Feeling artsy

    As part of their Christmas gifts, each of my sons got a box of pre-planned "Mom Dates" for 2017. Over the past few years, I have really enjoyed the opportunity to take each boy out individually to just hang out. January's dates were both artistic.

Timmy and I went to a place called Wicked Art Bar. They are a local place that hold paint nights. Once or twice a month, they do family days. I wasn't sure if Timmy would like it but, based on his interest in his painting from Thanksgiving, I thought I'd give it a try. We painted "Snowy Bunnies." Here's how they came out:
Tim, hard at work.


 Tim and I:

 Finished product (check out Tim's snow bunny on the left.):


Ironically, my sister-in-law, Sarah, gave me a gift certificate for this same paint place. I had seen a painting that I thought my mom would like so I invited a friend and we went to paint it last Friday night. Here's the finished painting. Don't show my mom, I made it for her birthday. (I know, I sound like a 5 year old but I hope she likes it.)


    My date with David was on Monday. We went to Clay Dreaming, which is a pottery studio. You can either go to the wet studio and legitimately put together a piece of pottery, or paint pre-made pottery which will then be glazed and put in the kiln. David developed an interest in pottery in his elementary art class. I think he was slightly disappointed when we got there and he realized he wasn't making the pottery, but I thought we'd check it out before we really got invested.

David painted a mug. The inside is green and the outside will be a darker blue once it's fired.  He was having a nice time at this point.

Still good:

Then we had a bit of a meltdown. He was working really hard on the mug and everything was going well. He tried to draw a Minion and things came unraveled...fast. I saw a lot of myself in him right then. He had an idea of what he wanted, couldn't do it- but wanted to try. When he tried and it didn't go well, he got super upset. He didn't want me to do it for him, didn't want help, but he also was really stressed about how to finish without ruining his final piece. It was sad. We changed the Minion body into a face. We worked together to make the face, eyes, goggles and he did the smile. I hope he's happy with it when it is finished.

Here's my plain plate. (Which will be very dark blue with a coral-ish color around the edge) I would've done very well if I had just copied an idea someone gave me, but I'm not very creative with blank space. Also, my snowflake stamp rebelled. I wish I knew some cool techniques- next time. Oops- I didn't post because I had written my last name across the plate. Sorry! I'll let you know if I like it. 

Kids Art Week Day 2: Dubuffet figures

     Had another fun time doing an art lesson for kids, offered by Carla Sonheim. Jean Dubuffet was a French painter, printmaker and sculptor.  He lived between 1901-1985. He wasn't able to really work as an artist until about 1942. Like Klee, he was not impressed with "scholarly" art, but was inspired by "outsider art" of alienated groups such as prisoners, mentally ill and children too. He coined the term "Art Brut," meaning raw art. I read that he was influenced by Klee (in style and subject matter) and he was also a musician. Some of the ways he added texture to his paintings were interesting. Here are a few of his famous works:

 

 

 

   Our goal today was to create a figure in the style of Dubuffet. We could create a face or a whole body. Timmy and David did this with me. We started with a treated watercolor base. I did the project separately with each boy. I was surprised that they each chose almost the exact same colors (and that they were the colors I had originally chosen to use. Grrr..), but their backgrounds came out very different. The top one is David's. The middle one is Timmy's. Mine is at the bottom.

   

   After our background dried, we made our "figure."  The way we all interpreted these and worked through our own styles of creating was pretty varied.  Here is David's (Sorry he is sideways):

 

  David had a meltdown over how to draw arms. We originally had them leading off the page and then he decided he wanted them raised up. When he saw that his figure was "weird shaped," he was a little disappointed. Then I showed him what Dubuffet did and he felt much better. Once he added the black, he was very happy with his work. He especially liked the nose he drew.

Timothy's (Which might be my favorite):

 

Tim knew exactly what he wanted right away. He liked that his face was a bit lopsided. He drew the eyes close together, like Dubuffet would have. Those things on top "could be horns. Actually, I like that they are ears, kind of like animal ears." I love the eyelashes.

     It should be no surprise that the person who struggled the most with this was me. (Though I didn't cry like David.. lol)  I picked colors that were different from the boys to make something different. I found that working with colors that might not appeal to me as much was a challenge, but I liked the results. What I found really hard was to let this guy come out "uneven" without "fixing" him. I also wanted to make it look more aesthetically appealing to me, but exercises like this are wonderful since you're imitating someone else's art. Some people made their examples more personalized, but I'm a bit of a rule follower.He looks like a mix between Squidward and Gumby.  I sure have come a long way since the first time I posted art and was nervous that people wouldn't like it!

