Painting Pottery

Day 169/366
Remember that pottery class we were taking before all things came a halt? We were able to complete our pieces by painting them. We worked outside of the studio and painted the afternoon away, enjoying the breeze and shade of the tent that Heidi set up for us. We can't wait to see our finished pieces after they are glazed and fired.

Quarantine Challenge: Paint a Beach Landscape

Day 91/366
I am not an artist and I haven't painted in... I can't remember the last time I painted something! But I decided today's quarantine challenge would be painting a seaside landscape, inspired by a video posted on the McHarper Manor Facebook page (you can also watch the video on YouTube). McHarper Manor has been doing a Facebook Live art project every day for the past two weeks and we've enjoyed doing a few of the projects. The kids and I each created a painting and I was actually pretty happy with how mine turned out. It's not perfect, but one thing I love about my painting is how the waves look. It was fun to try something new and create something to remind me of warm ocean breezes and beautiful seaside sunsets.

Make Some Art

Day 76/366
Sometimes you just gotta create some art, especially on a gray and gloomy afternoon with nowhere to be but the kitchen table. Enavi was well prepared with lots of Pinterest inspiration for everyone.

Pottery Project: Plates

Day 73/366
This was our last class working with the wheel and we made plates. All of us were very pleased with how the plates turned out. The kids each made two and I made one. I liked my first plate so well, I decided not to jinx it by attempting to make another one. I'm really looking forward to next week when we get to glaze all of our projects. I love the look of concentration I caught on Jevin's face. If the tongue's out, you know he's working hard at creating something amazing!

Pottery Project: Bowls

Day 66/366
Our second week of pottery class was really fun. We had a little bit of experience under our belts, so the process felt more natural. We each made two bowls and I was really pleased with how my first bowl turned out. Next week's project: plates.

Pottery Class

Day 59/366
We took a pottery wheel class at a local studio. It's something that has been on our list for awhile and we were really excited to try it out. Heidi, our instructor, gave us a lot of great information to get us started and the kids' projects quickly took shape. Today we worked on making a cup-like vessel and in the next few weeks we will also be making a bowl and a plate. I learned that I am not a natural at throwing pottery. My first attempt did not end well, as you can see below. Ha! Thankfully, the clay can be re-purposed for another project. I will hopefully do better with the bowl project next week.

The Hat Exchange

Day 44/366
Enavi is diligently working on her hat for the hat exchange at The Cat and Crow. It's been a challenging pattern for her, and she's had to start over at least once, but she's learning new skills and has kept at it.

Blank Canvas

Day 36/366
Time to create! It feels so good to craft something beautiful from a simple, blank canvas.

Christmas Program

Day 341/365
Enavi's fall semester of REACH wrapped up tonight with their Christmas program and art show. The program was adorable and we even got to see Nana Sue, Grandpa Ken and Aunt Carrie. We celebrated with dinner at Sugar River Pizza after the performance.

Knitting Season

Day 315/365
'Tis the season for knitting gifts! I started this project yesterday, with plans to gift it to a friend for Christmas.

Inky Landscapes

Day 103/365
We took another alcohol ink class tonight, with Carrie and Nana Sue. We learned how to make three different landscapes including a moonlit mountain range and a vibrant sunset. Even though we all learned the same techniques, everyone's art turned out completely different. I'm so thankful that we could spend the evening together, making beautiful works of art.

Recycled Canvas

Day 98/365
Crafternoon activity: transforming an old canvas into a new work of art.

Creative Canvas

Day 69/365
The kids have the creative bug! They both pulled out some canvases that they had previously painted on and decided to rework them. They used acrylics and spray paint and made new works of art.

Playing with Inks

Day 68/365
Today we took a class with Nana Sue where we learned to make abstract flowers with alcohol inks. The instructor taught us several techniques and we were able to make three different pieces of art. These are the kids' favorite pieces they made in class.

Doodle Crate Sculpture

Day 53/365
Enavi has a gift subscription to Doodle Crate where she receives a box with some type of artistic project by mail each month. Sometimes she works on the project right away and sometimes she saves them for a rainy day. Today was kind of gloomy and damp and she was really excited to pull out this sculpture activity.

Web of Yarn

Day 289/365
A few local yarn enthusiasts decorated parts of Main Street with some yarn creations.

Studying Form and Shadow

Day 277/365
The kids have been doing some really fun art projects this semester. Today they created sculptures and studied the shadows they made on paper. Enavi created a graceful ballerina.

Dot Painting

Day 260/365
As part of our study of Australia, we looked at some aboriginal dot paintings and the kids created some of their own artwork.

Center Ground Studios

Day 237/365
Jevin and Enavi have really enjoyed taking pottery classes at this local studio. Heidi is a fantastic teacher and her work is beautiful. It's so fun when John is also there, working on his sculptures. I love to see the "behind the scenes" art process.