SouleMama

Week of Spring :: Wednesday

Art in the spring sun. I'm not sure that it gets much better than painting outside in the warm sun in your pajamas. Maybe we should all try that.

Polaroid Love

Did you see that last week was 'Roid Week 2008 on Flickr (I'm always at least a week behind on these things). Check it out.  Above are some of my favorites from the week (click on the photo for credits). There's also the upcoming For the Love of Light: A Tribute to the art of Polaroid, which I'm excited to see.

In a chapter on kids and cameras in my book, there's a bit about Polaroids - which was written, of course, before the sad news that Poloroid would stop producting it's film (check out Save Polaroid). Since hearing the news, I've been a little stingy with the film we have left. Though, admittedly, at $1 a pop, I was pretty stingy before. But up until now, I haven't been ready to deal with kids digital cameras, and I'm not a fan of all the disposableness with the disposable cameras. I keep intending to pick up a couple of point and shoot film cameras for the kids, and I suppose now with the Polaroid news that will be happening sooner rather than later.

But we do love our "one a day" Polaroid action so much. The kids really think about the shot they want to take, and the 'instant' result of watching the photograph develop in front of their eyes is quite magical. They rotate their photos in and out of display (above), and eventually they land in each of their own photo albums.

One thing I really love that they do with the Polaroids is create new art with them. Ezra often will take a picture of something, and then come inside to 'recreate' it on paper.

Can you read that? It says, "This is hard to make". I guess that was an important declaration for him to make about this one. It makes me smile.

Are your childhood albums full of Polaroids too? The camera the kids use was my grandfather's. And I remember my grandmother with hers in hand often - and her photo albums full of the little squares with - more often than not - her handwritten notes on the white strip below. Ah, Polaroid.

So, I'm curious. What are your children doing with cameras? Have you found "kids" digital cameras that you're pleased with? Is there a designated kids camera in your family? Or is film the answer for you/them? I'm all ears, as we think about expanding our options here!

stencils for tv

It's been a while since I've done any freezer paper stenciling. There was a little stretch there - way back in the day - when I could hardly stop. Originally led to it by the ever-inspiring Chicken, and then all the gobs of photos in the Flickr pool Hannah started. Was that really all two years ago? Oh my.

I included instructions for freezer paper stenciling in The Creative Family, with a couple of stencils by Betsy Thompson. (It's fun to see some of that already popping up in The Creative Family Flickr group!)

A few weeks ago, as part of a local TV spot for the book, I needed some samples to do a quick tutorial with. Searching through our drawers and closets, I found LOTS of freezer paper stenciled things, and am happy to say that after two years of wearing and washing, the paint had held up pretty well (I use the Jacquard Textile Color, found here). But the rest of the shirts/skirts/totes? Uh, yeah...I guess we're pretty hard on our clothing around here. So these new things were worked up. I had almost forgotten how easy it really is. And fun. And yes, quite addictive.

(an aside: Bandage on elbow and mud on shirt - a direct result of yesterday's top photo. "Ah, it's part of the job, Mom" he said as I bandaged it up.)

So yeah, there was that little TV thing. I'm not really sure exactly why I'm admitting to this link, except that it's already out there (it aired last week), and it's over (thank goodness) and why not extend the humiliation a little bit longer?  It was a piece for our local WCSH 6 207 show, and I'm pretty sure I don't actually talk like that (confirmed by my friends, thank goodness, who all answer correctly when I've asked in the past week, "do I really sound like that?"). I do know one thing for certain now, though I do think I could have told you this before as well: In front of the camera? Sooo not for me. Behind the camera and crafting? Yes. In fact, I think there's some freezer paper calling my name right now...

Welcome, Spring!

On the last day of winter, after a trip to the beach, we had ourselves a little Welcome Spring painting party. Celebrating the winter that was. Welcoming the spring that is to be. A lovely evening - with the lingering sun - full of music, dreaming, wishing and feasting. Spring has come. (The calendar says so.)

"Listen! The air is alive with flight. Robins descend and descend and descend. Wasps scrape away wood to build new hives. The wind stirs new leaves and transparent light shines through the green energy. Sap flows fast. Hearts pound. Colors explode in yellows, pinks, purples and reds. Petals open wide to all you bring. Everyone participates in the pollination. Honeybees welcome each pea blossom and every day there is a new birth to celebrate. Feel the pulsing life in every tree, in every heart. Release the stirring energy. Sing your own songs to wake up the birds."

-- Nikki McClure, from the beautiful Collect Raindrops: The Seasons Gathered

Wishing you a wonderful Equinox!

a year of birds

There are a handful of these still needing to be gifted, but I think they're all non-blog readers so I'm safe in sharing this now. This was our little gift for the holidays - a calendar of birds!

