paint cut paste

in the past month, i’ve been practicing with needle felting, as you might recall from my first needle felted fox project. i haven’t been able to share these creations with you yet, as they were all gifts. now that each lives with its rightful recipient, they’re blog-safe. along with these little felty friends, i’ll share some tips i’ve gleaned (often the hard way) along the way when feeling my way through needle-felting. and gosh, i’m sooo very green at this art form, so i’d love to hear from more experienced felters, too!

tip #1: purchase the thick, dense sponge to use as your work area. make sure it’s at least 12″ x 10″ as i tried my first felting project (the fox) on that tiiiny sponge that came with my needles. ack! many an injury. (those needles are wicked sharp!) here’s how i began a dove for two friends’ baby blessing ceremony altar gift…

sure, it looks like a seal at first (and i could totally begin a seal this way sometime,) but she later gets her wings and beak. (and a pretty handmade necklace, too.)

tip #2: when felting the body (the main base) for an animal, try not to make it too dense. wool roving is made harder and harder with every poke of the needle. in fact, you can make wool as hard as a rock, but then it would not be moldable once it is in that state. if the wool isn’t too dense, you can shape it easily with the needle, and sometimes even tweak it with your hands, just as you would sculpt clay. i am seriously amazed at the responsiveness of this molding medium!

owl for a 5-year-old's harry potter themed birthday

tip #3: you can create the body parts separately, and affix them to each other (or to the main torso base) easily. after they are formed, attach them to the base by poking the needle completely through the body part (head, leg, etc) and into the base repeatedly. by doing this from different angles over and over, the pieces will join. to smooth over the joint (and simultaneously strengthen it) wrap a thin layer of wool around it and felt it into place.

bunny for N's easter basket

tip #4: you don’t necessarily need a pattern to needle felt an animal. if you find an image of one you’d like to make (google image search works great for this) you can break the body down into its parts in your mind, like i did with the seal-turned-dove up there. there’s really no need to invest in a book or patterns. if you’re gonna spend money, spend it buying pretty wool roving!

improv turtle design for a sweet turtle-loving 3-year-old's bday gift

tip #5: have fun with it! the possibilities are endless!

now, please tell me your needle felting tips — like i said, i’ve only been at it for about a month (and three needle injuries) so far…

one of the staples of the waldorf kindergarten art curriculum is wet-on-wet watercolor painting. in N’s class, painting day happens weekly, on “rice day.” often days of the week are identified by the snack at her school, and every monday it is rice with gomashio. (i’m so addicted to gomashio -have you made this stuff?? i digress…)

N wanted to “play teacher” after a rainy school day a couple weeks ago, and decided to teach me how they do their wet-on-wet watercoloring in class. this was sort of impromptu so i didn’t set up our colorations liquid watercolors in the way i usually do, which is to put out some combination of primary colors (red, yellow, and blue… or cyan, magenta, and yellow, etc.) in baby food jars. i LOVE using baby food jars for liquid watercolors because i can put the lids back on them and save the remaining paint for another day. no wasted paint, and a good use for the zillions of jars i scored on freecycle.

on this painting day, we broke out our favorite palette of watercolor cakes and some student-grade watercolor paper. for intentional projects, we often use the heavy strathmore watercolor paper, and we also keep a large box of canson watercolor paper for N to use since she tends to blow through at least 10 sheets in a sitting, and paints often throughout the week. it’s not the toothiest, heaviest of papers, but you can’t beat $14 for 100 sheets of watercolor paper. we were all set to begin. the first thing we had to do to prepare our paper was to round the corners. all of the paper in the waldorf kindergarten has been pre-cut (by teachers) to have rounded edges.

then N showed me how to get our sheets of paper wet in the sink and how to blot them gently with a cloth before painting. she set up each of our painting areas how they do at school, and when it was time to paint, she recited the verse the teacher says as they wet their brushes to begin:

“the little bird comes down and picks up peter paintbrush, and peter paintbrush rests on the earth below. peter paintbrush dips himself into the well and dries himself off on the blue cloth and goes to play with the rainbow fairies.” 

then we painted together while N, “playing teacher,” sings the painting song her teacher quietly sings during painting time, which goes like this:

“rainbow fairies come my way. share with us your golden light today.” [repeat until your brain is numb.]

as i’ve mentioned before, all of the art in the waldorf kindergarten is marked with the child’s symbol (usually something in nature like the sun, a tree, a flower, a ladybug) instead of their name. because i did not have a symbol yet, N assigned one to me — i am the moon. i love that. so i labeled my painting as such, and included the date.

