rudderless

Making Art

Reading this weeks’ posts on Zach Aboard- really AWESOME crafting all week long . . . has made me a bit antsy to get back in the swing of art-making with Sophie. She makes art every day. Her drawings are in a pile by the scanner, all “signed” with a sun on the back, “so they know it was me who drew this.” I scan them or take photos and will one day compile a big book of them, as saving them all would be an impossible mess of paper. We use them for wrapping paper, photo mats, greeting cards, etc., and the leftovers get recycled as grocery lists.

But today we went beyond our ginormous stack of drawing paper (and btw, this is the time to buy markers and paper and such- all the “other” kids are going back to school and Office Depot is practically giving stuff away). A few weeks ago we made a sandcasting with plaster of paris and while it was fun, I was looking for a way to keep Sophie more involved in the process. Leave it to Jan from the Artful Parent to solve the problem. We simply gathered a bunch of fun stuff from our “tiny box” where we keep beads and shells, and some dried edibles from the pantry, filled a plate with muddy plaster, and went to work. It was fun and mildly addictive. Sophie started drawing in the second one, like wet cement. Like Jan says in her post, the process is what it’s all about, and while the end result is fun, it’s the act of doing that teaches and inspires.

Next time I get off to the mainland, we will get some felting supplies, as I know how much Zoo would love to make Zach’s felted soaps. Painted rocks are also on our list, and homemade stamps. What would we do without the internet to inspire?