paint cut paste

i recently chanced upon this inspirational photo of these lovely sticks by an artist named ginette lapalme.

ginette's sticks

we had some sticks and driftwood hanging around our backyard, just waiting to become art materials… and i’d been thinking on it for a few days. i’m also reading a book on the shamanic tradition of holding council, which involves a talking piece – usually a stick. i’ve been dreaming about finding and embellishing a talking stick for my family and also for my work with clients. then blamo! – this picture finds me. the internet is so cool like that – providing serendipitous encounters and answers. anyway, the fire was lit under me, so i showed novi the photo to share the fire, and we gathered up our things: sticks, acrylics, brushes, palette, water jar, rag.

perhaps sticks we had won’t necessarily become future talking sticks, but i set out without that intention – just wanting to enjoy art for art’s sake and the fun of painting whimsical stripes and such on a natural canvas. while i worked on a big stick, novi had so much fun with the smaller ones.

she talked all the while about how she’d never done this before, and how she loves all of the new art ideas i come up with for us to do — how sweet to hear! (incidentally, she told me i am the best artist in alaska… which was flattering and all, but we’ve never even been there. ) it was a playful art-making session.

when working with natural materials, i like to (and this may get too woo-woo for some of you, but bear with me) have a dialog with the stick, rock, shell, etc. about what it would like to become. i feel like nature’s form really can dictate the lines, shapes, and colors, if we mindfully engage with it, observe, listen, and trust our instincts about the artistic choice we are making. i did this as i worked on painting my sticks, and i introduced this concept to novi as we painted. children are such absolute naturals when it comes to creating such a dialog, storyline, conversation – they are not self-conscious and are so genuinely connected to nature, so it comes easily. as adults, we have often lost that ability, and work to reclaim it.

novi's "ocean sparkle" stick

besides having tons of fun together, the visual results were magical.

the collection (sticks and stones)

my "heart chakra" driftwood

novi was proud of hers!

we decided to use embroidery thread to attach a feather to one of novi’s sticks.

and the most magical aftermath of all…

our artist hands

sure, it’s not innovative, but i just had to include our day at the beach this weekend, making art and fun out of the natural surroundings…

there were sand drawings…

no one is a stranger to the magic of a sandcastle…uh, or a sand alligator. novi and her daddy loved making this creature together!

novi took her time creating and adding to this rock/driftwood/sand man.

i collected shells, sea glass, and flat, smooth stones for painting – ever the beachcomber, i am. best art supply store there is!

there was plenty of kite-flying in the mix, as well.

novi collected driftwood on the walk back up to the car.

"mommy, i think i'm going to build a house out of this when we get home."

let’s see what else transpires from our day at the beach…

all of our days are artful… but not every day includes an “art activity” to share with you, per se. here are some of the creative and lovely things that have been happening around our house thus far this week that are worth a visual share…

chalk drawing al fresco

mushroom spotting

portraits in frames

momma's inked rocks in process

impromptu pen drawing on the grocery list paper

gathering flowers & herbs in the backyard (with matching pedis a la momma)

coloring mandalas

"hey mommy, i made a bear out of rocks!"

chillin' with a ladybug

flowers & the potential of unpainted wood

take time to notice the small things & happy creating!

on memorial day weekend, our family just had a little stay-cation here in northern california. one of the days, we drove along highway 1 to check out some sights along the coast. we rolled the windows down and cranked the alexi murdoch, and set out over the coastal range and through the redwoods to the beach…

when we arrived at the beach, we realized that it was a good 26 degrees cooler on the shore than it was 36 miles away at our house, so we threw on our jackets and scarves and enjoyed the sand anyway!

whenever i go to the beach, i barely see the vistas, as i keep my head in the sand.

that is, i am an avid sheller! and i think it is hereditary, as i got it from my mom and i gave it to my daughter.

we gathered some lovely little shells that day…

we spent the afternoon having a lovely organic lunch at davenport roadhouse and visiting the lighthouse at pillar point. (yes, i’m getting to the art part, but i have to share these lovely views with you all!)

back at home, we looked through our beach booty once it was washed…

many of the shells along that stretch of sand were like white Os, which begged to be strung.

("O shells" in bottom right section)

sure we made a necklace (for a friend’s bday)…

(and i was tempted to make 100 more)

but then novi chose some seafoam green embroidery thread, and we began to tie the “O shells” to it about 2 inches apart.

voila – lovely garland for novi’s bedroom as a reminder of her day at the beach.

i think we’ll make a strand with a new color of thread for each local beach trip this summer, and perhaps hang them vertically and curtain-like (hey, i’m a child of the 70s) in her room by labor day. but for now, this garland above novi’s bed is sure to invite some beachy dreams…

(p.s. my first sewing project since 1987 is over there on the left)

last year when i saw this post on one of my favorite blogs – 5 orange potatoes – i was smitten. isn’t lavender just the most heavenly scent ever? and these lavender wands are so easy, earthy, and elegant.

when i first saw the idea toward the end of last summer, all i had in my yard was very dry lavender, and i tried it out with that. it wasn’t all that attractive or easy then, so i vowed to wait until it bloomed again this spring.

let’s be real – this isn’t a young kid task. toddlers can help you pick the lavender, but it takes a kid of a few more years to do the weaving. (even momma thought it was a tricky small motor skills task!) as per the instructions, i gathered an odd number of stems of fresh lavender (anywhere between 9 and 15 – i did lucky #13 for mine!) that were at least 12″ long (or as long as you can get them.)

then i plucked off all of the leaves, rubber-banded the lavender just under its blooms.

next i followed 5 orange potatoes’ well-written/illustrated instructions and held the bundle upside down (blooms at the bottom.) i then folded each stem downward, one by one, to encase the lavender flowers. after i did that, my wand looked like this.

then i chose a 1/4″-1/2″ satin ribbon, and cut it to about 2 yards in length. i tucked the end of it in at the top of the wand (where the stems start to fold down) and began to weave it around and around through the stems – over and under. it makes a checker-boarded pattern as you go around because you have an odd number of stems.

don’t forget to pull it tight as you go. once the flowering part is covered and you feel like you’ve had enough weaving, wrap the ribbon tightly around the stems, then tie a knot at the bottom. i left a long tail of pretty ribbon dangling from it, too. then i trimmed the stems to an equal length.

these are the ones i made last year with the dried lavender stems, along with the new magenta one i just made. can’t wait to keep making more!

these make for a pretty and natural wand or sword for your little one to play with (and subsequently fall asleep due to the calming properties of the lavender,) or they make nice gifts for drawer sachets or pretty additions to a seasonal altar. i sent the fresh one to a friend for her birthday.

this is just the simplest spring thing you can do. paint a flower pot. plant some seeds. watch it grow. (couple this painted pot with a handmade bloom paper mother’s day card, and you’ve got a great gift to give those sweet mommas in your life!)

we went to a birthday party at a local art studio last weekend called celebrate art. one of the activities was to paint a small flower pot. novi got busy painting (with acrylics, i believe?) her pre-gessoed pot with a stylish color-block pattern.

once we were home and the pot was dry, we decided to plant some cosmo seeds in it.

we used my mom’s handy tip to put a flat stone in the bottom of the pot (to help the soil not run out of the hole when watered.)

then novi filled the pot with soil.

we sprinkled on the cosmo seeds.

watered…

and now we just apply more water, sunlight, (music – novi likes to sing to it,) and love and watch the flowers grow!