Love Lists

Challenged by Sherry Richert Belul of Simply Celebrate we made a Love List Tree in the park! Join us and give the gift of LOVE for the holidays!

 

After the After

 Stopped by our wish tree to see if anyone left any wishes in the branches with ours... and found the sweetest after of all...

Bitter Sweet

The last day of camp is always so bittersweet. Each time I forget how attached I'll get, how much I come to love and appreciate them for the little people they are. I am so thrilled to have had the time with the girls, to accomplish all that we did in a week, so have created art and memories, to bond with them the way we do. So the last few moments are hard. The good bye is hard. I get lots of hugs and it feels great to know they will miss me, too!


Friday was big fun. It was our field trip to the Montclair Art Museum. We spent a few minutes in the studio packing up our stuff and gathering our lunches and then we headed out. A minor glitch when I realized the museum doesn't open until noon on Fridays and it was 10 AM, but we made the best of it. We sat in the grass and checked out the statues (Madi thinks the big head looks just like her dad!), climbed trees, and talked about camp. The girls told me all the things they loved and we made another yarn circle to remind us of our bond as girls and artists! Then we walked to Aunt Jean's Toys & Treats to find Madi's dad's book If I Made A Movie, which she read to us with great enthusiasm. So we had a field trip within a field trip!

 Back at the museum we wandered through the galleries, marveling at the teeny tiny baskets and beaded dresses made by Native Americans, combing through the abstract art, and we even got to see the artwork made by the kids who were at camp at the museum this week. Some really cool ideas I'll keep in my pocket for another BraveGirlsArt session.... 

 We found a great nook in the back hallway with floor to ceiling windows and an amazing mural on the whole entire wall. I gave the girls mini canvases and paint pens and they got to work creating a painting based on a piece of the mural. The were all so creative and gorgeous. And the tiny canvases were a big hit! They also worked in their art journals and we talked and laughed and juggled until it was time to pack up and head "home."

Madi's bird-haired girl

Ella's gorgeous colors, inspired by the mural

Abby's vibrant apple heart

We had a great week!

I hope the girls loved this week together as much as I did. I hope they keep pieces of it tucked away in their hearts. When we made our yarn circle in the grass I asked them each to make a wish before I cut the ties. My wish was that each one of them always remembers how powerful it is to be creative, how great it feels to be a girl, and how brave they can be!

Learning to Deal With Loss

An impromptu project inspired by Maya Stein led us to make these adorable tiny flower boxes complete with inspirational messages this morning before we got started on our planned projects... 
DREAM BIG 
LIVE LOVE LAUGH 
HOPE
 Then the girls and I sat down to talk about how our ability and desire to create would be changed by loss. What if we lost one of our senses? We would certainly still be able to make art if we couldn't taste or smell, but what if we lost our eyesight? How would we create? Would we still have the desire to be creative? 
So we experimented. I blindfolded the girls and set them up with canvases on the wall. They were excited to help each other by holding the plates filled with paint. I cranked up the music (because we also know that our other senses become heightened when we lose one, so maybe some good tunes would be helpful if we could no longer see...) and the girls painted with their hands. Feeling the page on the wall, feeling the paint squishing between their fingers, feeling the music. It didn't matter the outcome, just the way it felt to be in the moment. To be in the dark and still feel motivated to make art. The girls discovered they could still mix color and they could still make something beautiful. The texture on these pages is what is amazing. Pretty powerful stuff. 

 
Next we discussed what it would be like to  lose the use of our arms and what we would have to do in order to find new ways to be able to paint and draw. The girls tried drawing with their feet and then painting their sketches using only their mouths. They found out how hard it is to control the paintbrush or pencil, but how incredibly satisfying it is to make marks on the page, to learn how to create something without their hands, even if it is abstract or silly. They were amazed that they could still be so creative without using their hands or fingers to make it happen. Ella had fantastic control with the paintbrush in her mouth, Madi and Abby mixed gorgeous colors on their paper and made beautiful brushstrokes despite being "paralyzed", and Grace laughed when she saw she could actually paint with her mouth, although she had to sit on her hands to keep them from jumping up to the paintbrush!

We also spent some time today writing circle poems and making totem jewelry. I thought the necklaces and bracelets would be a nice way for them to remember this week we have had together. I want them to always remember. 

I want Abby to remember sometimes you make a "mistake" and the thing you are creating turns out even better than you had imagined. I want her to remember how wonderful it feels to learn how to do something you've never done before and actually be great at it right away.

I want Ella to remember the joy of discovering something new. I want her to remember how generous she is, how she is encouraging and kind-hearted, and brave for taking risks. I want her to remember how it feels to leave the comfort of home, to meet new people and make new friends wherever in the world she goes. 

I want Grace to remember freedom. Play. Self-discovery. Laughter. I want her to remember how it feels to do something on her own, independent of her sisters, just for herself. I want her to remember how funny she is, how she lights up a room with her smile and how infectious her enthusiasm is. How good she makes everyone feel.

I want Madi to remember not to worry so much about rules--to let loose, let go of frustration, stop thinking so hard, have fun, and create from her heart. Giggle instead. Use her instincts. Trust them. Because when she creates from her heart, she creates beautiful masterpieces. Every.single.time.

I want them all to remember even in the face of loss, you can still have a brave heart.