Necklaces with keys have become a very popular trend, and look wonderful whether you’re using vintage keys or copies. I found these ones while visiting a flea market in the french countryside, and after a little scrubbing, turned them into necklaces. It’s easy to do, and fun scouring bead shops for things to add on.
Filed under jewelry
Graffiti In The City: What Will Stick To The Walls is a recent article about the Toronto street art and graffiti scene. I’ve been photographing graffiti and street art for a few years now, and provided photos for this article. It’s an interesting read that touches on a number of issues including a progressive way to deal with what is being seen as a growing problem.
Imagine gathering an eclectic mix of materials, bundling them together, burying them in your garden for a couple of months, and letting nature do its thing. What kid wouldn’t want to do that? This experiment with nature is called an erosion bundle, and can provide some very interesting supplies for collage making later on. It’s also an opportunity to show kids what kind of effect the elements will have on the materials, as decay and decomposition take hold. I first came across this idea on a blog called The Erosion Bundle Project and couldn’t resist trying it out.
This bundle was buried yesterday, and will remain there until the end of October, just in time to make a Halloween collage. So keep that in mind when choosing your materials, and stay tuned for the big reveal! Continue reading
Filed under Art and Nature, Erosion Bundle
Collections don’t have to be serious, long term commitments. They can be made up of a small number of objects that somehow belong together, with a theme that connects them. The objects above were collected on a recent trip to France. Each one has its own story, and will remind me of my time there. But collections don’t have to be holiday inspired. They can be the result of a walk in the woods, objects saved over the summer which tell the story of how you spent your time, or things inspired by a book you loved. Continue reading
Filed under collections
That pretty much captures how I felt about coming home from a wonderful holiday in France. I can’t seem to yank my head out of holiday mode despite reality inducing activities such as laundry and work, so until I get my act together and make some projects, I thought I’d share a few photos with you. This desperate looking creature resides on the magnificent front façade of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Continue reading
Filed under travel
We’re off on our summer vacation, and by this time tomorrow, would have already been bossed around for several hours by our GPS – tolerable if you repeatedly tell it to shut up, and your final destination is the french countryside. I will find my way back to post early August, and wish you all an amazing summer!
Filed under travel
It sounds like a disorder of some kind, but it’s nothing more than the ability to see a cat in the cloud above. Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (usually an image or sound) being perceived as significant. In other words, when you see a little face in a light socket, an animal in a cloud, or a growling mouth in the front grille of a car, that’s pareidolia. It’s about the mind trying to make sense of the abstract, and it’s a great concept to explore with children.
Filed under painting, Pareidolia
Cyanotype printing, also known as sun printing, is a technique which was discovered in 1842 by scientist Sir John Herschel. At the time, it was used primarily to reproduce engineering and architectural drawings. When the botanist Anna Atkins learned of the process, she used it to document plant life from her collection, and is credited with bringing the process to the world of photography.
The process is fairly simple. Chemically treated surfaces like paper and fabric are exposed to sunlight, a chemical reaction takes place, and you’re left with fascinating silhouettes on beautiful blue backgrounds. While this normally requires mixing chemicals, pre-treated papers are available, making it easy and safe to involve children.
Filed under Cyanotype Prints, image transfers
A big, big thank you to Mary Ann from My Pen And Me, for giving me this award. It’s made me very happy! Please take the time to visit Mary Ann’s blog, where you’ll come across some wonderful poetry, and experience her passion for words.
Filed under Awards
Remember the arcade video game Space Invaders? It was released in the late 70’s, and become incredibly popular in the 80’s. The purpose of the game is to defeat attacking aliens with a canon, and it’s these aliens that inspired French street artist, Invader, to make mosaics of the characters and place them in urban settings around the world. These little aliens are very simple to reproduce, and perfect for children to try their hand at working with mosaics tiles.
Filed under mosaics
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