Art on the Brain

We've had a bit more of an "art" theme in our house the last few months.  Cat made it known early in the fall that art IS her interest, and I've been trying to encourage her, as well as Jack and Eliza, to do more art.  I've also been trying to educate her about art more, getting some books from the library, taking her to an art museum, and doing some research on the internet.  I'd love to do even more of these, but for now, I feel good about the steps we're taking.

When Cat had been asking me about an art project in September, I found a blog with some good ideas
for children's art projects that are based on famous artists' work.  I decided to go with the screen printing
idea, based on Andy Warhol's famous work.  We talked about Andy Warhol, watched a YouTube video
about him, and looked at the art work that popped up on Google Images.  (Thank you internet!)  We even
had a short little discussion about Pop Art.  Then I gave her a collage I'd made using Picasa, with 6
pencil-drawn versions of her head and shoulders.  She colored it with markers, quite enthusiastically,
then colored the smaller one I'd printed by accident.  They both turned out really cool.

Eliza enjoyed coloring her own page of Cat faces.

Within a week, I was at the BYU Museum of Art with friends and saw that they had an Andy Warhol
exhibit!  There!  At the BYU Museum of Art!  Kismet, no?  I planned a Girls Night with Cat to go see
it, but forgot to check the times the MOA was open (I wrote about it here), so it took another
month before we actually saw the exhibit. 

When the big day arrived, Cat asked if she could invite her good friend Olivia.
Olivia is one of those children you want your kids to spend time with in the hopes that their good
manners will rub off of your children, haha, so of course I didn't object.

Why the name of the exhibit is "Think Flat."

The original Marilyn Monroe paintings.
I had no idea they were this big!

Listening to various albums, which Andy Warhol did the cover art for.
(Examples of the cover art are above and behind Cat.)

They LOVED the Silver Clouds.

I found it ironic that bottles of Coca-Cola were for sale with other Andy Warhol items in the gift shop,
since Coke isn't otherwise available on the BYU Campus.  At least, not caffeinated Coke...

Perfect ending to a fun night out with these girls - root beer floats at A&W. 

Soon after our Andy Warhol art project, Cat saw a Jackson Pollock painting
in a book or online.  She decided to replicate it all by herself.  I didn't even know she was
doing this, and therefore couldn't give her any instructions.  I like what she came up with. 

With Cat's art projects from home and school, and Jack's growing art collection from school,
I decided to make a simple way to display the art at home.  I decided on stick-on hooks,
with string tied in between, and clothes pins to hold the art on the string.  The upper string is
mostly Cat's art, and the lower string is mostly Jack's art.  Perhaps Eliza resents that she isn't as
well-represented in our (literal) Hall of Fame, because she LOVES to pull Jack's art off of the lower
string.  But I try to add her art as well, whenever we do art projects together.
Which apparently isn't often enough...

During Red Ribbon Week, Cat's school had a Dress Up As Your Future Career day.
She chose to dress up as an artist - and making the costume was so fun.
We used one of Ben's old white button-down shirts, an old piece of foam board with something
on the other side, and paint.  Oh - and eye liner to make a mustache, of course.

Ready for school!
And not upset about wearing something other than her uniform. 

Since we ended up painting the costume the morning she was to wear it,
I found several spots where the wet paint had rubbed off on the interior of the car.
Thank goodness for leather seats - it all just wiped right off.
PS> Doesn't she look like a French artist with those lips??

Some friends in the MBA Spouse Association put on a big Christmas Music Fireside in December.
Everyone in the family participated in the fireside (more on that later) and there was also an art showcase during the Fireside.  So, one Sunday morning before church (when we had 1pm church) I got out materials for each of the kids to make their own art.  I tried to take into account their abilities and attention span, and it ended up going okay, though Jack and Eliza would have preferred to be finished with their projects sooner than they were.

In the top picture, Cat is admiring the kids' artwork on display.
Left - Cat's "Christmas Tree" (oil pastels on posterboard)
Middle - Eliza's "Christmas Star" (watercolor on posterboard)
Right - Jack's "Joy" (paper collage on posterboard)

I think it's important for everybody to express themselves in some creative way on a regular basis, so it's been great to let the kids create art a little more often.  We started a new family tradition in 2013 just for that purpose: journal time every Sunday.  Cat writes and draws, while Jack and Eliza mostly draw (scribble?) and tell me what they drew so I can record it.  Sometimes the descriptions are short, but other times I am able to write down a full conversation with Jack or Eliza about what they drew.  So far, the things the kids write/draw about don't relate directly to the events of the past week, but that doesn't bother me.  For now, the important thing is that we are building a habit of recording thoughts and being creative.  Perhaps the record-keeping will come later?