I'm back after 3 years

I haven't written here in almost 3 years! Man a lot has changed including another little addition to our family, she is now over 2 years old. However the art making and creating has stepped up a notch to 3 little art monsters and still an ever passionate Mum who breaths, days dreams and makes art anytime I can get a 5 minute break (read hide from the kids!). 

I am back teaching in a part time role in Year 1 and have finally embarked on teaching art classes to adults. This new post will be about these classes and the joy they bring me. 

 The first class I taught was creating a self care poster using chosen magazine images and collages papers. I was pretty excited but also nervous as to how it would all go and if indeed I had anything to teach anyone. Everyone seemed to get along quite well which eased nerves. All the ladies who happen to be friends as well created great artworks with the images they chose and the way they were all placed. I am always amazed at the different ways that people create and often have the thought "wish I thought of doing that!" Haha, the inner critic is always at work but she was grateful for the new ideas and inspiration!

Love the use of text!

 All words so powerful.

Together what a great collection of ideas and creativity. 

Hello almost Spring!

So it's been a couple of weeks since my last post and although I feel like some days I achieve nothing, looking back my photos tell me otherwise. It's nice to see some accomplishment within this busy life of being Mummy to 2 kids, working part time and looking forward to when my husband comes home next and when my parents return home from a 9 week overseas holiday in 5 days time!!! 

Going solo is hard work but I keep busy and keep telling myself "I can't do this but I'm doing it anyway". 

Today, the day before Spring the weather is glorious and this brings about a shift in my thinking and the promise of exciting events as the year starts to wind down slowly. 

Here's some more beloved photo grids of Mat painting her own canvas. I've been working on a big canvas lately and every time I paint she wants to as well (Can't really blame her!!) She made marks with stamps and collected objects like bottle tops then painted over the top of and around them. 

Most weekends we do painting on the easels and Jam always eats it and paints everywhere but they love it. I've been drawing mandalas inspired by another lady on instagram Emilylagore. Not really sure how to link to her but there's her name! Mat has a go of drawing and mainly likes to copy the "swirlies" as she calls them. 

I've also been working on some Love Laugh Collage work for people. Above are some birdies I made for a neighbour and I've also made a set of elephants, cars, more birds and a name canvas too! Check out my facebook page if you haven't already 

https://www.facebook.com/LoveLaughCollage

Last but not least my painting I'm working on. It's another reworking of an old one. I paint every few nights or when motivation strikes. I've actually added more since the last photo and don't think it's finished. 

I'm really into painting right now and am excited for the 22nd September. I've enrolled in a course by Chrissy C Foreman, you can find her here and see all her amazingly, delicious paintings and work

http://chrissyforemanc.com.au/

Can't wait to learn new techniques, spend a creative day with a friend plus meet some new arty people and PAINT!! Thanks Mum for taking the kids:) 

Another week down

Here's some of the things we've been doing over the past week. 

Got out the old high school cookbook to get some inspiration to make something different.....we made rice bubble slice, chocolate slice, scones until we ran out of margarine! 

We were going to make a gluten free cake for one on my Mum's friends who visits and Mat started to read the back of the  packet..."First we eggs, milk and cheese"...I think she means butter but I was impressed that she knew to read the back of the packet for the ingredients. 

 Messy Church was on this week at the local church. Messy Church is 2 hours of craft and activities for families followed by a meal. Mat and Jam were entertained for ages with GOOP!! YAY!! I had to totally change Jam and take off Mat's jumper which is still soaking. We then made some over the weekend at home and Mat was still highly entertained. I even used it as a bribe, "Clean up the books or we don't make goop" and it worked, she'll do anything for goop:) You can make it with cornflour but we used Lux soap flakes and boiled water. 

Our week is not complete without some painting or Jam eating paint!! He loves it!!! Weird I know!  Mat loves her water colours and they are less messy than acrylic paint. We painted recycled cereal boxes in the backyard which was another hit on a lovely sunny afternoon. 

This week in the art room had kids finishing off paper bag houses, stained glass windows, working on their mosaics, collaborative circle drawings and symbols of hope. I love teaching art and taking photos of their creativity. 

Mat and I painted some circles inspired by the link below. With my love for circles and experimenting with water colours and Mat's love for painting this was a great activity and very simple. She created the painting in the middle which I love!! Kids art is so carefree and colourful. 

http://smallforbig.com/2013/04/watercolor-painting-kids-art-diy-kandinsky.html

A bit of what's been happening

It feels like groundhog day around here a bit lately. My husband is still away and comes back when his work allows. The kids like the same things, Mat is still into painting, the sand pit, barbie dolls and their clothes. Jam loves trucks, fire trucks, monster trucks, the bin man and cement trucks. Anything with wheels really and has a cute voice when he says "monster trucks". 

When you're the sole parent doing the same things day in day out things can seem mundane and boring but looking back over some of these photos from the last couple of weeks makes me realise what great things happen in our lives. Things that make the ordinary, extraordinary! 

The kids were painting one Saturday morning and Mat asked for more paper. She pressed it up against her painting and told me she was "making a print"! I was so proud! This little girl watches everything I do, stores it in her brain and then either the same day or at later date uses these skills. She made her own print of her painting which I thought was pretty amazing and cool! This afternoon I was flicking paint off my brush and using my fingers to paint. I look up and she was trying these techniques too. 

