Baby Shark...dodododo....

I just have to share a few photos from our last jaunt to the beach for the summer.  We've had 3 trips to the coast this summer....just waiting for the day we can live there forever.  Billy and I that is.  The kids are like NO WAY!!  One day we will retire there and the kids will have a beautiful place to visit and bring us lots of Grand babies.  Yeah...I like to dream ahead. 

We both fell in love with Saint Simons years ago when we attended a Leadership Georgia retreat.  A piece of my heart never left.  Never will.  It is the most amazing beach I've ever been to.  It's so raw....so underdeveloped...so very perfect.  I can not stand to go to any beach that has Go-Karts or other contraption that is made to make humans fly and vomit.  Where every corner has a chain restaurant and the condos are so high my fear of heights gets into complete overload.   Rather we like a quiet beach.  Where in the morning and nights families are out walking their dogs.  Where you can walk on a beach and not see condos, but rather sea oats and dunes that look like magical snow mounds.  Where the water is so sparkly you'd thought God had tossed his new glitter jar down right on your slice of beach that day.  Yeah.  That's St. Simons.

Here we are content to rise...hit the beach....and not come in until dark.  Our favorite activity, shell hunting and critter spotting.  This week the waters were particularly full of these beauties:

Have you ever held a live starfish in your hand?  Well, they tickle.  They wiggle.  They breath.  You see above her little legs curling up?  She wanted back in the water!  It pained me to see everyone walking around with them in their hands to keep.  We always throw them back.  We also found giant sand dollars this time.  And although they are living too, we only take those that have been beached.  We also learned that starfish eat sand dollars.  Weird.

Here's Billy and Mailey walking in the glittery water.  Another trick to finding sand dollars is to dig a little.  they bury themselves.  We walked for hours every morning while the tide was low.  Finding treasures of course!

I found this unbelievable sculpture my first day out for a run.  It's a giant piece of driftwood that people have covered in ocean trash.  Flip flops, sunglasses, jewelry, tires, rope, pacifiers, etc....somehow all this trash finds its' way from its' original owners to the sea and out again. It makes a lovely sculpture.  And pointed statement.

The Atlantic beach on this island has nice hard sand.  Perfect for running, riding a bike and renting these bikes!  I tried it this time, and it was hard!  It's all about the hips, which since I got some you'd think would have made it easier!  Not. 

Below is me trying out paddle boarding.  I LOVED IT!!  So much in fact that I have started researching buying my own for the lake in our neighborhood and my Dad's lake.  Although should a ski boat go by the wake would surely knock me off!  It was a great sport for building your core! 

Staying upright is very important if you have a fear of these little guys below.  By far the coolest thing we did this trip was look for these:

Hmmm...what is it you ask?  Do you know the song..."baby shark...dodododo  baby shark dodododo..."  Yeah?   That's a baby one in Billy's hand below he rescued from the surf.  He just couldn't get back out to sea.  The one above was about 2 feet from me in knee deep water.  We also saw a hammerhead shark and loads of black tip.  Ranging in size from tiny below to about 4 foot.  Yeah.  As shark enthusiasts, it was beyond exhilarating!!    Shark week LIVE!

So our week was packed with shark spotting, sting ray spotting, horseshoe crabs (they are hilarious looking!!), starfish, sand dollars, drip castles, body surfing and more.  Oh, of course amazing seafood...in non-chain restaurants! This week I've gotta get back to the regular eating, pretty sure I gained 5 pounds in shrimp and fish weight!  Also......we go back to school!  ekkkk.....I'll be off in the classroom tomorrow cleaning and getting bulletin boards ready.  Monday the bell rings.  Hard to believe the summer has come to an end.  It has been one of the best I can remember ever having.  Older kids, better routines, and of course sand in the toes for many days will do that to you!!

Summer Art Camp Goodness

This is a crazy photo heavy post...but you guys just have to see the goodness we made last week at camp!!  I always look forward to camp.  From planning projects, shopping for materials and teaching...art camp is a highlight for me!  And although this group wore me out, looking at all the loveliness we made I think I know why I was so pooped after 3 days/15 hours of art making!

 16x20 Canvas paintings with silver leaf boats

 Ok...seriously look at the by-plane drawn by a 6 year old above!!

 The boats turned out beautiful.  The kids loved the silver leaf...and I finally figured out how to do it without getting it stuck all over myself!

