Snow Day

No art class today with Leah. We are expecting at least a foot of snow if not more. So after I get myself organized I'm going to work on my own stuff.

For the past few years I have mostly been working in collage, combining paint with cut or torn paper. More recently, I have been working with smaller pieces. About a week ago when I was reorganizing my studio, cleaning up my workbench and making shelves more orderly so I didn't waste so much time looking for stuff,, I found that I have four different kinds of watercolors. I set a goal for myself to incorporate watercolors into my work. The first piece I did combined some printing with watercolor and cut paper. After inking a piece of corrugated cardboard, I printed it on the surface of some very nice watercolor paper. Then I wet the entire surface and randomly painted with watercolors, letting the colors run into each other. I let this dry. I used a sharpie marker to draw images into the watercolor and then went back into the images with deeper watercolors. I had forgotten how much I liked the way black line and watercolor look.
The printed image reminded me of wood and looked like the side of a house. I often add a window in my work, I like the idea of a picture in a picture. I decided that I would make one of my cut paper collages on the printed section. I was pleased with the results,

Today I decided to just use black line and watercolors. The image is small, 3"by3". I quickly sketched the still life in pencil, traced the lines with black ink and proceeded to paint the image. I worked with watercolors on dry paper which gives a different quality to the painting. The work went fast. I had planned to create two or three more. Unfortunately, I was interrupted by a phone call and when I returned to work the muse had left me.

This is an important thing to remember. A young child may not always feel like making something that day or minute. Creativity cannot be scheduled. This is why it is important to have a space where the young child can draw or paint freely as the "spirit moves them". When I was teaching, I called my classroom the art studio. This led to conversations about what a studio was and why it was different than other rooms. A studio is a place where an artist goes to make art. Try to create a small studio space for your child. He or she will love it! I remember the day that i was describing my studio space to some students. A second grade boy, looking at me with awe, whispered, "You have a studio in your house. Could I come over sometime and share it with you?"

A quote to think about:

"Children don't need mechanical toys to teach them about the world. The world itself is a kid's brain gym" - Lawrence Katz, PHD, from Better Homes and Gardens, November 2005.