we generally paint (and make most projects) on a well-loved art board, but i saw this handmade painting board for wet-on-wet watercoloring on the waldorf homeschooling blog, and my new obsession is to make a couple of these for these peaceful times when peter paintbrush gets to play with those crazy rainbow fairies.

for the past three spring seasons, we have enjoyed watercoloring wooden eggs that we get from casey’s wood products, each time with a different twist.

the first year and second year we posted about this project, we woodburned eggs with the names of N’s friends and gave them as easter or spring gifts. this year, N intends to give an egg to each child in her class this week. in waldorf kindergarten, each student has a visual symbol that identifies their cubby, their coat hook, and each piece of their art work. these symbols have become important to N, so she asked me to woodburn the symbols onto each egg.

after the symbols were on the eggs, N was excited to watercolor them in colors that remind her of each friend.

after they were painted, we sealed them with our homemade wood creme. (see our recipe here.) i have to say that the imaginary play that ensued almost tempted me to keep the whole “kindergarten class egg set” for N to use to act out scenarios amongst her friends. it was fascinating play to witness!

but we’re sticking with the original plan and gifting these little lovely eggs to each child in her class, as well as two larger eggs for her teachers. (and perhaps we’ll create a kindergarten class set another time for home?)

we love this annual egg ritual because these are eggs that stick around year after year. i think i’m going to create a few story eggs for N’s easter basket this week, too.

have you ever wood-burned and/or painted wooden eggs before? what types to do like to create?

wool roving is quickly becoming one of our favorite art materials around here. N learned how to felt stones at school recently, to make them into colorful, fuzzy eggs for spring. she came home all excited to teach me and my husband how to make some, too. so we let her lead in teaching us this activity.

first we gathered supplies: egg-shaped smooth stones (we have collected tons of beach rocks perfect for this,) colorful wool roving, a bowl of warm, soapy water, and a towel.

each of us selected a stone with which to work, and we each chose a first color of wool. i wasn’t able to take step-by-step photos of this because my hands were soon wet and soapy, but it’s pretty easily explained and if you want a photo tutorial, there’s a good one here on lil fish studios blog.

we spread out the wool and wrapped the first layer around the rock until it covers the stone entirely. you can use a felting needle to close the seam here, if you’d like, but it’s unnecessary. then we dipped the stone into the bowl of warm soapy water. once it was wet, we tossed the wet stone back and forth between our hands. it’s a gentle, repetetive motion of back and forth, which can be very soothing.

kid hands, husband hands

you can even squirt some liquid soap into your palms for this part, if you’d like. after the wool seems to adhere together a bit, wrap your second color around the stone in the same way and repeat. you might not want to cover the first color entirely – it’s fun to see it show through.

back and forth

we chose to wrap our rocks with three colors each. after they were wrapped, we put them on a plate to dry. N informed us it would take “a whole day plus a night” to dry.

she was right – in about 24 hours our egg/rocks were dry… and oh so cute!

since we made ours as egg shapes and in spring colors, they are so wonderful with our spring/easter decorations! i’d love to make some solid color ones (like she did on lil fish studios) as pretty stone gifts, too.

large one on left is N's egg, small ones in nest are my husband's and mine

we just wanted to share a new little skill that N developed at waldorf kindergarten a couple weeks ago. it’s what she’s calling “fish knitting” — mostly because of the little ditty she says while doing it, though it’s actually a start to finger knitting. i’ll let N explain it to you in this brief video clip. (you may need to turn up your sound – this is a rare time when N is talking quietly )

the part that isn’t shown in the video is that you begin by tying a little loop at the end of your yarn, which becomes the first “pond.” N will soon learn more involved finger knitting at waldorf school, and i cannot wait to learn it from her when she does!

as you might imagine, we have a lot of homemade jump ropes circulating around the house right now.

as many of you know, our family has entered the world of waldorf… and as a new waldorf momma, i realized i might need to figure out this whole needle felting thing that always looked so fabulous from afar, but seemed so out of reach for me, somehow. i think i’m intimidated by fiber arts in general, but am warming up to it. alas, i’m here to happily report that needle felting is *not that difficult!*

N and i received a really great needle felting book for christmas that captured her heart right away because of the cute little wooly animals featured throughout. teeny. baby. animals. her weakness. so i knew it was time to get a needle and some wool and get stabbing, which i attempted for the first time a couple weeks ago.

when flipping through the book, i asked N what she would like to make first. if you are a regular reader of my blog, i bet you can guess what she chose — a fox, of course! (i’d recommend beginning needle felting with animals or objects that do not have legs, but this wasn’t all that bad to get the hang of.)

it really is a cool way of sculpting with wool. i was amazing at how the material responds to the needle and changes shape and texture quite easily. i found this to be incredibly satisfying.

i did poke my finger twice with the very sharp needle while doing this, so i was glad i tried this as a momma art project first. (still sore!) however, i have learned there are kits you can get for young children who want to learn to needle felt, and N certainly does! the magic onions also provides a nice post with ideas for safe ways for children to practice needle felting. i think i’ll open it up to be a mommy-daughter activity as soon as my own comfort level improves.

the fox in progress...