I always try and do a 3-D project at camp.  With the time constraints I can't do real clay.  And every year I search for the best air dry product.  Last year was an epic fail.  Really.  This year I was determined I'd find THE product.  The DAS clay worked wonderfully!!  Dried within the time-frame with only a few tails getting broken.  Score!  And seriously...these sleeping doggies are too cute!  We even made little rugs and dog beds for them!

 Watercolor seashell collages with a little sparkle turned out beautiful!

And last but not least, oil pastel pitchers of lemonade.  This is one of my favorite projects to do with kids ever.  They always turn out splendid!  Each I have pictured were done by kids 6 and under.  Yeah.  I know!!!

We also completed the positive /negative space project I featured earlier in the week.  Overall, the 3 days were a huge success.  Kids ages 5-12 attended.  And all 21 were a pleasure to have in the studio!  Already looking for ideas for next year.  Hope your child wil join me then!

Summer Art Camp Goodness

This is a crazy photo heavy post...but you guys just have to see the goodness we made last week at camp!!  I always look forward to camp.  From planning projects, shopping for materials and teaching...art camp is a highlight for me!  And although this group wore me out, looking at all the loveliness we made I think I know why I was so pooped after 3 days/15 hours of art making!

 16x20 Canvas paintings with silver leaf boats

 Ok...seriously look at the by-plane drawn by a 6 year old above!!

 The boats turned out beautiful.  The kids loved the silver leaf...and I finally figured out how to do it without getting it stuck all over myself!

I always try and do a 3-D project at camp.  With the time constraints I can't do real clay.  And every year I search for the best air dry product.  Last year was an epic fail.  Really.  This year I was determined I'd find THE product.  The DAS clay worked wonderfully!!  Dried within the time-frame with only a few tails getting broken.  Score!  And seriously...these sleeping doggies are too cute!  We even made little rugs and dog beds for them!

 Watercolor seashell collages with a little sparkle turned out beautiful!

And last but not least, oil pastel pitchers of lemonade.  This is one of my favorite projects to do with kids ever.  They always turn out splendid!  Each I have pictured were done by kids 6 and under.  Yeah.  I know!!!

We also completed the positive /negative space project I featured earlier in the week.  Overall, the 3 days were a huge success.  Kids ages 5-12 attended.  And all 21 were a pleasure to have in the studio!  Already looking for ideas for next year.  Hope your child wil join me then!

Positive and Negative Space Birds

As an art teacher, I am always thinking ahead to the next cool project.  The idea for this project actually came to me during the regular school year.  I just knew it would be a wonderful summer camp project.  And these kiddos did not disappoint!  So I thought I'd share this lesson with you.  Because now, my wheels are spinning with other subject matter to be the negative space!  I can totally see silhouettes done this way!  And hope you can find a use for the idea as well.  So here goes:

MATERIALS NEEDED:  surface board (in this case we used 11x14 canvas boards but you could use wood or cradled canvas as well), contact paper, acrylic paints, white heavy body acrylic paint, texture makers, brushes

STEP 1:  Using a variety of materials cover your entire surface with paint.  Be sure to use fun materials like bubble wrap, q-tips, cotton balls, paint brushes, cardboard and more for a variety of textures.  We used cool colors only to not mucky the canvas.  I suggest having 4 colors on the palette.  It would also be fun to create one cool and one warm color canvas to hang as a pair.

STEP 2:  Allow to dry overnight.  It is very important that the bottom layers be very dry before moving on.  You run the risk of the white paint being contaminated if the paint is not dry completely.

STEP 3:  Using contact paper (Be sure to buy plain color contact paper so the kids can see their positive spaces well.), cut branches, birds, leaves and more peeling the backer off and sticking them to the canvas.  Some of the little kids had trouble grasping the positive/negative image idea.  But had a blast making their own stickers and putting them on the canvas!  I had several finished samples on the board as well as demonstrated the entire time step by step.  It's always important with kids to take it one step at a time as well as showing them the finished products.

The process was fun to see as the kids were working with materials not normal to the art classroom.  I love showing kids that to make art you don't have to just use paint and crayons.  Art can be fabricated from all sorts of materials just around your home!   We had to remind the children that everywhere the contact paper was placed would be the only color showing.  Everything else would be white.  So we encouraged and encouraged more branches and leaves!

STEP 4:  After the canvases had dried we then applied heavy body white acrylic over the entire surface.  Now, for some crazy reason the purple we used decided to illuminate through the white heavy body paint.  No matter how many coats we tried.  It turned out nice, but not as white as I wanted.  So I suggest steering clear of purple hues should you want a nice white space!

 STEP 5:  Allow to dry completely.

