby blanket. First, I knitted it. - wow, was that terrible. Then I crocheted it and that turned out nice but I forgot that the yarn was 100% wool and stuck it in the washer and dryer. So that turned into the thickest- fanciest- felt changing pad ever. Then I attempted to quilt a blanket ...and let's just say that that piece is still in the babies closet - partly because it's not finished and partly because it's embarrassed to come out.
SO, I found some scrap fabric at Joann fabrics and Ellie just fell in love with it. She was rubbing it on her face and telling me to give it kisses so I knew I had to get it... But what to do with it? Then I thought, "Lenny, you should just suck it up and try to make another blanket. " So I asked around and gathered advice from different sources and this is what I came up with!!! So Simple!! it only took me an hour!! And Ellie loves it so much that she sleeps with it every night!!

Another project conquered!