Growing Up Creative

It's ok to draw on the wall

No drawing on the wall
and why not?
You can always repaint it….
(we used acrylics and tempra paint)

I hope your sun is shining

tali

A new reason to open an encyclopedia…

Keeping with the theme of slowness…about a month ago I was honored to be a host blogger with Sharpie.
Please check it out, it offers a new reason for you and your kids to open an encyclopedia. Go to this LINK to find out more.
Stay tuned for a sharpie giveaway some time next week.

tali

 

Sparks: 008 drawing with straws, a great source of inspiration

Have you ever tried drawing by blowing air through a straw? The process tends to be random and unforeseeable, and the results are almost always surprising and truly inspiring.
After making some of those drawing today, Zoe and her friend Noam tried to find animals and good monsters within their abstract drawings. It was a little bit like finding objects in the clouds. Zoe found a snail and a peacock, Noam found a yellow skinny good monster, and my monster was running I am not sure where too.

^{Zoe's snail}

^{tali's runaway monster}

THE NEXT STEP was to bring their drawing to life by making a doll of their little creature.

^{Noam's yellow skinny good monster he calls Bubi}

This is how:

STEP 1
Making the drawing
You will need:
Plain paper
Straw
Liquid paint, water color. we have been using liquid paint form discount school supply, which is highly recommended for anything. the colors are brilliant, and they are washable. this is the link.

How to:

• Drip a small amount of paint onto the paper (a large amount doesn’t work so well)
• Using the straw, blow air towards the paint and make it spread. Add more paint as necessary, you may use different colors.

• Set aside to try.
• Try few more drawings while you wait. (Be aware… this is addictive
• Stare at your drawing try and find shapes such as animals and other creatures from your imagination

• Use a pencil to outline your creature. 
• Add some details such as eyes, nails, nose, fingers etc.

You may stop here and never go to the next step. But I really hope you do CONTINUE.

STEP 2:
Making your doll
You will need:
Some scraps of fabric (you may use old T shirts, dad’s old neck ties, etc)
Buttons and other embellishments such as yarn, feathers, etc.
Needle and thread (we used embroidery thread. it is very colorful and doesn’t get tangled so much)
Sewing pins
Synthetic acrylic filling (you may use fabric scraps as an alternative)
Background music

How to:

• Select the fabric you would like to work with
• Draw the outline of your creature-doll onto a piece of paper
• Cut around the paper 
• Pin the paper onto your desired fabric, cut 2 pieces back and front.
• Place 2 sides of fabric right side out
• Pin around the doll.
• Stitch around the perimeter of the doll. The kids chose to have the stitch visible as part of the character of the doll and purposely chose different colors of thread.
  
  
  
• Go all around the doll, leaving a couple of inches opening for the filling.
• Fill up the doll with either acrylic filling or some rags. make sure you get all the corners.
• Pin the opening 
• Close up with some thread.
• Add details such as eyes, mouth etc.

^{Noam's 1st sewing project ever}

• Show off at school or on growing up creative flicker group

Thoughts Variations:

The kids had a great time doing this project. the drawing part was a blast, and could be done on any rainy/ snowy day.

The second part of making the doll is a little bit more time consuming and could be a little intimidating for some parents to attempt. if that is the case with you, dont be afraid and just try it, keep in mind the great value in the process of taking a drawing, a fantasy and turning it into reality. and email me of any questions you may have.

over all it took Noam about 2 hours from start to finish (he was determined), Zoe is still working on hers.

After making the straw drawing, the kids may want to exchange and find objects and creatures in each others drawings, and use each others drawings as the base for their doll.

tali.

Sparks: 005 drawing inspired by reading

I remember Shoshanna was telling me that her son’s kindergarten teacher often asks her students to draw a favorite part of a story after reading it to them, this way she knows they will be tuned to the story and their mind stays in focus. I remember thinking how clever that was; she gets their attention and boosts their imagination at the same time.

The other day we were reading flotsam by David Wiesner (again), it is a story told in pictures only, of a curious boy who finds an underwater camera at the beach; after developing the film he discovers some fantastic photos of unreal scenes that are illustrated in a realistic manner, such as an octopus perching on an arm chair reading a tale to his little ones

 
oversize starfish as big as islands walking in the clear blue ocean,

a small oriental village made of shells mounted on to the back of a sea turtle, etc. 

Somewhere in the process of telling the story, I remembered Connor’s teacher and a post I have  recently read of drawing inspired by “The Little Prince”; I proposed to Ori and Zoe to make a drawing of an imaginary picture that could have been one of the pictures the camera took… the idea was a success.
A VAST world of imagination has just open up to us.
When we were done with the story we pulled some paper, markers and colored pencils, and we drew an underwater fantasy.