Tomorrow I will be introduced to Robert Motherwell, also new to me! Before I forget, there's still time to play along. If you'd like to catch up on the classes, join here

Hokule'a

    One thing that I have discovered as a wife and a mom is that sometimes it is really healthy and nice to step outside your comfort zone. Personality wise, Timmy and I are very alike. On a positive note,  we are both self-motivated, empathetic, hard working, love to learn and love to read. On a negative note, we can both be a little "know it all"ish and we like to do things our own way. Being married has taught me that sometime you have to compromise if you are attempting to make a group of people happy. Last night I got an e-mail from a group that I have volunteered with (classifying invasive species on the shoreline... told you I'm a nerd.) saying that they were offering a free boat ride to view the Hokule'a as she sets sail for Maine and Nova Scotia.  Hokuleʻa is a performance-accurate full-scale replica of a waʻa kaulua, a Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe.  Since 1973 the Polynesian Voyaging Society has been at the vanguard of promoting awareness of the rich and skilled heritage of Polynesian mariners.  (Their website is actually really interesting.) This vessel has been in Salem, MA for a few days Interested parties would be leaving the dock by 6:30 am. The only problem is that I kind of hate water. 
     I asked Matt if he would be interested. He was, but he is not a morning person- at all. David said it was too early for him since we've been up late with Tim's baseball games. Tim, of course, totally wanted to go. So, he and I headed out to Salem and set sail.  After my initial fear of being completely surrounded by water, I was fine. Maybe I was fine once Timmy was off the dock and on the boat without me having the worry about him falling in. :) 
      Timmy and I had gone on a whale watch a few years ago, but he didn't remember it. I was curious whether he would enjoy being on a boat. Once he dismissed his fear of a shark attack (I'm not afraid of that, just water in general), he had a great time. Here are some pictures from our morning:

 A little sleepy and reserved, but relaxed.

The Hokule'a being towed out before opening the sails.

 Speaking of being scared of water. This would be terrifying to me. These paddle-boarders are crazy. Although it would be fun if I liked water, this is one of my ideas of things I'm least likely to do in my life.

 The Hokule'a with the sails open. Here is where the boat is now on their voyage.

 Tim saying hello to their crew.

Tim chatting with the captain of our crew. He learned about the engine throttles, steering the boat, the radar system, the camera showing things from the bow and a map. The captain was very knowledgeable and patient.
     The boat we were on is part of the Salem Sea Shuttle. They do tours of Salem Sound and trips to some of the local islands. Our boat also had a touch tank that they use for education. Today they had mussels, hermit crabs, snails, starfish and a lobster. The lobster had been rehabilitated after losing it's right claw. After it lost its carapace, it regrew the claw.
      Overall, we really enjoyed ourselves. Timmy has developed some interest in visiting some of the islands off the coast (Misery Island and Bakers Island.) Hey, maybe one of you could sponsor a sleepover at the lighthouse for our family :)  I am guessing that the trip we took today is pretty similar to the Sea Shuttle's tour of Salem Sound, so if you were looking for a nice, but shorter, trip; that would be enjoyable too. 

feeling better

     Despite the fact that I did not receive any sort of apology or acknowledgement of my response to the parent e-mail I got yesterday, I'm feeling a bit better.
     Tonight, my own son had a school concert. He plays trumpet in band, plays chimes and sings in the chorus. It was nice to relax and watch his hard work come to fruition. (It was not nice that we were surrounded by people who chatted through the whole concert.) I'm very proud of him.

Fall pictures from this weekend

I love autumn. I have spent a lot of time outside in the past few days. Yesterday I attended a local fair and today was so beautiful that I just kept going outside. These pictures are not the highest quality but they show what it looks like around here lately. Looking over these pictures, I feel like I had the camera on the wrong setting. The colors looked a lot more vibrant in person. Guess you'll have to come visit me in MA if you want the real thing!

 This row of aliens just made me laugh.

 You know what else made me laugh? This man with a Minecraft sword. Matt couldn't believe I snuck a picture. Seriously though, when am I going to see this again?

 Tim tried his hand at riding a mechanical bull. He did pretty well. He's concentrating very hard as you can tell by his tongue hanging out in almost every picture. (Which is also why that cut on the side of his lip won't heal.. )

 Pretty scarves

 Animals at the fair

 I loved this cute little goat

 Eating the paint? Surely the hay isn't THAT bad.

 Sand sculpture.

 Displays outside the flower building done by a local nursery.

 Inside the flower building.

 Look at these amazing flowers and displays. I am not usually one to insist upon getting expensive flowers, but you have to admit these are beautiful. (If you insist on buying me expensive flowers, I have recently come across this site. How beautiful are those!?)

 There was a really cool bird with this bird but I couldn't get a good picture.

 This painting was done by a friend of mine. I just took a picture of it because I was proud of her. Way to go Judi!!!

 Outside my house this afternoon

Pictures from a walk with Timmy.