Book Nook - Let's Make Some Great Art

Let's Make Some Great Art by Marion Deuchar:



This is one of the gifts our DD received for Christmas from us - we thought she would like it because she loves to draw and she's taking an art class, so it's just her thing.  Over her holiday break from school, she complained of being bored, so I suggested she get out her art book, which kept her busy for hours!

I know coloring books can be fun for kids, but I've always disliked that there is no real creativity involved.  The kids pick the color, are usually praised for staying in the lines, and that's all there is to it.  I don't buy these kinds of books for our kids, but rather give them plain, white copy paper whenever they want - a clean, empty slate for them to decide what to make.  I love the open-ended nature of plain white paper and so do they, because we go through a lot.

This book, Let's Make Some Great Art, is also a very open-ended approach to creating art.  The author gives you some ideas and starting points, but that's it.  The rest is up to the artist.  Our DD loves drawing her own comics, so it's no surprise that she found the "make up your own comic strip" spread and did that first.  Only the title is provided by the author ("The Missing Leg") and then 13 big boxes of different shapes follow, for your own comic.  Our DD did a story about a zombie!

There's a lot of different types of art projects in the book, besides just drawing.  One page gives you instructions on how to do a color experiment (involving a mirror, a glass bowl, paper, scissors, tape & a flashlight).  Another page shows you how to make a cool paper mobile.  There are a few pages with creative art using your fingerprints.  There are lots of activities using shapes and lines in unique ways.

I also love that the author incorporates some art history into the book.  There's a page on Jackson Pollock, for instance - some facts about the artist and an example of his style of work.  Then, there's a project on how to "make your own Jackson Pollock."  Some other artists (and projects inspired by) featured are Piet Mondrian, Paul Klee & Henri Matisse, to name a few.  There's a page on how the ancient Egyptians produced the color purple (many, many snails were crushed).  There's a few pages instructing the artist to draw on a plinth (draw something modern on this plinth, draw something made of glass, etc.).  What's a plinth?  This might be the first time a young artist is introduced to the item/word, all in a fun way.

And that's how the book goes - tons of fun projects (and facts) about art.  Anyone, adult or child, who loves to make art would enjoy this book.  In fact, our other DD already wants this book for herself, so I think we'll be purchasing it again (and then probably again for Little Dude). 

Stop back later this week to see some art projects that DD did in her art class this Fall!

-Cheryl   

Happy New Year

It's New Year's Day and that can mean only one thing in the Bach household......creme brulee!  Oh yes, it's a little tradition (or maybe better stated, excuse) to have creme brulee on New Year's Day (here's last year's post on the topic). 

Wishing you a very Happy 2012!  I think this is going to be a great year!

-Cheryl

Favorite shots of 2011

Over the past few days I've been going through all of my 2011 pictures to create a family calendar with shots of the Bachsters (I know, I know, I'm a little behind on the task!).  It's been so fun looking at all the photos I've taken this year - I was thinking that I didn't have many shots of the Bachsters, but it's actually quite the opposite!

As I've been reviewing my pictures, I've come across a lot of nature shots, too, and I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from this year.  I just love this one, taken at Conkle's Hollow in Hocking Hills.  I'm pleased to say that it won runner-up in  the OEC annual photo contest:

Another one of my favorites is the spider family reunion shot - taken in our backyard after the spiders were all very busy:

I just love photographing dragonflies, and I especially liked this shot for the colors and the graceful lines of the leaves:

I love big fat magnolia blooms, and was so happy that the Bachsters and I did an impromptu photo shoot in April, coming across the most beautiful magnolia tree I've ever seen:

This year, I didn't get in as much warm-weather shooting as I wanted, mostly because we stayed close to home this summer to take care of our new puppy (who weighs almost 80 pounds now!).  So, I did a lot of shooting in the backyard.  I can never resist dandelions - they're so under-appreciated!

And for the last one......this one is one of my favorite shots from the summer, but it's got some real technical problems that I can't seem to fix.  But I love the shot anyway!  I had an underwater camera & was at a creek shooting the waterfall from underneath.  After I had a few shots, I got up and saw this snake sunning itself just a few feet from me.  I put the camera low, almost in the water to get a unique perspective.  I was able to get only this one shot, and then the snake slithered off into the water and swam away.  I'm pretty proud of myself for at least getting one picture, and not freaking out about the big snake, so very close!

I'm really looking forward to trying out some new things with my photography in 2012 - and I promise to share my shots!