I always thought this book was wonderful, but trying to create an image inspired by the book made me realize how brilliant the author is.

You will need:
The book Flotsam
Paper
Drawing material

What to do:
Tell the story
Draw an imaginary picture that the camera may have taken
Discuss each other’s drawing
Hang on the wall

Thoughts and variations:
This activity could also be done with any other book and with any age group.
Drawing inspired by a story helps a child engage with the story on a deeper level, it encourages him/her to concentrate in the story and gain a better understanding. It increases creativity, noticing details, drawing skills, and helps with rendering thoughts and ideas onto paper.

Here are some ideas of what you may draw:

• your favorite part of the story 
• a place depicted in the story
• your favorite character
• a different ending
• an instrument or a tool that was used in the story

Some other books that you may use for this exercise:

• It's Okay To Be Different : draw yourself and how different you are (you may offer to sit in front of a mirror)
• The Little Prince : draw a planet of your imagination (see Berlin's Whimsy: summer lists)
• My Father's Dragon : draw a map of the Island of Tangerina and Wild Island; make a picture of the dragon (one of my favorite books)
  

These are just a few books that were lying in front of me, If you have any other suggestions, please add them in the comments below or email me.

Happy drawing

Spark 004: Drawing something you like twice

You will need:

Paper/ sketchbook
A drawing tool

First drawing:
Find and object you like to draw.
Sit comfortably in front of it
Draw it, as you like, no instructions or guide lines.

Second drawing:
Find an object you like to draw.
Sit comfortably in front of it
Stare at the object: study its contours (outlines) and shapes by moving a pointed finger from a stretched arm with only one eye open. Move your finger around the object several times as if you are drawing it in the air. Keep going till you feel comfortable to start your drawing.
Start by drawing the larger shapes
Move into smaller shapes
Add light and shadow
Simply draw what you see, just as you see it. In order to do that you have to make sure your eyes are constantly moving from the page to the object, keep your head steady. Don’t get ‘sucked’ into your drawing, the information that you need is in front of you and not in your drawing. Look for edges which describe shapes, not just an outline (an edge is a boundary line between two shapes).  Where a leaf bends it will form a new unique shape. Shadows, colors, textures can help define a shape. Try your best, the more you practice the better you will get, and keep in mind what my intro to drawing teacher – Donna Keegan always said: “it is not the end result that matters, but the process of drawing is what counts”

Lessons from working with Zoe:
Zoe is a strong minded girl who needs to do things her own way. When it came to drawing it was no different. So we came up with this system where she first draws something her way, once she is done she tries it my way. After doing this for few times, I have noticed how her drawing have changed, she started to incorporate things that we have been working on without my guidance. She is doing great at observation and actually looking and really seeing what she is drawing.
I don’t draw for her; I help her find the shapes and edges in the object she is drawing. We talk about what we know about the object, what we think we see and what is actually there. At the end we always have fun looking at the 2 drawings she made. Not for the purpose of identifying which one is better but simply to see the differences between them.
An example:
this is ‘Ketem’ , it is a favorite stuffed animal, therefore a great object to draw.

Zoe's first drawing of 'Ketem', I stayed completely out of her way keeping Ori busy.

After she was done with the first drawing, she started the second one. This time I was close by. She didn't move 'ketem' he was still in the same position as before. The difference was that this time she was looking at 'ketem' while drawing it, only moving her eyes between the page and the object. I interfered only to help her see the difference between what she thinks is there and what she actually sees.
For example:
1. She was straggling with drawing the body of the dog above the head like it appeared to be since in her mind she knows the body usually comes under the head. Once I pointed it out, she could see it.
2. She had a problem seeing the face features in relation to one another, location and size. I helped her locate the line under the eyes pointing out where it needs to be relative to the ears. Once she located the eyes above that line, it was easier for her to locate the rest.
3. The ears started as a smooth contour line. I asked Zoe what were the ears actually like, are they fuzzy or are they smooth. Once she had the answer she also corrected their contour to correspond with uneven edge created by the texture.

When I guide her I usually ask her questions about what she sees without giving her the answers, by having her come up with the answers, I know SHE is making the observations and she knows she figures it out herself.

Q. What should I draw? A. Draw something you like

So you read my post about keeping a sketchbook, and you actually went and got at list two sketchbooks, one for you and one for your child. You possibly warped it with a favorite fabric. You even got a brand new pencil (perhaps 'Ebony' my favorite kind) and sharpened all your old ones. You are ready, set, go…you have been ready for a while just a little stuck.

what now?
How to start?
What to draw? 

Well, anything in front of you, really, But that doesn’t help very much does it?!
“What should I draw?” is a common question for people who are just starting to draw. What I usually tell Zoe (5 ½) when she asks me the same question is “draw something you like” so she ends up drawing flowers, and I end up drawing her drawing flowers….

