Posted by SuperRetroChick on 2005-04-13 15:23:28
Post Subject:
wow your art class sounds like fun! I take art class at my high school every other dayfor like 40 minutes and it's fun except when snoty art epople come in and act all better than everyone but it's mostly fun and exactly how you describe it.
Posted by bessiemae on 2006-09-24 16:30:53
Post Subject: Crafting, Family Style
Ok. So I'm working on the Sept. Year Long Swappy Goodness. Making good progress. Family ignoring me for some Science Channel Pluto Marathon.
Suddenly, #2 Son, the Artsy One, finds me.
"What cha doing?"
"Making stuff for Felicity."
"Can I make stuff, too?"
"Sure."
Little Man drags over a chair and siddles up to the drafting table, next to me. Expertly, he picks through scraps and pulls out what he wants. Debates color and pattern uder the Ott light. Asks nicely to use specific equipment. Carefully considers adhesives, before making his choice. We discuss qualities of various materials. He has his own opinions.
It is so very cool to watch him design and create.
His art class starts next weekend. #1 son opted out of a camping trip so as not to miss the first day of Art Class.
How do you craft with your kids? Did your parents create art with you?
Posted by anati on 2004-11-10 20:43:39
Post Subject:
i took a pottery class last year at school and i really enjoyed it. i especially liked wheelthrowing.
it can be frustrating when things, well, don't turn out like you want them too. generally, it was a lot less disappointing on the wheel because making something on the wheel usually only took one class period. but when i spent two weeks on my coil pot and it sort of collapsed, that was sort of disappointing (it is the ugliest thing i have ever made. i still have it). but it was also really fun. i've never really been very good at drawing or painting, so it was nice that i cold actually take an art class and not totally fail.
Posted by sunshine_fix on 2005-11-22 22:17:26
Post Subject:
- not having a crappy year like last year (dad surgery, me with kidney stones/surgery, freshman year of college)
- knowing who my friends really are
- wonderful roommates
- my own room
- wonderful and supportive parents
- wonderful and supportive boyfriend (our third thanksgiving together!!!)
- another year of life
- finding out what I really want to do in life
- the project for my art class that is finally taking shape
Posted by loudieroo on 2005-06-09 22:23:53
Post Subject: printmaking help
I am not a printmaker but I am an art teacher....
I do a lesson on printmaking nearly every year for my intro to art class... 30 wild students and 1 of me. So simplicity and speed are important (especially if you only have an hour). I recommend Dickblick.com print foam. You make the relief part of the print with a pencil. You can cut down blocks with scissors and it is fairly cheap. I would also invest in the Dick Blick water soluable printing inks as well.
Good luck-- I always have a great time with printmaking!
Posted by micrafty on 2006-09-24 17:18:45
Post Subject:
So nice to hear you spend time with your boys that way and inspire their creativity. So many of the schools are taking art out and our children miss out on so much.
Funny thing with me is Mom tried to very hard to get me to make things when I was a youngster and I just would not cooperate. Finger paint - nah, rather make mud pies. Glue pieces of felt together - rather watch Sesame Street. Color - BORING! Guess, I was just too much of a tomboy.
My grandmother finally taught me how to crochet, but I didn't really get hooked, (pun intended) until I was in college.
Flash forward more years than I'll admit and I'm a crafty freak. Don't get me started about cool yarns, crochet, quilting, beading, learning how to make clothes, and all the crafts I keep restraining myself from getting involved in.
Posted by elixirbeth on 2007-11-12 08:19:05
Post Subject:
i know how you feel. have you considered taking an adult ed class? you'd be surprised what kind characters crawl out of the wood work to show up at those things. when i was younger i lived in a small, nosey town, and i felt like i needed to tap into my creative side, so i took an evening painting class. all of the students in the class were people i had NEVER seen before and seemed to have an interesting story to tell.
now that i live in NYC, i have lots of options in terms of creative outlets. however, when i'm in a rut, my first solution is always an art class of some kind. two years ago i took a glassblowing class, and i'm still doing it. it's amazing how much it has changed my life and my plans for the future.
Posted by Tomico Revilak on 2006-12-06 13:11:25
Post Subject:
Over the summer I volunteered as a teacher for the library art class for teenagers. I found that I, too, was never prepared for how long things took. Paper mache takes at least 3 sessions. You don't have much time with only 1/2 hour. I bought a book , 365 Things to Make and Do by Vivienne Bolt that seem like simple interesting projects bird feeders out of milk cartons, leaf pictures, dough baskets, bowling with 2 or 3 liter bottles, etc. not all the projects are for the very young, but there are a lot of fun ideas. Sorry I'm not much more helpful. but I do give you my sympathy.
Posted by CraftinFool on 2004-06-11 11:05:41
Post Subject:
Baby food jars:
How about for cleaning your brush if you are using water-based paints for something?
Or for holdng small bits like nuts and bolts or jewelry making stuff like hooks and stuff.
You could also make small sand art pictures: color salt or sugar with different colored chalks, then pour the colored slat in layers in the jar - and poke down with a pencil periodically to make peaks and valleys. Did you ever do this in art class as a kid? I loved making them.
Or as containers for lotions, oils, and potions you make.
Posted by aubrigail on 2004-11-27 00:30:20
Post Subject:
wow...my teen years =) it was kind of a mixed thing...I had some great friends and good times, but I was also awkward and shy (couldn't talk to guys hardly at all and then wondered why I couldn't get a boyfriend) I could go on about what was good and what was bad...if I focus on only the bad stuff it seemed like hell (especially junior high) but then I remember that despite my unfortunate clothing and hairstyle choices, I was still having fun most of the time
My advice-yep things get better after high school, but I think they can be better during high school too--find activities outside of school, a community art class, volunteering somewhere, crafting group, etc...where you can be around non-high school people, it's just nice to get out of that high school bubble and make friendships with people of all ages...
find your own style...
try and learn new things...
theres a quotation that I think of when things just seem crappy...and i don't have it written down so I'll probably butcher it but...
"We take a few grains of sand from the infinite awareness around us, and call those few grains the world" (Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence)
That always reminds me that there are so many other ways of seeing things, doing things and experiencing the world--and if the way I'm going about life isn't working out for me, there are always other choices and things I could change about my life (even as a teenager)
Posted by Diana on 2006-04-17 17:17:23
Post Subject:
I was making doll clothes when I was very young, 5 or 6. My mother always sewed and so did my grandmother(father's step-mother) and I just thought it was the most natural thing in the world to do. Grandma also taught me how to quilt and do embroidery. I can remember getting my first sewing basket(filled with candy no less) when I was in 3rd grade from friends of my parents when we lived in Arizona. I wish I still had it as it was one of the best gifts I've ever received. It was a cute little green and white woven one with tiny crocheted raffia flowers on the top and a lift-out tray. I made alot of doll clothes and Christmas gifts out of that thing. Then I took up cross stitch in high school, while we were stationed in Germany as there were lots of books on it in the post library. Home ec. in high school was awful and if I hadn't already been sewing I would have never done anymore of it. I learned to bead in elementry art class and even wove a few baskets.I taught myself to needlepoint out of a book and that's how I've learned most of my other crafts.
Posted by Liberty Gooler on 2005-01-27 20:11:21
Post Subject:
I'm an Aquarius; Chinese horoscope sign, the snake.
I think its funny that there are so many Aquarians responding. The best art class I ever took had a painting project based on your star sign, and I was the only Aquarius! So I'm glad to see we are actually arty/crafty, at least on this board.