-Cheryl

Book Nook - Best of 2011

I just love year-in-review lists that come out in late December every year.  Best movies of the year, biggest news stories, most shocking celebrity moments, that sort of thing.  So I was thinking it might be fun to look at all the books from Book Nook in 2011 and give my 2 cents on which ones I thought were the best.  So, in no real particular order:

Best non-fiction book:

I just loved Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Domesticity (see original post here).  This book sort of comes across as a good friend inviting you into her home (a very comfortable, cheerful home).  Your friend offers you some tea and some yummy lemon cake.  You get to chatting about each other's latest knitting project or a favorite book.  I admit I didn't get a chance to finish the entire book, but I have a feeling Brocket is just there waiting for us to pick up the conversation right where we left off.

Best non-fiction, honorable mention:

One Year Off by David Elliot Cohen  (see original post here) has always been one of my favorite books and my re-reading it this year initiated a whole conversation with DH about how we would do One Year Off as a family & where we would go.  We're big dreamers, so this was a big topic of conversation for us for a couple of months.  Turns out, our One Year Off is destined to be nothing but armchair travel, at least for now.  But it's fun to dream.

Best fiction book:

I just loved Life of Pi written by Yann Martel (see original post here).  I loved how this book surprised me.  The first half is so different from the second half, and I didn't see any of it coming.  I love how intense the story is, how real the character of Pi is, and how the book permeates its way into your thoughts.

Best fiction book, honorable mention:

Actually, it's a tie.  A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (see original post here) and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children written by Ransom Riggs (see original post here) are both really great reads.  I thoroughly enjoyed these books & would love to (and plan to) re-read them.  Witches is going to be a 3-part series and Peregrine's ended in a very open-ended manner, so I'm hoping to enjoy the continuation of both of these stories soon.

Best children's book:

This year, the Bachsters and I have enjoyed several books by Roald Dahl - see this post about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach.  See this post on The BFG.  We're currently reading another one of Dahl's classics - more on that in a future post.  These have all been wonderful, fun stories that we've all enjoyed reading.

What's your favorite book (or books) that you read in 2011?

-Cheryl      

Merry Christmas

I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas & are spending your day with friends & family, opening lots of presents under the tree!

Merry Christmas!
-Cheryl

Winter Solstice hike

The first day of Winter was earlier this week, and we've decided to make it an annual tradition to get outside and take a hike to celebrate (although, as we decided today, it would be much warmer if we celebrated the summer solstice instead).  I love that this is a new family tradition for us, one that is completely stress free, takes no real planning and doesn't involve any consumerism.  Unlike many other holiday traditions at this time of year!

This year, Ranger joins our family, so we took our hike on a dog-friendly trail at one of our local parks.  It was a chilly day, but it was really nice to get outside for a bit.  There was beautiful, bright green moss everywhere, providing splashes of color among all the brown leaves:

And lots of fungi:

It was great getting away from the busy holiday season, just for a little while, to slow down and enjoy a walk through the woods.  And of course, we all enjoyed hot chocolate when we got home.....an integral part of this new tradition of ours!

Happy Winter!
-Cheryl

A sneak peek

Over the past couple of months, I've been working on knitting up Christmas gifts for the Bachsters, and now I am on the home stretch.  I'm happy to say that 2 out of 3 gifts are complete!  I've been working hard on the last one, but it's been a challenge because it's my own design (what was I thinking!).  Here's a sneak peek of what's been on the needles recently.

The first gift I worked on was a scarf & hat for our 6 year-old.  These were done in Grace Hand-Dyed yarn (see original post here).  The yarn is heavenly and I'm really pleased with the results (although the items are heavier than I expected - I guess that's the silk).  I did a box stitch scarf, and then improvised a box stitch hat to match.  Here's a shot of the prototype hat - I ran out of yarn, so my first attempt ended up looking like an odd headband:

Thanks to ebay, we have more yarn, and it's a proper hat now!

The next project I worked on is a vest for Little Dude.  I knit it in the round, which is the first time I've made a garment this way.  I loved how quickly it seemed to go on size 8 needles, knit-stitching along.  I learned the kitchener stitch on this project too.  Overall, it was pretty easy.  Now, I'm just hoping it fits him!  Here's a shot before I knit on the arm and neck edging:

A couple of weeks ago, a big box of Plymouth De Aire arrived at my door:

It's so light & airy & soft - DD is going to love her project I'm making with it!  And, thankfully, it's bulky, so I'm hoping it knits up fast.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

     -Lao-tzu, Chinese philosopher

Oh, and just for fun, I added a few hand towels into the mix, as gifts for my aunts!  One is complete, one more to go (maybe more, if there's time)!  The first was done on Seedling organic cotton yarn, by Classic Elite.  It's so soft and buttery, for cotton!

I'll show you all the finished objects once they are all complete & after they've been gifted.  In the meantime, wish me luck getting that last one done!

Are you making (or shopping for) any last minute gifts? 

-Cheryl