STEP 6:  The revealing was the coolest part.  The kids were oooing and aaahhhing....it was magical!  The contact paper pieces were carefully removed and voila!  A gorgeous positive.negative image revealed!!

And funny enough, Jennifer my adult assistant all week, was in Kohl's the day after art camp and they had a chair that literally looked JUST like these kids artwork.  We are very fashion forward in the art studio this summer!

PSW July

July heat didn't stop this amazing group of ladies to drive on down to Sharpsburg, GA!!  Saturday was the second of the series of Paint Something Workshops in my home.   I can't tell you how truly blessed I feel to have a studio and home that can now accommodate this.  It's a dream come true!  So here they are:  Heidi, Gigi, Darcy, Heather, Lisa, Gail, Tiffin, Kara, Rene, Me, Melissa, Mailey and of course Lily. 

Mother daughter team Heidi and Gigi drove over from B'ham!  Heidi and I grew up together in Homewood....and it appears I've got her hooked on painting.  It's her second truck over!  I love seeing the spark she has for something I love. 

I'll admit, this time around the class went easier.  Although I am never nervous before I teach, last time being the first, I was rather anxious about the class (lots of whattheheck monsters crept in last time...this time only unicorns and rainbows in my dreams).  The June workshop I learned a few lessons too.  First and foremost we needed 1.5 hours more time.  Saturday everyone finished perfectly on time!  So that lesson learned was solved!  I also had 3 repeat students who were able to help guide the new students.  I love that....more than anything it shows to me that not only are we building skills, we are building confidence in the medium!

The place was packed...9 painters in here and 2 in my actual studio.  This room is my awesome storage, jewelry and press room.  It's very raw, except for the fun color pom poms on the ceiling.  I have no intentions of finishing it off.  But perfectly it fits tables to seat 8-10.  And no one seems to mind the rawness.  :)

We painted until about 12 then took a lunch break on the screened in porch.  I made homemade pimento cheese...which amazingly many people had either neither had or didn't like.  WHAT??  Although unless she's lying to not hurt my feeling I may have made a believer out of Tiffin (from Pittsburg originally.)  Melissa, sweet thing, made her yummy homemade chicken salad.  And for dessert.....my AWESOME HUBBY made homemade ice cream.  Which is like slap yo momma good.  Just saying.

Another addition to the day were swaps.  Melissa brought little fabric button bobby pins last time as a treat for everyone.  While painting in June she mentioned maybe us doing swaps the next time.  I thought cool idea!  So everyone that came was asked to bring 12 treats.  The only rule was they had to be handmade.  Everyone well exceeded expectations!!  It was so fun.  And dear Lisa.....that peach pound cake you made is near about the best thing I've ever put in my mouth.  And I've done a lot of eating in my life.  Just saying. 

Inside our little swag bags were:  magnets by Mailey, pin cushion/sewing kit jars by Darcy,  leather and bead wrap bracelets by Gail, ephemera kits by Heidi, original Robot drawings by Gigi, Peach Cake goodness by Lisa, bookmark and felted pin by Tiffin, cute clay bobby pins by Melissa, vintage painted jars for trinkets by Heather, bookmark and ribbon tied candy jars by Rene and Kara.  Oh, and I gave everyone one of my t-shirts.  It was quite the swag bag!!  I can't wait to do this again in the workshops!  So be thinking about what you could make if you plan to join us in August!

So...I just have to show off these two girls, Kara and Rene.  They FLEW in from Florida to take the class.  I know, right?  So cool.  I have them hooked too.  They stayed with me Friday night in the guest room and headed back after class on Saturday.  Have I mentioned how glad I am to have this house now? 

So here's all the paint goodness from the day.  So pleased once again with everyone's work.  And truly hope that my technique inspires each of you to come back for more...and those of you that have not made it yet....to come on!!  It's time to PAINT SOMETHING!!

Of course I have to show a little Lily goodness.  She was super sweet after her running around like a crazy lady the first hour everyone was in the studio.  I think she likes PSW classes as much as all of us!

So what's next?  Well I'm just gonna spill it.  I LOVE TEACHING PSW classes.  Really.  And already have plans to expand on the course.  Including a PSW Chapter 2 for those who've come to Chapter 1.  AND......drum roll......there will be an overnight PSW inspired retreat.  Details are running rabid in my head.  I've got a partner in mind to help lead the event.  So maybe it won't be just painting, but more!  Just hope we can get it together for winter.  Winter would be the perfect time for an overnight create-in, right?  RIGHT!  So be sure to check in the tab above that says Paint Something Workshops for upcoming classes.  August will be posted within the next 2 weeks.