Long May They Wave

I almost did not get a photo of these before they flew away to their new homes. Two of my students have a new playhouse their grandpa built for them. I have been told they will decorate their new abode. Others have plans for camp sites, bedroom walls and one intends to festoon her bicycle basket with her new banner!

Summer Is Here

Summer hits full force after July 4th in these parts. I was hoping for a task that kept us in the shade and kept us cool. I remember learning how to tie dye in summer school. The day was hot, but the dye vats were cool and the hose was out and we used it to rinse out our projects and each other...

It was much like that day this morning, dye vats, sticks for stirring and lots of cool water. I hope these little ones look back fondly at this day, the way I do. 

The best part is unraveling your rubber banded mess to see what you made!

Here are the finished magnets, ready to go home. These were fun to make, easy and big hit.

Cinnamon Buns

As a treat, we made Cinnamon Buns in class this week. Not only were the children happy to follow every instruction very carefully, they were extremely pleased with their results. I'm sure there is a quiet lesson in that...Truth be told, I am quite impressed by my wee bakers.

Summer 2014

Oh, my. Why, why have I been gone so long? Life. Mostly. New roads with quick endings, old roads with the same endings. All along, I have been teaching art to wee ones. I will be sharing all that we do, and we do so very much.

Here is our Facebook link:

https://www.facebook.com/AlbertaArtClasses?ref_type=bookmark

This summer I am doing classes three days a week, we sing, we move a little, we bake a little and then we start a good long session of doing. Lately we have been immersed in clay modeling. I keep trying to introduce something else, but the children are engaged and happy and so creative, I do not have the heart to interrupt their flow.

All classes are held in NE Portland, Oregon and all classes are Pay What You Can Afford. 

A few of the mothers of my small students have requested a simple sewing class and craft class for adults. I will announce that schedule soon. 

Art Saves Lives

Adult Classes

The First Pillow

A Second

 Pillow

A Beautiful Bag Was Made Too!

The Cutest Quilt In The World!

A Little Hand Embroidery Makes It Better

Did you know that Alberta Art Classes has offerings for adults as well? We are also open to bartering services, being Pay What You Can Afford and all...

I am presently bartering ukulele lessons for sewing lessons. My student started with a small quilt style pillow in which I cut the squares and helped her along. The first pillow is that cute green number!

The next week, another pillow was in order for a gift. This time, she did nearly all of the work herself with only moderate supervision. The company is nice too. Like a Sewing Circle.

All of that sewing inspired me. I pulled out some cute Liberty of London fabric I have been saving, clearly for this project...I stitched this quick baby quilt. It came together like a breeze. I took this as sign that this will be a good, well behaved babykins. I wasn't too worried about perfection in this case, as it will have lots of spit up and the like on it. I wanted the new mama to be able to throw it into the washer and not have to be too fussy about it. I like it. I think it came out really cute.

Spring! Oh, Lovely, Spring!

Freshly Felted Tulip Cups

Sweet. Sweet. Sweet.

I Added A Few Felt Leaves

And A Wee Flower Fairy

The world is busting out from its slumber. There are little signs everywhere, bobbing daffodil heads, brave little crocus' making the first move! At Alberta Art Classes, we are following suit. New bulbs have blossomed here as well. Take a look!

Pinch Pot Painting

Ready To Go!

 Helping Hands

The One On The Left Matches The Blog! The Bonus Painting Was The Paper Underneath!

Blue

Painting The Inside Blue

This week at Alberta Art Classes, we painted the clay pots we sculpted last week. These pots will not be fired, just sealed. This makes for a quick project with very satisfying results for me and the children! We started with three pre-sized bits of clay. Starting with a smaller piece allows the fingers to limber up a little bit, we then shaped a small bowl. The children moved to the medium size, to the large, gaining dexterity and confidence so that working with a large bit of clay was not too difficult. This exercise also visually demonstrates small, medium and large. The best part? So fun.

I like to use old plates as pallets, easy clean-up, re-use. Perfect.