playing for peace

driving from my son's day school to feed the fish at the gardens with friends mid-September, i noticed the local elementary school's pinwheels for peace (image above from the linked article) on their highly trafficked corner of the world.  there were at least 100 pinwheels blowing in the wind.  it was a sight i wanted to capture.  oh how i wished i had stopped to capture that moment on film, but alas, i did not have my camera.  i drove by again the next morning and the sign was in place, but the pinwheels were gone.  perhaps due to inclement weather, perhaps because world peace day has passed.  here's the official website for pinwheels for peace, started in 2005.

how can we capture peace?  my hope is that peace can spread with the wind (ruah), from one to another.  i love that this art is peaceful in nature and beautiful in movement.  it's rooted. while stationary it moves with the wind.  what peace moves through us this day?  

political statement?  yes.  here's a banner that moves with the wind, hanging from our porch. neighborhood children were aroused to talk about the election as i was hanging up the sign. it's that important.  oh the winds of change are a blowin'--winds of peace.  maybe we can bring forms of peace to ourselves and our neighbors.  peace of mind, peaceful nights' sleep, peace. that is my prayer.  peace, friends and neighbors.

firefighter man

jo loves imaginative play as bunnies, birds, firefighters, and all other sorts.  he's been excited about the "firefighter man" jacket that i saw on two straight lines gallery .  she was kind enough to point me in the right direction. thankfully the hancock's fabrics was having a super sale and we bought the pattern, materials, and some extra bias for my cape project.  i created the pants from a shorts pattern I plan to use for next summer's attire.  Jo chose the colors.  the orange was his first and second and third choice.  

here are the completed pants, which i think have a firefighter/construction vibe going.  i liked the addition of my pockets, bringing in the brown from the jacket and thick trim at the bottom of the legs.  he's enjoyed these already. 

we're making our gift bags for his various classmates and friends and neighboring trick-or-treaters.  we're adding crayons and we'll make some coloring sheets that will fit into these little bags.  a traveling craft bag for any occasion.  i need to order the best lollipops ever!  hopefully they'll make it in time.  we love these, but our local natural market no longer carries them in the bulk section.  i loved being able to purchase 5-10 at a time, especially when having something sweet is a real treat!

funny story.  because we purchased the owl cloth and the firefighter man fabric at the same time, jo sometimes replies that he's going to be an owl for halloween when asked.  too cute. i will need incorporate that into the jacket with a owl brooch!  better yet, make him an owl trick or treat bag!  

spider fun how to

one of the art activities that i developed while teaching preschool was this one.  i'm happy to share it with you.  marble art has been around for ages and isn't new.  i wanted to create a spider web using white paint on black construction paper and attach a cute little spider with it's silk to it.  ta da.  you can put yourself into these as well.  use a box top for the tub, or a cake pan (6" round seen here).

enjoy the how to. 

spider web marble art

materials:  dark construction paper or card stock, white paint: acrylic, tempra, or gesso (used here), paint cup, marble, spoon, scissors, pencil, string, tape (optional), container (box top, cake pan)

step 1. cut your paper to the shape of your container.  i traced the base of my 6 inch cake pan with a pencil then cut the circle out.

step 2.  place your paper into the container.  

step 3.  place your marble into the white paint.  i'm using the icing cup from cinnamon rolls. save these containers!  they have 20 uses for projects. 

step 4.  after rolling the marble in the paint, have your little helper place the marble on top of the container.  using both hands, roll the marble around by shifting the angle of the box lid or cake pan.  the marble will continue to pick up paint as it rolls around, so you can see a variety of thickness over time.

step 5.  remove the paper to let dry.  

step 6.  cut your spider from your dark paper or have your little one draw a spider on any paper and cut it out.  

step 7.  attach your string to the spider and the web. you can use tape on the wrong side or punch holes in each and tie your string (as seen here).  

once dry, your young one can pretend play with the spider web & spider, decorate with it, or create a game from it.  happy spider days!

garden glimpses

stop and look.  enjoy the flowers, food, and creatures in these images.  breathe them in.  savor the color.  now, make time in your day to sit outside or take a walk.  enjoy the goodness of nature.  breathe it in, and breathe deep (i hope it's all clean air!)  

every 6-12 months, i make a section of my "jo quilt", a 9 image square recording his growth.  i have one for each year and hand them out come the holidays.  currently i'm creating some squares of  jo's art from home & school, since there's no way to retain so many wonderful pieces, even if we had the space.  because i love how jo's quilt squares are visually, i want to keep little records of our yard in a similar fashion.  we'll have a variety of collections coming along.  back in the spring, i sketched out where plants are in our various beds to keep a record of what we do.  we've added plants and seeds here and there...so that's in need.  our spinach, broccoli, cabbage, and other seeds are coming up beautifully.  some we planted from starter packs from the natural market.  a gift for you:  glimpses from our yard & garden.  jo's pointing to one of the three caterpillars on the fennel.  a spider sits outside the back door to find later feasting on some smaller creature.   

i find such peace in the outdoors.  it's simply therapeutic to work in the soil, watch the growth, and then sit and enjoy.  we're three years into our yard and garden, which i see as one.  the bells and sungold tomatoes are still producing.  wow.  we've been really thrilled with the colors in our yard.  jo and i have devoted afternoon time each day enjoying all of the colors & looking for life among the lively plants.  we found the big spider, 3 caterpillars, numerous rolly-pollys and slugs, not to mention the flying creatures.  dozens of bees were all over the flowering rosemary, but i don't think you'll get that from the image above.  

my spirit is renewed when my hands meet earth.  i have a story that i share of growing up in my grandmother's yard under her wisteria tree.  when i was young, i would sit under that tree and dream, make mudpies, and simply exist among the buzzing bees.  i felt fearless among those bees.  this fall i have plans of retreating to the yard in a deeper form of spiritual practice.    i want to renew my sense of delight, along with writing or drawing in my sketch book.  yes, i do this already, really.  however, i think i may try the disciplined approach.  i want to do a project each week that relates to the world around us.  the small space of earth we share with each other and our neighbors.  

now i share my love of gardening and all things mud with my son.  maybe throwing pottery or making a mess painting is my form of mudpies, maybe i just need to wet the soil in the backyard and make a few.  i like to think that i find the time to make mudpies, delight in the earth, and to care for others all in the same breath.  maybe i attempt too much at once, but that's me.  multi-tasking me.

as busy as i sound, it's been a good week for moments of stillness.  stillness is a loose term, of course, with our hearts beating, bodies moving, bees buzzing, and a two and a half year old running around saying, "of course, mommy."  

of course we should enjoy ourselves among so much goodness.  of course.  of course we should utilize our space to grow food.  of course we should share our goodness with our neighbors.  of course we should delight in all of these things.  of course.