Another thing she has learnt over this year is to wash her brush after each colour! This is a mantra at school each time I paint with a class. I was thrilled that a 3 year old can do this. Bless her little heart!

 Another afternoon we played with rice and soup mix in buckets. Mat was into it more than her brother but none the less it was fun. They fed animals and poured the rice mixture from one container to another. What fun you can have with such simple things.

  

One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to have a regular time to make for art making as well as start an art group. I have successfully achieved both of these goals and they are on going! Yay me!!  Above is some of my experimentation for my art journals or Artist Trading Cards. I meet up with friends from uni once a month and we swap ATC's based on a particular topic. By the end of the night we walk away with 8 new cards as well as new ideas, inspiration and for me an 'adult company' fun filled night. 

This is my latest painting. This canvas has been painted over about 4 times and the top left photo is not even the original painting from about 4 years ago. I have been inspired by many artists over the last few months- Flora Bowley, Kelly Rae Roberts and Chrissy Foreman C to name a few..... I read their blogs, look at their art work and have bought some of their books but that's about as far as it gets. Being winter I get lazy and just chill on the couch of a night time. I need to get back into painting and making art as I day dream about it  and have visions of images and ideas all the time! So just this very afternoon I started to paint and at first wasn't too impressed but went with it. I like the result so far but there could always be more to add. Welcome back painting, my old friend! 

Commissioned artworks complete!

A friend I used to work with own some cabins up at Stanthorpe and she asked me to do some paintings/collage for each cabin. She said when we last talked take your time which may not have been a wise idea for me as I like deadlines. I managed to fit working on them whenever I could and now they are finally finished!! I am excited to have them go up in the cabins and hope we get up there to stay there sometime soon. Check out her pages if you're interested in a nice getaway. 

I was excited about all the elements that I put into each painting that I decided to take photos of it all and use photo grid to put them together.

 If you want to check out more of my art work go to facebook

https://www.facebook.com/LoveLaughCollage

Possum's Hollow and Hooter's Hut Cabins, Stanthorpe, QLD. 

http://www.cobbncocabins.com.au/hooters/hooter-hut.htm or 

https://www.facebook.com/PossumsHollowAndHootersHutCabins?fref=ts

Kids will pave the way

I haven't written on here in awhile as I took my photos off my phone, planning yo write posts from the computer. Ahh yeah still yet to do that! So thought I would just get back into it as we did some fun things today. We also did groceries and I tried to get 2 toddler's to bed when they refused to go..there were tears, yelling, bedrooms doors shut and in the end only 1 child sleeping. The joys!!

This morning we did an activity off Mr Maker with kitchen towel and food colouring. Very easy as you just fold the paper towel into a small triangle, dip it into the watered down food colouring then carefully peel it open to let it dry. We made a tonne of these.  Next time I would use red too as we had run out.

This afternoon we started making collage owls which lasted a few minutes before Jam was eating paper and Mat started just putting glue on whatever but never stuck it anywhere. A friend of mine has a great phrase when her kids start to lose it.....They're turning on us" and that they did! !!

Jam bought cars to the table, surprise surprise so I got scrap paper and stapled together a car track. He was very happy with this and didn't even try to destroy it. Of course Mat wanted one as well, so hers was made of left over triangles.  They then decorated the tracks with stickers,  textas and watercolour paint.  Being 2 and 3 this didn't last that long as play school came on but definately entertained them for awhile.  While I type they're still in tact.

I might add too that while these photos always look like fun, which they are,there is also a behind the scenes. It looks a little like this.....

1. We start to make something and all are interested.  I think "this is fun, I'm a good Mum".

2. We add extra things that we find or the kids ask for. Someone is singing 'making things is fun' or another random song.

3. I remind Jam not to eat things eg. Glue, paper, paint, whatever we've been using. 

4. There are tears and usually Mat is still engrossed in what we're doing!!

5.  One of the kids loses it eg. Everything gets ripped/scrunched up, all art materials end up on the floor, there is squealing and chaos.

6. Mat is asking to do more or make something different. Mummies lost it and Jam has probably run away from the table.

7. I'm thinking "why do I do this?" Or "look how much fun they had". Depends on how many tears and how loud the squeals were!!

8. Mummy cleans up, lucky me!!! The kids run off to destroy something else:)

I do art with the kids as they enjoy it,  it's my passion and looking back at what they make warms your heart and creates a positive experience. That doesn't nean though it is all fun and games without the tears!!! A very wholistic experience all in all, haha!!

This week!!

This week we've had a market stall, a 2nd birthday and lots of art as always!!
The kids enjoyed eating cake, pushing buttons into playdough and drawing on the magna doodle.

I taught another kids art class which was chaotic but the kids seemed to love it. I think I've decided to make the classes smaller so it is easier to manage the space, control my 2 and enjoy myself more. I'm my own worst critic though so hope the kids have had a good experience.

Today we went to my Mum's house and Mat spent about an hour painting, glueing and sticking stickers. If you take a look at the last photo grid, she painted lots and lots. I said to my Mum that she can sit fully engrossed in art for over an hour but is a cyclone any other time at home destroying anything in her path. Art is obviously her thing:) Just like Mummy I guess!