N was there beside me every step of the way while making this, cheering me along, “you’re doing great, mommy!” (seriously, it kept me going.) and also gently pointing out that, “this fox is looking kinda long… more like a seal. um, but that’s okay mommy. it’ll just be a long, long fox. i’ll still love him.” haha!

regretfully, when i made this fox, i didn’t yet have that large foam pad ($6) you see just above. see, you need a piece of foam to poke into. for the fox, i just used that teeny gray square of foam that came with my needles, which you can see two photos up. it was tricky, but doable, with the small foam pad.

N is LOVING her new fox pet, and has already asked if i can now make a smaller fox “because he’s ready to have a baby.” i’m psyched, because having made this fox shows me that you don’t really need the book or a pattern to do this. you can totally make it up as you go, but for me the book helped to give me the confidence and a reference and a good look at the materials. i now have two more projects in the works (from my mind, not the book!) so i’ll just be over here, poking away. hopefully not into my fingers anymore.

when i was a little girl, i loved setting up a special little place in my bedroom where i carefully arranged all of my treasures (usually magical stones!) and twigs and leaves i would gather from the yard. at the time, i didn’t call this a “nature table” or an “altar” but essentially, that’s what i was making.

creating sacred space has always been a particular passion of mine, so creating a meaningful altar feels soul-fulfilling for me. an altar is a surface (usually elevated in some way) containing objects of significance and a place to engage in whatever sort of spiritual practice fits for you.

personal altar. autumn 2008

a nature table is a place where the seasons can be observed and honored. for those of us for whom season and earth intersect with our spiritual practice, these can often look similar.

as an art therapist educated at a buddhist-oriented school, who appreciates art as ritual, and has a “buddhish” husband, we keep altars for meditation in our home.

summer 2005, in our meditation room

as ellen dissanyake speaks about, art is about “making special.” she says “this aesthetic ability.. enabled us to ‘bracket off’ the things and activities that were important to our survival, separate them from the mundane, and make them special. we took the objects and practices involved in marriage, birth, death, food production, war and peacemaking and enhanced them to make them more attractive and pleasurable, more intriguing and more memorable. we invented dance, poetry, charms, spells, masks, dress and a multitude of other artifacts to make these associated activities, whether hauling nets or pounding grain, more sensual and enjoyable, to promote cooperation, harmony and unity among group members, and to also enable us to cope with life’s less expected or explicable events.” i feel like altars and nature tables are one very concrete expression of this idea of art as meaning-making or ritual.

altar i created out of scrap wood & fan blades as an art therapy & spirituality project in grad school at naropa, 2004.

in my art therapy practice, i often have something of a nature table going, usually incorporating art materials to invite my clients into the experience of the creative process.

setting in my office circa 2004

when i facilitate an art process or art therapy group, i usually create a sort of altar-like space in the center of the circle. it includes natural objects and the art materials being offered that day.

self-care art therapy group for new moms - fall 2011

my family often creates small birth altars in our home when a close friend is in labor, bringing a baby into the world… keeping a candle lit throughout the birth to send love and light their way. (by the way, i often use my own art on my nature tables, as well as lovely inspiring prints and often these amazing soul cards.)

birth altar for a dear friend. july 2007.

i’ve blogged about how some of my art therapy mentors created these fabulous portable altars in matchboxes.

matchbox altar made for me by my art therapy mentors. spring 2005.

now, as a waldorf momma, ideas about the nature table have been brought from the classroom and into our home through my little N.

nature table set up completely by N - january 2012

i am inspired by so many beautiful nature tables i see around the blogosphere. i am so fond of the seasonal beauty mary beth of salt & chocolate brings into her home. she has an amazing nature table photo set on flickr. there’s also a nice waldorf-inspired group on flickr called “the nature table” with many beautiful images.

spring nature table, 2010

do you keep a nature table or altar? as you can see, they come in various shapes and sizes. they can live at home or at work, be made with your children or alone, small-scale or large, seasonal or not. i would love to see how you express yourselves in this way, so i’ve set up a pinterest board for this purpose. if you’d like to share your altar or nature table, post the link to your blog entry, image, or pin of your table in the comment section of this post. (and i’ll repin it on my board!) let’s inspire each other!

bowl of natural materials for art