^{Zoe, Water color}

^{Zoe drawing an Anemone, water color. for meanings and legends of flowers go here}

^{a flower from mussel shells, Zoe and Tali}

Choosing something that you like is very helpful when you are just starting to learn how to draw. I remember my early drawing classes in high school, most of them where cubes and cylinders arranged on a platform, I was not intrigued at all. But one time we had a live model, that was the first time I wasn’t waiting for the bell. Few years later I have started taking a figure drawing class in adult education. I used to take the same class over and over again. After I have heard the same thing enough times, I thought I needed to draw with no interruptions, so I started going to open drawing studios, spent many hours drawing naked models from observation. There are many open studios like that in every city, and they are usually inexpensive. Now I draw anything at all, what ever is in front of me, my favorite though is to draw Zoe and Ori, usually when they are asleep.

Drawing what’s in front of you, or in other words - drawing from observation, is the best way to train the eye to see.

“It is in order to really see, to see ever deeper, ever more intensely, hence to be fully aware and alive, that I draw what the Chinese call ‘The Ten Thousand Things’ around me. Drawing is the discipline by which I constantly rediscover the world” Fredrick Franck, The Zen of Seeing, 1973.

Why don’t you pick up an object you like, something of interest to you, it can be your hand, a toy, a favorite stuffed animal, a flower, etc. place yourself in front of it (comfortably), look at it for a few minutes, only then start putting marks on the paper. Try not to move your head up and down going back and forth from your paper to the object keep your head still, Minimize the movement to your eyes only. do not get 'sucked' into your drawing, you should be mostly looking at the object you are drawing in order to draw it as it is. The information you need is in the subject matter and not in your drawing.
Simply draw what you see, just as you see it – this is one of the most important keys to drawing well.

I have been using a couple of books my self that i think are every helpful in learning how to draw and how to teach your kids how to draw. you may find them here.

Unexpected drawing lessons

It was such a gloomy day today, perfect to go see the Nutcracker, a production of the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in down town LA . What a beautiful show it was, such a great experience. Zoe’s favorite part was the rise of Sugar Plum to the sky at the very end, Ori’s favorite part was the little blue dog and playing with the chubbiest baby that was sitting next to us, my favorite part was the scene with the flutes that became animated and turned into galloping horses, faces and more. The great bonus at the end of the show was the complimentary ice cream, the freshly brewed coffee and the wall of working sketches of the marionettes by the bathroom. Some were beautiful drawings and some were scribbles of lines that meant something only to the person who drew them. Driving home from the show we planned our own puppet show (of course), starting with the story and moving to production. All of a sudden Zoe exclaimed “we have to sketch the puppets first before we make them”. That statement and understanding was already worth the standing inline for the bathroom. That wall was such a great example of seeing drawing as a tool for planning and designing, a tool that help one translate his/ her ideas from a thought to reality. So if you go see the show, don’t forget to go to the bathroom before you go home (the bathroom by the exit door).

‘SPARKS’ 001: Linear Scribbles (a great way to start)

This is an exercise Zoe did in her art class last week with Ms. Williams. I was very jealous, so this weekend we tried it together at home.

The exercise is great because:
1.    It is a lot of fun
2.    Children can practice their straight line skills
3.    Good way to relax, it has meditative qualities
4.    It always looks appealing, regardless of your drawing level
5.    Will ignite anyone’s imagination
6.    Can be used as a warm up exercise
7.    A great way to pass the time while waiting for food in a restaurant
       and on long flights.
8.    You can do it almost anywhere

You’ll need:
Paper, pencil, coloring pencils or markers

What to do:
Phase one - the line drawing: This drawing is made by a long line that never ends. It starts at the top of the page  and  travels down about half the page, then the line can turn left or right which ever way you choose. Keep on taking turns up and down left or right. Small stretches of line as well as long ones, which ever you like. You can fill the entire page, or scribble in a small portion of it. There is no wrong or right. If you get tired – rest your pencil, and start again from where you last stopped.
Phase two – coloring the shapes: After you are done, stop and stare at the drawing. Then you may start to fill in some of the shapes that were created by the crossing of the lines.

Thoughts and Variations: When I did this with Zoe on Saturday, we were lounging on my bed with a big sketch book open, she drew on one side and I was drawing on the opposite page. After we were done with the pencil part, (which you may leave the drawing at that) we turned the sketch book around and switched drawings, so she colored mine and I colored hers. It is amazing the things one may see in those scribbles. Because of the straight lines they tend to be very architectural and map like drawings. While drawing, Zoe described her scribbles as a map of Jerusalem, with walls made of stones. Slowly she started to build a story around the drawing by adding details.