This project began in the spring, with the arrival of our first robins of the year. The pile of bird drawings starting growing...and the boys started dreaming up what they wanted to make with all of their bird love. Publish a book, make a movie - oh, the list went on and on. And they set to work - creating bird drawings, learning about birds, writing the names, and mostly - thinking, dreaming and watching the birds. Oh yeah, and there was a lot of screaming for me and my camera whenever a new one came by that we didn't yet have a photograph of.

By September, I had gently talked them into chanelling the book ideas (for now ...I'm fully anticipating the "bird book" idea being resurrected in the spring by these ambitious little ones) into a calendar, which thankfully, they loved the idea of as well. Each month's page features a photograph by Steve or I, drawings of the birds, lettering of the birds, and little commentary by the babes.

The piles of stuff floating around here for this were plentiful - hundreds of drawings, folders everywhere. At one point, Calvin was using an Excel spreadsheet to keep it all organized. Love that.

I created the images for each month in Photoshop, and then uploaded it all to Lulu.com for publishing. That end of the process was smooth and easy. I am so thrilled with the quality of the calendars - it was even better than I expected. We printed these on the over-sized (13 X 19") premium calendars - the size is perfect for this kind of project.

I seriously don't think any project has caused me so much frustration (okay...boredom is really the word - I scanned no less than 58 images), nor nail biting (as we waited for UPS to deliver it ... on the 21st!). But I can also say that few projects have been such a joy to be a part of. The kids worked SO hard on dreaming this up, putting it all together, and sharing it with those they love - watching them see it through to fruition was pretty awesome. It felt like a wonderful way to share something 'handmade' with those we love, as well as serve as a little record of how very much of our year was spent with the birds.

Calvin Blogs :: twistie ties for my tree

{photo by calvin}

"First, you cut a really long string. Then you cut a really long string in another color. Or you can use the same color, but then it's hard to see. You put the two strings together, and one person holds one end and the other person holds the other end. And you start twisting, but in opposite directions. So if one person goes one way the other person goes the other way. And you twist for a really long time until it's tight. Then you very very carefully bring the two ends together, and the string will get all twisted up. Quick, you have to tie a knot on both ends of the string. And then it's done! A twistie tie! You can put it on your tree, or you can hang it on the walls, or you could keep it in your car for when you need rope to pull you out of the mud and snow and stuff. Just kidding. Bye!"

making books

- - "Amy [Amanda] my lazy sister is thirteen years old. She talks on the phone for an hour or two at a time. She has her own room and it is a mess. She always keeps it messy. When she goes places with her friends she always dresses nice and leaves her clothes on the floor."

- - "When Calvin was about to climb up the swing, he saw something. A turkey! Then he showed the turkey how to do flips. They were both wearing clown ties."

- - "Then he went home. Then he played soccer. Then he went home. Then he ate corn on the cob. Then he played soccer again"

Excerpts from my three favorite books - My Lazy Sister by my sister written many years ago when she was 8; a collection called Stories By Calvin, written by Calvin two years ago; and Mr. Soccerball, written by Ezra just this summer (the sequel for that one is in progress at the moment-I can't wait). These books are so very dear to me - I read them over and over and over and smile, and I will most assuredly treasure them forever. These were the first, but there are piles of these books now - in various stages of completion - among our things.

I keep a supply of these simple little handmade books accessible and at the ready for when the kids' book-writing inspiration strikes. The construction - on my end - is basic - heavy card stock folded in half, with 10-20 pages or lightweight paper on the inside pages, all stapled together on the fold. I started making them this way after receiving some similarly made and loved books from the Grecos. They're quick and easy, and yet, an absolute favorite thing for the kids to work on.

Our bookmaking has been fueled in recent weeks by the arrival of two wonderful bookmaking books.The first - How to Make Books: Fold, Cut and Stitch Your Way to a One-of-a-Kind Book is a guide to basic bookmaking, containing step-by-step instructions on a variety of methods. It's got me itching to take the needle and thread to some paper. Calvin's often asked about the construction of books, and this has given me lots of answers on the different ways it can be done. Though I think it's really geared towards an adult reader, the kids have been really interested in what's inside it too - I see some fun collaborations happening.

The second book that's being fought over explored daily around here is The Book Book, by Sophie Benini Pietromarchi. This book is really hard to explain - it's such eye candy and poetry and instruction and inspiration all rolled into one. It's written for children and covers not only the how of bookmaking, but the what to include in your book - characters, themes, ideas for inspiration. Really really good stuff, and put together so creatively. It's got everyone around here thinking differently about our bookmaking - and including things like fabrics, found objects, and food (!). The Book Book is published by Tara Publishing - a small and amazing (I'm in love with nearly their whole catalog now) independent publisher out of India. In addition to Amazon, it's also available on the their website here (where there's free worldwide shipping and screen printed gift wrap - ah! - before the holidays), and of course - also available by request from your local independent bookstore. 

