I am Back

So it has been quite some time since I have paid any attention to Color Color Color. I suppose it is because I have been busy busy busy. I started this little virtual scrap book of creative endeavors as a way to keep track of the artsy things I do with my kids and to connect with others with similar ideas. I still wish to do that, but with a bit more. My kids have grown. When I started this blog my little girl was newly four and my baby boy was only one. He is now four and she will be seven in a few weeks. I was a stay-at-home-mom in Maryland. We now live in Alaska and I work part-time and have a first grader and a preschooler. I have also been able to make the shift in my creative outlet. It used to be that the only art I made was with my kids, in the past few years I have been making more and more of my own art again. I still make art with my kids, I hope that I always will. I imagine that I always will.

So, I guess what I am trying to say is that I want to "come back", but things might be a bit different. I am not even really sure in what ways.

This painting is my most recent large work. It is 40" by 36", oil on canvas. It was a commission. I really enjoyed working on this painting and was a little sad to see it go, although I know it is in a great home and is very loved. I painted it late at night in my kitchen after the kids went to bed while my husband watched some sci-fi show. I did not title it, but to me it exemplifies March. It is the view out my window. It is sunny and bright, yet snowy and cold.

Art in the Park

Waylon having a great time with the shaving cream--he still smells like Old Spice, even after a bath:)

What a beautiful day to get together with friends and make a huge artsy mess in the great outdoors. I wish I had more pictures, but I was so involved with the art making that despite the camera around my neck, I took only a couple of pictures. I will do better next week.

We made shaving cream prints and did some printing with gadgets and vegetables. For this we used tempera paint on black paper. Adding white to each color ensured that the colors stood out on the black background. All of our colors today were cool colors- blues, greens and purples. These Alaskan kids need strategies for cooling off when the temperature hits 70!

There were about 15 kids between the ages of 2 and 9, not to mention a few babies who were able to watch the fun.

The aftermath of the gadget printing station.

Secret Messages

I know that Valentine's Day is over and we have moved on, really. But these secret messages that started out as Valentines have become so much more. We are hooked on making these and I think you might be too once you see how easy it is. All you need is heavy paper or card stock, a white crayon, a washable marker, water and a paintbrush.

Write a message or draw a secret picture with the white crayon on the white card stock. Gently color over the entire thing with a washable marker. Give it to a friend or anyone special and tell them to paint it with water to reveal the secret message.

 

The water blends the choppy lines and pops out the white writing.

Bunny Chicks

I found an unfinished piece of wood cut in the shape of two bunnies at a thrift store the other day.

 I love what my almost six-year-old did with it. I had suggested that she use paint and she insisted on Sharpies. She was right. the colors came out great and she was able to get the details she was after. I love the way she made the bunnies peeking out of Easter eggs.

 Maybe she can do the back next year.

Plastic Lid Bunny Wreath

A few months ago I started a changeable wreath for our front door. The kids and I just got it ready for Easter. I cut the edge off two large 64oz plastic yogurt lids and cut out simple bunny shapes. Basically, a figure eight with ears. I cut 3 bunnies from each lid and made them various sizes. Hollin decorated their faces with colored sharpies. Waylon helped me cut ribbon. The ribbon just loops through the twigs and ties around the bunnies' necks, securing them to the wreath and giving them a bow tie at the same time.

I am very hoppy with the result (I could not resist).

The Days are Getting Longer

I spent every spare minute last month working on this oil painting. It is pretty big, 36" by 40". I suppose it is my interpretation of February in Fairbanks. Still so very cold and still, but the light is incredible. It is the month where, after so many months of cold and dark, you start to get a glimmer that spring may actually return. It is still cold, but the days are noticeably longer.

I will never tire of painting the trees in interior Alaska. Even around our 2 acre yard, the inspiration is limitless. The aspens and birches are all so unique and they change dramatically depending on the weather, the time of day and of course the seasons. I love to wander around and look for my next painting.

Upcycled Party Gift Box

We made this gift box for a friend's birthday party the other day. It is made from a cereal box. I have seen this done using gift wrap to cover a box. We covered ours with white contact paper and decorated it with permanent markers.

Cut the top flaps off a cereal box and wrap in contact paper.

Poke two holes on the top, both sides, for handles. We fastened a pipe cleaner handle to each side.

We tied tulle and ribbon to the handles to make it fancier, then Hollin drew birthday designs on each side with permanent markers.

We added the gift, which was a lovely assortment of art supplies, some tissue paper and a little card.

So sweet and personal. We gave new life to an old box, and saved $ on a gift bag.