Spontaneous Sketching

So far this year Friday's is my only day off work. Tilly and I spend Fridays together, just us girls. Next term, Tilly starts going to Pre-School 5 days a week! I am hoping that this will assist her with the transition to school next year. Spending a term getting used to 5 days, in a familiar environment. She is very ready for it, but boy am I going to miss our Fridays together.

On our final Friday as a duo, we decided to go to the National Gallery. Tilly has been spending much of her time sketching. Her drawings have become detailed and are providing an amazing insight into her thinking.

When drawing this one apparently the 'bobbies'
were the essential element to include.

We headed for the Sculpture Garden which, to me, is an amazing place to introduce children to 'formal' art. They can run, touch and explore the art, really connecting with it. I happened to have some paper and pencils with us and was delighted at the ways Matilda choose to explore and spontaneously sketch the sculptures in the space.

She first wanted to feel them with her body, but not by touching them. She copied the sculptures with her body, felt the positions, and then sat down to draw them. She would have one go, watch me as I had a go and then do another, refining her ideas and techniques.

She engaged in so many area and elements of the garden. The sun was shining, the Spring blooms were out. It was delicious.

Here are some of the ways she engaged with the space, spontaneously sketching...

Feeling the positions before drawing them.

Really looking, observing, studying before drawing 

Colour matching the pencils to the wattle

Her first wattle sketch

Noticing the shadows created by the sun and the wattle.
Asking me to hold it and then sketching the shadow in 'real colours'.

Watching her body move in the reflection

Playing with her reflection

Pure joy and self amusement at how her body gets distorted in the different angles of the sculpture.

Drawing her response to the experience.

After our garden visit, we went and had some lunch and meandered through the exhibitions. We got talking about John Pollock's techniques when he created the Blue Poles, the brush strokes and colour pallet Monet used and how Picasso was a "little mixed up". She had so many ideas. So much insight. So great to have a conversation with. 

She thought the plain white canvases were a 'bit funny - maybe they only had white paint left" and that the Pop Art pictures looked like ads, selling you something.

I am by no means educated in the way of artistic theory, but on this day we experienced 'art appreciation' that was authentic and joyful. I just love that I experienced it with a 4 year old.

Sharing Skills

I don't excel at many things but I can do a pretty good job at most of them. The age old 'Jane' of all trades, master of none! 

A wise woman once mocked me saying "Of course you have lost interest in it, you have figured out how to do it, so it is no longer a challenge!" I think this really hit the nail on the head. 

I love learning how to do new things. Racking up the skills, feeling that if I needed to I could make most things for myself, without the need of the shops.

I also love sharing these skills, learning from others, teaching others. I have a strong belief in crafts and cooking skills being passed on from one person to another. Usually through shared experiences and communal moments. 


Learning to cook something new while sharing wine or having a bench full of little bottoms, all eager to nut out how to crack that egg without getting shell, or crank the pasta machine and see the spaghetti come out.

Sitting in the sun or around a fire with a pot of good tea and teaching someone how to crochet or read guitar tabs. Sitting side by side and mosaic-ing with someone, continually learning from each others techniques. 

The world is full of teachers and those eager to be taught.

Orlando has asked me to teach him how to knit. I have been waiting for his interest and with me doing quite a lot of knitting of late, I was not surprised at the request.

I have a delicious memory of my Grandmother teaching me to knit. She had a little poem that has stayed with me through many 'non-knitting' decades ready to be recalled as soon as I picked the needles up again. It went:

"In the rabbit hole,

round the tree, 

out the rabbit hole,

and off!"

So Orlando selected his wool, we choose some bigger needles to begin with and set to work. 

He took a movie of my instructions to remind him later if her needed (talk about techno-native generation) He settled himself in the crook of my arm and off we went. Hand in hand to begin and then just that little poem being repeated over and over.

He caught on really fast, seems interested, has come back 4 times in 2 days. I am loving that he is at an age where he can start to comprehend these more complex tasks and his fine motor control is developed enough to achieve what he needs.

Another skill shared in the beauty of a communal experience. One that hopefully Orlando will teach someone else one day.

Native Folk

As I have mentioned a few times before, my children are chronic collectors. They find treasure everywhere they go and fill their pockets (my bag) with all of the must have souvenirs. 