Ah...new fresh inspiration for the little and big writers / illustrators / poets / bookmakers in the house. We're going to have fun with these...

acorns are fun

I placed an order a few weeks back with what has become a favorite local wood shop. I first learned about this place, ironically, through Siri - halfway across the country - when she posted her source for wooden acorns in this post (which I still refer to often for all of its acorn goodness).

We were running low on our wooden acorns - they are often given away, lost, and otherwise disappear. Which means they're played with. A lot. They become little people, pieces in homemade games, treasure, tokens, money, food, and so many more things. Sometimes - like with most good toys - they're put away and forgotten about for a time, but they always reappear in the play eventually. So we replenished our stock - a fresh bowl full of dozens of them. Sometimes we mix them in with bowls of 'real' acorns. Ah. I will admit to just running my fingers through the bowl often, turning them upside down. Like a salad. A mixed acorn salad.

With this order, I got a few wooden beads too, for a project Calvin's been asking me about. And some wooden people, as well. Though I made an error in ordering the wrong size - these are super tiny at just 2 inches tall, which makes painting features a little tricky (Ezra declared on many of them, 'this one doesn't need any eyes!') But still - the kids thought they were fab - to paint, dress, and decorate. Adelaide thought they all needed a hat - a pink (all the colors are 'pink' by the way) button hat. And now - a bowl of these 'people' become another tool for what will amount to - in the end - hours of creative play. What I love about them is that they're blank canvases, really. Blank canvases for imaginations to run wild with, and that they do.

I've been reading some of the news accounts about the mass toy recalls, and I get a little bummed when the story ends with the bit about wooden toys all being so expensive as an alternative to plastic. If you're really looking to have less plastic and more natural materials, it really needn't be so. Sometimes, we do chose to spend a little bit extra to have the toys/tools we like best - those that come from natural materials, those that leave room for imagination, and those that are made in a way that fits our values - but that also means we buy less, evening the cost in the end. Buying less also means we have less - which I believe is always more when it comes to toys and imagination and the growth of our little ones.

But there's also all this other stuff - this 'free' - and yet incredibly valuable - stuff out in the world - rocks, leaves, acorns. Cardboard, newspaper and wood. And all the incredibly inexpensive stuff - paper and crayons and paint. And wooden acorns and beads and cubes and eggs and hearts. I mean, really, all of the above cost me less than $12. What would I get walking into a big toy store for $12?

I'm just sayin'. Acorns are fun.

art interpretation

We've hit this incredible milestone in the ages of our children and the growth of our family, in which craft projects have become so much easier than they were just a year ago. Beads are no longer eaten, paint is no longer ingested, and as a general rule - markers stay at the table. Generally speaking. It's heavenly, really. The result is days worth of craft projects and piles worth of finished projects. This mama is very happy, and so are the little ones.

I consider myself a fairly mindful, sorta crafty mama. I know well enough to never insert my own interpretation of childrens' art before they have. I never do. And yet - every once in a while - I find myself so very convinced and so very sure that I know the subject of the art, that I dare presume an interpretation. On this particular day, we had just returned from a long walk in the woods when the painting began. The table was covered in inspiration brought in from the outside -  leaves, pine cones, acorns. I had just finished reading an autumn poem, and we had even been talking about the foliage through the whole painting process. So when Adelaide finished her painting and proudly handed it over, I quite confidently said, "It's fall! The trees! The leaves!".

I was met with an icy chill and a stare from my sweet little one. Followed by an emphatic, "No, Mama!!! Milkey! Me Milkey one side. Me Milkey other side."

Oh, right. What was I thinking? It's a painting of my breasts.

showering the world in costumes

As the babes get a little bit older they've become even more involved in the birthday gift-making and giving that happens around here. Often, it involves some kind of costume play. I'm thrilled that - at least for now - they get really excited about dreaming up ideas, planning, and executing the gifts we make for their friends. The past few weeks they've been planning this little project to give to a special four year old, who loves to visit the dress up rack whenever he's here. The boys instantly had grand plans of construction an entire dress up rack from wood, constructing him a pair of shoes, and sewing him a lion's costume. We compromised on this.

It's a vintage red suitcase I thrifted and cleaned up a bit.The boys each drew a few pictures of this little ones favorite costumes, which I mod-podged (yes, that's a verb) right onto the front, using Rick Rack as the 'frame'. And then we got a little nutty with the glue gun adding ribbon and buttons all over. Fun.

Inside is a start to his own dress up collection. A couple of pieces thrifted, a few from their own plethora of dress up, and a couple that we made just for Simon.  You know, the essentials the boys thought he would need to get started: a construction helmet, a boa, some scarves, a sherrif's badge, cape, safety goggles Santa hat and cat ears. The essentials.

Showering the world in costumes - one vintage suitcase at a time. I think that's their plan.