Extra: This exercise may be accompanied by the reading of “Harold and the Purple Crayon” by Crockett Johnson 

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Enjoy
tali

“How come no one else draws?“

“How come no one else draws?”  Zoe was asking me after noticing that we were the only ones sketching in a crowded day at the museum.
After doing lots of reading in that matter this is a brief answer with some suggested links for more.

^{Leaving the Getty museum after a long and thrilling day}
All children draw
As infants we begin to draw before we learn to talk, we start by making scribbles. Around the age of two, children put some of the scribbles into definite placement pattern. By the age of three children make diagrams with single lines forming crosses and other shapes such as circle and triangle. Soon after that the child starts to combine the symbols and shapes into familiar line objects. At approximately four years of age the child does pictorial work. He/she draws representation of human, animals, building, vegetation and other objects. The objects then turn into depiction of stories and recording of events. The child starts to organize objects in space by adding the baseline for his/her drawings a representation of ground and sky. By the age of 5-6 all children are SELF TAUGHT how to  draw. As long as one gives the child art supplies, space to work and no constrains from adults, the child’s imagination will bloom. This age is referred to as “the golden age of drawing” Art Mind and Brain by Howard Gardner .

When do children STOP drawing - The crisis of realism
By the age of 8-9 schematic drawings become more realistic, and many children exhibit greater visual awareness of the things around them. As a result, they become increasingly conscious of details and proportion in what they are drawing. The need to make the picture look “right” leads to a crisis for many older children. In trying to draw realistic, children often get disappointed of their own drawings. They are becoming more critical in their graphic depictions and gradually STOP engaging in DRAWING activity.

(This is my sales pitch) - Why is it important to draw
Drawing is the BASICS to creative thinking. It is through drawing that one trains the eye to notice details and understand how things are put together and work. A beneficial self perpetuating circle of learning is initiated, observation makes better drawing and drawing motivates better observation. “I have learned that what I have not drawn, I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle.” Fredrick Franck the Zen of Seeing, 1973.
Most schools today don’t value the skill of drawing as much as they should, drawing is considered to be play and as soon as kids learn how to read and write drawing become an enrichment activity for about 45 minutes a week. This leaves us, the parents, responsible for helping our children gain drawing skills so they become CREATIVE ADULTS. For parents who can draw that’s an easier task. For the parents who claim they can’t draw, this is a great opportunity to learn it again, together with their kids. My brother always says that for him having a son is a second chance to try things he didn’t do when he was a child. Remember: EVERYONE CAN DRAW. drawing, like writing and reading, is a skill and not a gift.

Drawing development in children

'Young in Art' - a great article

What's in your bag?

I always carry - Keys, wallet, phone, an extra diaper and wipes, extra set of cloths for Ori, a sketch book, some writing tools, and a bottle of water. I used to always carry a sketch book with me when I was in school. When I began working I started neglecting my sketchbook and mostly left it at home waiting patiently for long trips and exotic weekends. I reintroduced my sketchbook to my bag when Zoe was about three years old. Going through some big changes in our lives, a child consultant recommended us to have Zoe draw her own feelings and everyday experiences. So she did. And I started carrying my sketchbook, which now became OUR sketchbook, everywhere we went (nothing is just mine anymore…). Drawing together led to some great conversations. As an adult I had the opportunity to see the world from a child’s perspective again, which led to a better understanding of her world. 2 years later the sketch book is still an integral part of everything we do. We all have at list one (except Oren who is focusing on his base guitar.)

What goes in the sketchbook?
My sketch book has - Writings, drawings of the girls, sketches of ideas I have, notes of things I want to make, phone numbers, email addresses, Zoe’s drawings, Ori’s scribbles. Tearing off pages is not allowed, what goes in must stay in.
Zoe has a sketchbook dedicated to flowers. We covered it with a floral fabric.  She fills it with flowers she draws from observation, some from her own imagination, she dries flowers and glues them in. sometimes its pictures she took, anything flower goes….
Ori's sketchbook has some great train scribbles and car scribbles.

^{Zoe's floral sketchbook}

Things to consider when buying a sketchbook:
I know this is not a house we are talking here, but please take the time in selecting your sketch book…..a trip to your local art supply store is defiantly worth it. (Pearl’s arts and crafts, Blick, Utrecht)
1.    Size - it should comfortably fit in your bag other wise you will never carry it.
2.    Binding - some like it spiral, I like it bound like a book.
3.    Price - I usually get the mid range kind. If the sketch book is too expensive I find myself conserving pages, which is not a good idea.
4.    Paper – depending on your drawing tool. Water color will be different paper than pencil and pen.

my preferred sketch book - 7"x7" or 6"x9" 

more about keeping sketchbooks