summer art

Summer has begun!  I hate the heat, but I am looking forward to the change of pace with the kiddoes.  Though my work schedule doesn't change, we'll have more afternoon time together now.  And since The Boy can get along without a nap (sometimes) these days, we have much more opportunity to make simple plans this summer.  Hopefully we'll take advantage of that.

One thing I know will be a big component of our summer is ART!  And I know that because I'm not primarily responsible for it :).  The kids are both going to art camp this summer - every morning all summer long.  It's a simple, relaxed kind of camp at a small, local church.  The Girl went last year, and this year The Boy gets to join in the fun.  He's very excited, but he'll probably be the youngest there, so I hope he'll be just as excited when he gets home from his first day (today!). 

I also have some artsy kinds of plans for us at home.  First, I need to frame some!  Kid's art, that is.  I'd like to turn one wall of the playroom into a gallery of their art, but I've gotta get the frames and mats (homemade) ready.  My hope is that this will be a constantly changing and evolving kind of gallery.  I just gotta take that first step.

My favorite kids art is the art that they create on their own with whatever materials are available.  No real directions, just process art.  Too many rules can make our art time more stressful and inhibits their exploration and creativitiy.  Now, don't get me wrong - we don't paint on walls here.  But we do sometimes paint on bodies!

This painting is not for the faint-hearted!

Though I'm unlikely to give real art lessons at home, I have been impressed with some of the art that My Girl did in school this year.  And I love that they give us digital copies of some of them:

My favorite is that last one - the Van Gogh flowers.  Gorgeous!  And that snow-woman - the first time I saw that one it was taped to the wall outside her classroom with all the others from her class.  It was immediately apparent which was was My Girl's.  A fanciful explosion is about the best way to describe it!

I love, love, love that my kids are excited about creating, whether it's with paint or crayon or paper or legos.  It's always fun to see what they make.  I remember a mother telling me a few years ago that she didn't allow messy art materials in her house - only the mess-free crayola kind.  And I remember thinking, "But what fun you're missing!"