WELCOME!
Thanks for visiting my art page!
This a simple collection of snapshots from a teacher-mom on-the-go.
So, please imagine that you’re looking through an informal photo album of sorts,
catching glimpses of life with my four sons and some of our good friends
as we’ve ventured into art-making together over our years of schooling at home.
ENJOY!
SNOW BIRD SCENES
FOCUS: custom paper design, cutting desired shapes, shape arrangement, brush stroke / paint control
MEDIA: Cut paper collage, watercolor, tempera
Snow Bird
By Inman, age 8
Like the bird itself, this piece is small, but complex! Creating designer watercolor paper, cutting shapes to make birds, choosing colors for background effect, layering papers, controlling brush strokes and splattering “snow” paint all combined to make this very satisfying result! Perch, rest, & enjoy.
PAPER QUILTING COLLABORATIVE
FOCUS: design, layout, contrast, color wheel, arrangement
MEDIA: cut paper
“Reflecting Diamonds”
By the 8-12-year-old group at our homeschool co-op
Students aged 3-12 worked hard to design their own unique “quilting squares.” The real fun came when we collated all of their pieces to create two stunning quilted mosaics!
STORY / WORD ART
FOCUS: illustration, expression
MEDIA: pencil, colored pencil
“Enough”
By Simeon, age 7
Drawing stories is important in our household, and I believe the story of Jesus is the most important story ever told. Simeon drew this in his scripture journal during one of our daily scripture readings. The speech bubble stops me in my tracks every time. Drawing what is in their mind’s eye gives me a window into my children’s hearts and draws us often into deep conversation. This is invaluable to me.
ARTIST STUDY: JOHN JAMES AUDUBON
FOCUS: detail, layering, shading, blending, contrast
MEDIA: chalk pastel on butcher paper
“SNOWY OWL”
By Inman, age 9
After studying the work of John James Audubon and working from one of his paintings to create our own pastel work, we toured a farm that had barn owls and owlets! Remembering our earlier work, we invited our friends to join in on a second chalk pastel project featuring barn owls huddled together in a hutches and hollows, this time drawing from imagination and focusing on basic shape and form.
30-MINUTE BRUSH DRAWINGS
FOCUS: personal practice, landscape
MEDIA: watercolor
Swali Window
Not my best work, but that’s not the point. The point is to remember where I was, to soak in the beauty, and to be content with the imperfections. Maybe I’ll learn something about technique along the way, from what went well or from what didn’t. The point is to do it, to try something new, to not be afraid.
ARTIST STUDY: HENRI MATISSE
FOCUS: color mixing, paper design, “drawing” with scissors, arrangement, contrast
MEDIA: painted paper, cut paper
“Coral”
By Elijah, age 10
Reading a pictorial biography and then taking a virtual tour of “Matisse at Tate Modern” inspired us to try “drawing with scissors!”
Holy-day Art
More Matisse! For our family observation of the liturgical season of Advent, we created these Matisse collages together to remember the root of Jesse (sprout), the covenant with Abraham (stars), the mother Mary (woman), and the angelic announcement (stars and doves). Also included in this gallery are ornaments we stitched to remember the prophecies fulfilled in the birth of Jesus.
BOTANICAL CONTOUR DRAWING
FOCUS: personal practice
MEDIA: felt tip marker
Fern
There is something therapeutic about contour drawing: not lifting the pen, training your hand and eye to be in near-perfect sync, trusting the outcome, not stopping to fret about mistakes, and stepping back to enjoy the changing thickness of the line as it moves. Simple. Basic. Satisfying.
ECO-ART
FOCUS: interpretive art, symmetry, chalk rubbing, neutral vs. color
MEDIA: chalk pastels
“Renewed”
Our group of friends visited a tree nursery that supplies saplings for the Kijabe Forest Trust. After this, we viewed a video called “The Man Who Planted Trees,” about a community’s transformation because of one man’s commitment to plant trees. The artistry of the movie was moving chalk pastels. This was our group response to the beauty of renewal.
COMPLIMENTARY CACTUS PAINTING
FOCUS: Drawing from a live specimen, shading, contrast, complimentary colors
MEDIA: tempera paint
ACACIA TREE COLLABORATIVE
FOCUS: repeated design, movement, balance
MEDIA: felt tip marker on butcher paper / plywood
Community Tree
By friends in Malewa
When we started this project, we didn’t know it would grow! As we worked on our individual trees, the kids suggested that we make one BIG tree! Brilliance! So, we grabbed a piece of plywood, more sharpies, and went to work, growing something beautiful together. If you look closely, you can see each artist’s name planted around the base of the tree.
GIRAFFE MOSAIC
FOCUS: adult lesson
MEDIA: scrap fabric pieces on canvas
EXPERIMENTING WITH ETCHING
FOCUS: design, pattern
MEDIA: oil pastels, tempera
“Phosphoresence!”
By Isaiah, age 8
The instructions were to fill a simple image with repeated lines or dots to create a pattern. Isaiah chose to depict phosphoresence, inspired by our reading of the book, “Carry On, Mr. Bowditch,” when sailors encountered the fright and delight of this natural phenomenon for the first time. I think Isaiah experienced a similar delight as his patterns and colors emerged from the dark sea of black on the page.
WEAVING LESSON
FOCUS: local artisanry, consistency
MEDIA: raffia
Meet Hamed:
We first met Hamed on a trip to Msambweni, Kenya. When he asked if we were interested in buying his woven mats, I asked if we could pay him for lessons instead, and I’m so glad he obliged! We ended up receiving far more than just a woven mat: conversation, laughter, encouragement, smiles, connection and a new skill to take home. What a wonderful teacher, fisherman, artisan, snorkel instructor, and probably so much more. Thank you, Hamed! Proof positive that art-making IS relationship building.
BIRD DRAWINGS
FOCUS: enjoying nature, drawing from photos, accuracy, proportion
MEDIA: pencil
Drawing Together
Modeling drawing and taking time to make art together means my kids learn to observe, engage in and appreciate the world God made for us to enjoy. Bird drawings are a regular part of our schooling at home.
FRESCO STUDY
FOCUS: simple shapes, plaster technique, image transfer
MEDIA: plaster, watercolor
“Tilapia”
By Isaiah, age 10
Our ancient history readings were featuring frescos. We were curious about why they’ve lasted so long, so we decided to learn a bit more about how they were made. After viewing a beautiful and inspiring short film on Italian fresco process, we tried our hand at painting on plaster. We did our best to mimic the entire process with our at-home supplies. It took some trial and error, we learned a lot, and this was the rewarding result!