I love that our children see treasure and beauty in the natural world... we just need to find a way to channel the 'goods' that are lovingly brought into our home.

So when we came across this book... we were inspired to use some of our treasures. In fact we were so inspired we spent 2 more days out bush walking, collecting even more treasures with vision.

I LOVE that resources from the natural world a completely free. All they require is for you to step out of your door and open your eyes. We found some really interesting things on the nature strip!

This afternoon was a 'Craft-a-noon' at our place and the whole family sat and created. A world of Native Folk, out of our treasures. 

All we needed was the natural resources we had collected and a hot glue gun (I LOVE HOT GLUE GUNS)

We had a lot of fun, here are our first attempts :)

Journey in a Rock Tumbler

Orlando's deep passion for rocks and minerals continues. The greatest thing he could possibly think of was to own his own rock tumbler. His wishes came true at Christmas, when his Nan and Pop gifted him a Rotational Rock Tumbler.

With great excitement, he sorted through his rock collection. Selected the ones he thought would benefit from some polishing.

The first 'round' was a coarse grinding powder for a week. This resulted in some edges rounded but we thought they needed more, so we did a second week with the coarse grind powder.

Then a week of medium grind, followed by a week of fine grind. Each time we could see the rocks getting smoother and showing more of their colours.

We all loved sorting though them after each round, looking at how the process was changing them. We each had a few favourites that we would spot each time the rocks were rinsed.

Once the rocks had finished their grinding, it was time to give them a week in a polishing powder.

It was with great anticipation that we rinsed the rocks for the last time, seeing what the 5 weeks of tumbling had created...

We were busy creating before the rocks were even dry! Orlando selected one to create a pendant. We have many ideas for the rest! The possibilities are endless!

Experimenting with Needle Felting - Tutorial

I love felt, it is beautiful, natural, warm and inviting. I have done a bit of wet felting, particularly with the kids, but have never tried my hand at needle felting. 


As Matilda has grown older and her love of fairies has grown, I have found myself buying a lot of needle felted treasures. This can get a little pricey and so I did some reading to see if it was something I could do myself.

I will always try something once :) It sounded easy enough, so I put in a Christmas request and low and behold there was a beautiful needle felting kit under the Christmas tree.

The book that came with it had some great information but the first project was way over my head. I decided to just play and have a go. I was AMAZED at how easy it was and how quickly it felted.

In no time at all I had some petals to a flower. It really is just jabbing fleece with a special needle and like magic it felts! I don't want to underestimate the skill some people have, but at a beginners level it's really easy! Easy enough that Orlando was able to be my assistant while I took photos.

Here is a few photos from my first experiment.

Tools to get me started.
This and my stash of roving and I was set to go

Pulling off some fleece segments.

Lay them on top of each other.

Fold the bundle in half, pinching the 'tails' and start poking.
I used a size 36 needle.

Keep poking all over your desired shape.
I went around the edge, on the back, front,
anywhere that was sticking out a little I just poked in.

I then repeated this 5 times.

With 5 petals set to go I overlapped all the 'tails'
and felted them together.

For the center of the flower I simply rolled up a ball of fleece
and started poking around in a circle.

Once the center was ready to attach I lay it in position
and started poking! Not glue needed just keep on poking
and it felts together.

Here's the second one I made.
This one I added a leaf. I also lay it over a hair tie,
threaded through a little more fleece and
felted it to the hair tie. Matilda is in heaven!

This really is quick, easy and the possibilities are completely endless. So get a felting needle, have a go and let your imaginations run and the creative juices flow!

Treasure Bags

On a rainy day not long ago....

Orlando suggested he wanted to do some hand-sewing. Hand sewing has become a little popular in our household recently so I said "SURE why not!". We sorted through fabrics, found one that was firm enough. Not too floppy, but easy enough to get a wool needle through. Felt or a wool blend works really well, and set to work.

Orlando picked a wool he wanted to sew with and we chatted about what he wanted sew. He suggested a little bag for treasures. Being the treasure hunter that he is, I thought this was a brilliant idea. He wanted it to be for a bush walk and he could collect bush treasures (a man after my own heart).

We cut out a rectangle, folded it over - leaving a little to cut into an interesting shaped flap. We tie on the wool and Orlando set to work with his running stitch. A button and a button sowed later and he was rather chuffed. A handle is yet to come.

