Grrrr, it's Monday

Whoa, doesn't Monday morning sometimes just bite you in the backside? This dog drawing by my own son would fit well with that am 'attitude' :) It's oil pastel and jewels... if I can brag a little, I think it's awesome!!! (don't forget to look at the details - like the bloodshot eyes)

We're off and running... have a grrreat day!

Let's Pause for Some Real Art...

I think it's about time we had a little picture from a 'real artist' :)... my daughter. She was missing her friend so much last week - who had gone on a trip with her family - and wanted to make a card for her. This is just the envelope! Sweet and colorful... just what the doctor ordered on a cold, grey winter's day.

Presenting... A Turkey Art Show!

Lovely turkey hand print

A plea from the turkeys... think veggies!

Cutout homework

Our son's lovely turkey that poses the question... 'What are you thankful for?'

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!! Today, I'm slicing up celery and carrots to dip in ranch dressing... and making the Lovely Ginger Cake a la Nikki McClure from her book, How to Bake the Perfect Day. (whoops, I don't have fresh ginger or cloves... and my son downed the whipped cream in a can last night we were bringing for the pumpkin pie at Grandma's house. Off to the grocery store.) Have a great day :)

Just to Let You Know...

I love the fingers and toes.

school art

little black dress

a 'letter' she wrote to god about our dog, Knightly needing to be good.

Just have to shout it to the world... our 4 year old daughter is an artist! :) She has been drawing up a storm and just seems to get better everyday. I love watching her make art - she's very serious and often hums to herself... but don't even think about talking to her. She's way too busy :)

Since I'm talking about kid stuff today... here's a little story:

My 7 yr old son and 4 yr old daughter were in the car, on our way to dance lessons. Golliwog's Cakewalk by Claude Debussy came on the radio. Our son knows this piece from way back and we both love it. I asked if he remembered the name... yes!

Me: 'This is a great piano piece - I want to learn it. It's by Debussy who wrote one of my all time faves, Clair de Lune .

Son: No! This is from that Fisher Price movie, Baby's Day.

Me: Well, it's actually classical music (Impressionism) written over 100 years ago.

Daughter: Oh! Did you listen to this when you were a little girl?
Me: Uncontrollable laughter.

Gobble- Gobble!

Our son's sign he put at the head of the Thanksgiving table. I love how young minds think!

By our baby girl

Snow and more coming tonight... well, all weekend.

A glimpse of my latest WIP 'art quilt' - this one is on 84" wide fabric... my largest piece yet. There's still a lot to do - I'm adding the background hopefully on Monday.

I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful feasting day of good food, good company and good cheer! We had a lovely one with family today at our house. It was a great time and fun to break out all the china and crystal...my mom did all the cooking and brought it over here. Since I'm a vegetarian, my peeps are still worried I'll make another Tofurky like I did one year. :) They all had one word for me, CARDBOARD!

Whew! It's been way too long being offline... we finally got some computer stuff sorted out and are back online this evening. It's been bitter cold with temps in the single digits and even -10F. I had bad karma on Monday when 2 different cars hit my parked car while taking our kids to school. :( We just had it fixed this spring after being hit (rental car for 18 days!) and a major overhaul when the car died as soon as we reached Portland. (PS this is a newer SUV, not an old clunker!) We're thinking this car is jinxed... and after it's fixed, maybe selling it.

I'm off the warm up in front of the fire and chill with the corgis and everyone... goodnight.

Our son's super cute book about a day in his life

Marching teaspoons

Pie Factory Sugar cube dash

Here are a few more monoprints in the Factory series and the masterpiece... my son's portrait of our family. I just love getting stacks of completed school work. Especially when they include his drawings - they make me smile from the inside out!

We've looking forward to sunny, summer weather this week! Hurrah! I can always use some sun to fuel the artmaking process. Happy Monday.

Butterflies and Art Class

My daughter has an art class every week at a beautiful historic mansion in town. This week, they learned about butterflies... there was a lot of paint flying and copious amounts of very fine glitter everywhere. The butterfly wings above will be worn -along with the crowns fashioned in class - next week for another nature walk in the gardens.

After all the making, we took a walk (more like a hike) through a newly restored Victorian era garden. It's quite steep but has glorious views of the city. The remains of the garden were discovered after an ice storm when downed trees and brush were getting cleaned up. With the help of a local benefactress, (she also restored the Fox Theater) the gardens came back to life with the help of historic photographs. I'll be posting pix of the gardens this weekend :) Happy Friday.

'Goodies' for Friday

Here's a cute little craft invented by my kindergartner son. These are sure to make anyone lucky enough to receive one smile!

He calls these little drawings, 'goodies'. First, draw lots of pictures, cut some and paste to larger paper... use 'fancy scissors', (ziz zag, wavy, etc) if you have them. Make sure you use lots of colors - markers or crayons are good. Fold up carefully into a smallish size and hand-deliver to a very special someone. Upon presenting, my son suggests saying: 'Here's a little goody just for you!' Happy Friday :)

Calligraphy School

We brought out the calligraphy tables here and all the kids had a bit of calligraphy school... taught by me! It was so much fun to see their enthusiasm about using the ink, pens (c-2 - the best for starting out!) and progress. They were all so proud of their practice pages at the end of the night. It's inspiring to have such spunky and interested pupils :) Hope your weekend was memorable.

A Painter's Hands

My daughter is a painter/artist at heart I think. She doesn't care about getting dirty and will work for a very long time - often singing to herself. She knows when she's done with a piece... and when to begin a new painting. Everything she makes, she seems to love and wants to display it right away. She finds no fault in her work and seems so very sure of herself. I want to be like her when I grow up :)

A Little Masterpiece

Here's a little work of art by my son. The title? 'Baby Muffin' - perfect, don't you think?

My daughter had to add a few embellishments once we displayed it on the wall. They like to collaborate and do so quite often.

Mr. Darcy, sunning himself.

We were able to enjoy a few rays of sunshine today... and made the most of it. Our first day of bike and scooter riding outside of the year! Wa-hooo!! Happy weekend.

Trying Something New...

Here are some new things I'm working on. I'm trying my hand at ACEOs! It is a great way to do faces, which I love more than anything --in any way, shape or form. These will soon land in my etsy shop once they are painted. (they're pencil drawings on Rives BFK paper.)

An artist is born!

A few more ACEOs in the making.

We just had another huge snowstorm yesterday... I've spent my daughter's nap time shoveling for so many days!! (it's usually my 'art time' or bath time!) This may be routine for people raised in snowy winter country but, I'm from a milder climate where we may get small amounts of snow, which then melts pretty fast. I guess my mind-set is based on what I knew first.

Groovin' with My 4 Yr Old Artist

Abstract Drawing, by my 4 yr old son.... Marker on paper.

Portrait, by my 4 yr old son. (His friend, 'Boy at McDonald's').

My son is really getting into drawing faces, people and imaginary friends. He can talk for hours (especially in the evening) about friends, trains, animals and all sorts of situations of play. He free associates about these friends for at least an hour or more, usually while playing trains or pre-school computer games. He's fearless with his art making and no one needs to tell him how to draw, he seems to know exactly what he's doing and doesn't need any help with it. (although he still prefers to be fed if he can find someone to do it for him!!) :) Oh how I love to watch him create... and he usually sings to himself while working!

A Beautiful Spring Tree

Painted by my son, a sweet tree... now we just need to grow some little green leaves.