Sophie's Work

Sophie's Work
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

She drew 7 of these this evening. All amazing, all for the first time, completely unprompted. I so love her mind.

Sunflower Printing

Sunflower Printing
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

We have had great success with our sunflower patch this year. Sophie and I picked a few to play with today. We inked up a leaf or two with the gel inkpad (I suspect you'd have better success with a felt pad, even one "inked" with liquid watercolors). Then we painted the flowers with our watercolors and pressed them- by far our favorite results. We've done something similar in the past with tempera. Always a fun result.

Christmas Crafting

Christmas Crafting
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

Can you spell delinquent forwards and backwards?
This blog has surely lost all of its tiny readership, but we're alive, if you're still reading. Ellen had a baby, Sally lost a dog, and her father- all in the last six months. Distraction doesn't begin to cover it. But I am slowly getting back to crafty goodness with Sophie and Christmas is inspiring. I have a few good links to share too. All in good time . . .

In the Act

in the act -day11
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

How I love this.

Recipe for Valentines

Valentines
Originally uploaded by ellenjohnrubicon

Taken straight from Sally's post below- Sophie , John, and I made Valentines this weekend! These were stupidly easy and fun, great for last minute mass production if your kiddo needs four dozen for school parties. Simply draw hearts on any old paper with oil pastels (we recycled big pieces of old drawing paper). Red pastels seemed to be most vivid. Next year Sophie will be able to make her own hearts, but she helped me scribble nonetheless.

Paint all over the page with tempera cakes or watercolors. As a final fun touch, Sophie added a wash of silver glitter paint (the Prang variety is perfect). Cut roughly around the hearts, add messages on the back, and voila! Valentines that are beautiful and personal!!

ps- have you seen Sally's new pup, Maisie? So very cute.

dog art

I made several monoprints with our beloved Harlie shortly before she passed away. Her paws were beautiful to me. I painted india ink on her pad and pressed paper over it. Her paw pads were black, but for humans I suggest tempera mixed with a drop of liquid soap.

Handprints and footprints are timeless... think about the handprints made by early humans on cave walls. I'm reminded of a large scale variation. This is a fun activity for a small group.

Put a shallow layer of tempera in a big pan; a baking sheet works well. Add a spoonful of liquid soap for easy clean up. Roll out a big sheet of paper on the floor. Butcher or kraft paper works, or use pages of newspaper. Have the artist walk and dance across the paper. Hold onto both hands! The paint is very slippery. Have some big objects available to add more prints if you wish...toilet plungers, old shoes,sponges,toy cars to roll.

Mixed Media Experiments

Aren't oil pastels the best? I love to combine them with the tempera cakes and then put a layer of glitter paint over the top. This is an example from one of my kindergarten students, using all three media in a kind of Warholish design.
I'm still trying to figure out a recipe for a really transparent glitter paint. Any ideas?