Instead of stopping there he decided "Matilda and I explore in the forest together, so I think she will need one too. Matilda I am going to make one for you to."  What a generous soul he is. He picked some fabric and wool for her and set to work. 

This inspired Matilda to come and sew. Instead of over complicating things, I gave her a square of fabric, attached the wool and allowed her to stitch throughout the fabric where ever and how ever she pleased. She loved this and felt rather important sitting up there stitching with Orlando. I think it also looks rather good, the contrasting wool and fabric. What ever she created was going to be beautiful.

So they may be rustic, but the kids love them, and most importantly they made them all by themselves. This sense of connection and ownership makes using the treasure bag so much more special. The bag is a treasure in itself. A treasure to hold all future treasures. 

Sewing, like beading, is a fantastic opportunity for children to develop their fine motor control and attention to detail. Bring at an age where writing and communicating your ideas through drawings is of great importance  I am always happy to provide opportunities for Orlando to strengthen his fingers and dexterity. Also to be able to work carefully and take pride in this care. Every stitch was examined to see if he felt it was good enough. This is bound to create great pride and a wonderful feeling of self fulfillment.

  

Artistic Endeavours

Being a teacher of the young, I have spent a lot of time exploring, observing and reading about the stages of artistic development. I have seen this progression in many children over the years. I've consoled many parents that children NEED to go through these stages, to accept it and support them.

Exploratory 'scribbles' at first, then marks with meanings, through to identifiable images, and then refinement. Each new medium needs to start at the beginning again.


The theory of this, I know. When watching MY son continue to 'scribble', year after year, when I know he can do more symbolic drawings, I find rather frustrating. I find myself getting cross, and dis-interested in doing artistic things with him. I am not satisfied with what he is producing.... I CAN HEAR MY SELF CRINGE!!! It isn't about what he produces, it is the process.... although I believe this with every cell of my body, I still find myself getting frustrated. At times he produces a stunning, identifiable picture and shows me that he is capable, he just chooses not to... WHY!!!

I have realized that I don't value 'scribble' as I feel less comfortable with it. I don't feel as though I can talk with him about his art as much. I see his peers move forward and want him to do the same. I also know that where he is going to kindy, children communicate a lot of their ideas and concepts though drawing... if he can't do that will he get as much out of kindy?

When visiting a friends house who has children a similar age, I noticed that her children got drawing and painting out as a self directed activity on a regular basis. All of the sudden it occurred to me... I HAD NEGLECTED TO PROVIDE AN ART SPACE AT HOME!!!  Why hadn't I thought of that! All of the programs that I run at school are art rich. We get art stuff out at home, but not everyday. Every time Orlando came to the art experiences it was different, he never had the opportunity to revisit the same experiences. Therefore he never had the space to practice and build on his skills... he was always needing to start back at the beginning.

Well, now I felt like I had all the answers! I went home, re-arranged the play-space,  and brought all the art materials out of the cupboard and onto a self-help shelf. It isn't free slather, there are still things put away for special experiences, but there is a range of mediums out for use when ever creative inspiration hits. 

The kids and I found some attractive bowls to present the materials in and organised everything they needed. Here is a list of a few of the things we choose to include:

- Paint brushes

- Water colour paints (washes off nearly everything)

- Chalk

- Crayons - oil, soy, and wax

- Chalk Pastles

- Textas

- Pens

- Pencils - Coloured, lead, charcoal

- Stickers

- Collage materials

- Sticky tape

- Glue

- Paper - office paper, lined paper, thick water colour paper, diaries, scrap books etc

- Ink and Paint pads

- Rubber stamps

- Scissors

- Paper punches - ones the hole punch pictures 

- Pencil cases full of craft materials like pom poms, pipe cleaners, string etc etc

- Playdough and tools

Matilda 3 : "Roses that are not open yet"

We also brought 6 A4 frames. Three each to present the kids art works. The kids get to choose what goes into each frame and if they create a piece they like better then we swap it over.

Orlando 5: Undersea animals

Presenting children's artworks in respectful ways, shows them that you value their effort and their creative process. I also happen to think it looks stunning!

So, with our space created, it has been used multiple times a day by both of the kids and they adore having the frames to display their artistic creations. I am happy, they are happy, the space looks beautiful. 

Have you got any interesting ways that you respectfully display your children's artwork? If you do, I would love to hear about it!