doodlebugs 6.11.10, butterfly smash art

for this activity, the kids painted on some pre-cut construction paper butterflies and then folded them in the middle to "smash" the paint together, creating a symmetrical design on both sides.


we had scissors, too, just in case they wanted to give cutting their own butterflies a try, which of course they did!

we just had to read an old favorite, eric carle's "the very hungry caterpillar", as our opener to this one.


a little stroke of genius came when they decided to paint the outsides of their butterflies brown to resemble cocoons... love it.

gettin' wood

i had my first official "gettin' wood" adventure last weekend. for years, i've been hearing all about how joe used to have to go out and get wood when he was a kid. now that we own a house with a wood-burning stove, our little guys will be able to tell the same stories someday.
we'd tentatively planned a camping trip for that weekend, for joe's bday, but it was a tad too cold and wet for us. so we decided to just head out for the day...


the rain has been hanging on around here, but little did we know we'd be able to catch snowflakes on our tongues.


while joe did this,

the boys did this...cuddling in the back of the car, protesting their frozen toes and begging for more marshmallows to roast.

i managed to lure them briefly to this cozy little spot under the trees, but the warm fire soon called them back.

sam fared best of all, asleep even with the snowflakes landing on his face.

as we drove out in the falling snow, my jaw dropped to turn a bend and come upon this next view...

that's may for 'ya.

our new (to us) easel

driving past the thrift store the other day, i saw an easel just waiting for us! a quick u-turn and five dollars later, it was ours. i wanted a wood one, but this one will do, and the boys are pretty excited about it. the little trays in front are perfect for holding our no-spill paint cups, and i like the idea of just being able to let the whole thing sit out, just waiting for inspiration to strike. we've painted just about everywhere...the table, the floor, outside, on the wall, in the tub, on the sidewalk, you name it, but i always wanted the boys to have an easel. it was quickly set up outside, and everyone gave it a go.

we were all pretty tickled to see sam crawl on over and stand right up to do some painting of his own. he was even balancing for a moment or two, too preoccupied with his artwork to notice he wasn't holding on to anything!

leif whipped out a few flags, to make his own "avenue of flags", just like the one they set up at the cemetery for memorial day. flags...that reminds me...stay tuned for a post on that, too!

memorial day

remembering.

living.

more celebrating...

happy birthday, joe! (only one exclamation point, just for you...)
we love you.

doodlebugs flashback, 1.29.10, printmaking

well, in case you haven't noticed, i visit this blog a lot! so many wonderful ideas there. she'd used plastic box frames for her printmaking, but i didn't have those. so we made do with what we had...the bottoms of plastic plates, then glass & metal pans (the hardness/strength of the pans stood up better to pressing down on them, giving a much better printed image). brayers would be nice, too, but don't have those either, so we used sponge brushes instead. they worked fine, i just asked the kids to use a light coating. they used q-tips and fingers to make their designs. first, we did a trial-run at home.

this was the after-math.

then we were ready to go for art group. after the kids make their design in the paint, they lay a piece of white paper on top of the paint, press all around, and voila! they turned out awesome. i cut black paper slightly larger than the white paper to make a backing that gave it a little frame effect.

yes, that is batman leaning over to fetch more supplies.

the book we read, "bread and honey", didn't address printmaking specifically, but addressed a bigger art concept...being yourself, doing work you love, and not worrying about what other people say. the boys cracked up laughing the first time we read it. go get it...you'll see why. love it.

doodlebugs flashback, 1.22.10, collage

we love, love, love collage. i love collage because i save everything. they love collage because it's so fun, interesting, and can really help them build a story. for this art group, i remember being inspired to gather up the collage goodies by all the action i saw going on here. i forgot to write down the book we used (argh...no writey, no rememberey). anything about shapes, colors, collections, etc. would be great. we used felt pieces, little puff balls, string, and shaped buttons.

lately, leif's collages have been heading toward realistic-land, where there are buildings and places he's been. hotels and denver top the list. eric's are often factories of some kind. i don't have photos of the boys' work that day, but i remember leif finding a bear shaped button, which he used to create a build-a-bear store (he'd recently visited one). eric's was a cemetary-playground (doesn't that sound like a great combination?). i remember a teeter totter he'd created with a button leaning against a puff ball. we did some more collage work today (no photos i can post yet). eric's was a sandwich factory. i loved hearing him count all the stations where various things happened to create the sandwich. it must have triggered a memory of a previous noodle collage he'd done because he started to explain how the sandwich factory wasn't as complicated. leif used marker to add some "roads with guardrails" weaving around his buildings. i just love the stories they tell as they create their masterpieces.