A few weeks back I blogged about our experience with wet-on-wet watercolour, and concluded that we would try again with some better quality watercolour paper. I'm pleased to report that improving the quality of the paper has resulted in far more satisfying results. I'm trying to remember the specs of the paper I bought, I know it was Arches rough, I'm thinking it was 90lb (tho I get confused about the weights).
Here's Boo's watercolour gallery for your perusal..
I had a go at the Waldorf approach to watercolour painting a good while back here with mixed results (too early for Boo I think). Now that she's constantly trying out colour-mixing with her other art media, and with my having had a little instruction on the method at a recent parents evening at Boo's Waldorf preschool (rather psychedelic results below....), I thought the time was nigh to have another go.
Preparation is important; you need to lay out the materials so that the child understands that they must clean their brush in the water and dry on the rag between applications of different colours. We used Stockmar watercolours in the 3 primaries; an ultramarine, crimson and golden yellow. You can experiment with cobalt blue, scarlet red and a more lemon yellow as well to see which create the best results. You need a good quality watercolour paper. Ours was not really up to scratch and the results were rather more muddy than need be. The paper needs to be soaked in water in the sink prior to painting, and the excess water sponged off with a natural sponge, leaving the paper wet but without puddles or bubbles. It's also really worthwhile investing in a good quality watercolour (sable hair) wide short-handled brush.
I laid the paints out.
Boo seemed to take readily to the procedure of using the water and rag between colours.
And she was off...
After this painting, Boo decided that the crayons were coming out.
As we had the watercolours out, I suggested that Boo apply some paint over the top to create a wax resist. She was fascinated by the method.
I'm not posting pics of the dried watercolour paintings because I found them a little disappointing due to the muddiness, pointing to the need for a heavier grade, rougher watercolour paper. I've bought some quality stuff now, so when I get a chance we'll give it another whirl and hopefully our results will be more durable.
We have grappling for a little while here with the issue of the 'nature table' in the Waldorf tradition. We have been trying to maintain its tradition in our house, but it's placement has been problematic.
Our winter table and spring table were both in the basement... they looked nice, but we don't really go down there too often, so the purpose was rather defeated. If I placed the nature table on a surface in our upstairs living/play area, it was simply dismantled and played with.
Here's our Autumnal solution, a scaled-down nature display on our dining table.
Looks great with the autumn trees...
... and this morning, there were a few visitors for a morning pre-hibernation feast.
In addition, Boo has a whole box of conkers, dried leaves and fir cones to make use of in her play, with which she seems most contented.
We left Collage Collage the other day inspired not only by a great book and workshop, but also by their window decoration: printed white tree silhouettes with leaves collaged onto the inside. Window painting, thought I!
Our house has a lot of windows so we are spoilt for choice but I chose the sunny double sliding balcony doors at the front of the house. We stocked up on 'Posterman' pens at the art shop; great for glass, mirrors, and blackboards, as I remembered from my days of painting shop windows and pub signs for a bit of extra cash. They clean off pretty easily too so no worries on that front. Don't seem to come out of clothes so well though, so be warned when the little hands get hold of them.
I drew the tree silhouettes and some mushrooms onto the window, and the little hands got stuck in and added their own creations.
Then we hit the studio, and painted some pieces of dampened newsprint with diluted Stockmar watercolours in Autumnal tones. And yes, that's my girl painting in a tutu - I can barely get it off her since we picked it up at the Sally Army last week.
When the papers were dry, I cut them into leaf shapes and we stuck them onto the trees.
They look great with the afternoon late Summer sun flooding in, and as Autumn progresses, I think we may allow the leaves to gradually flutter down off the trees to the ground below where the mushrooms are growing in the dampness.
The shift to Autumn always seems to inspire enthusiasm for seasonal crafting around here; check out last year's leaf monoprinting and leaf collage.
A page is turning for our family too, as Boo today had her first day at preschool at the Vancouver Waldorf School. I'm so happy that she can spend some of her time in such a nurturing and creative environment, and I anticipate being continually inspired myself as a parent and 'maker of stuff'.
So proud.
Boo's play kitchen has been a slow burner. It started out as a 'top of the wardrobe cupboard' which we brought to Canada from the UK, only to find it redundant due to the 'closet thing' they have here. I made some cork hob rings for it. Last Summer Grandad fitted a door and a removable shelf to make an oven, as well as some turnable dials (recycled parts from a clock!). Then, last weekend, Dadda Boo created a sink, using a metal mixing bowl I picked up at 'Loonie Plus' and a 'reuse' tap fitting from one of our bathrooms after one of the taps broke. It's such a 'waste not' project, I love it, and a whole lot less cash was required than to buy a wooden play kitchen, which don't come cheap.
This project ain't finished yet. Unfortunately there is no second door for the other side (we think we burnt it!?!), so I'm thinking of putting a little curtain across. We are also in need of some little hooks for all the little utensils/kitchen towel etc. But it can definitely be called a kitchen now, and for that I am most pleased.
I'm most pleased to introduce 'King Winter' to you.
I made this little regal fellow at a workshop run by the ever talented Miriam www.juulsbellybutton.blogspot.com which I attended last weekend. Made from 100% natural materials, the head is sewn in a similar way to a small Waldorf doll, the body needlefelted from wool roving. His clothing is made from wool felt, and his flamboyant facial hair from unspun sheeps wool . I love the 'icy' dye of the wool cloak, I didn't do it, but Miriam said that you could do it yourself by applying dye with scrunched up flypaper. Sounds fun, I must try it sometime.
And here he is making our winter nature table look rather more impressive.
It's all rather ironic, having a winter nature table centred around snow and ice, when its been the mildest, wettest of winters here.
We are far more accustomed to this of late (view of Lions Gate Bridge if you can just about glimpse it through the mist)
Before commencing on our epic journey to the UK, I managed to get these finished for Boo's stocking...
I had some strange notion that Boo might dress her Waldorf doll in these clothes, but I'm afraid she's never enjoyed the favour that Black Bear enjoys, so of course these clothes were destined to be worn by him. I love knitting little things... so quick and rewarding. Babies, bears, dolls, such fun to knit for. Bear wears hat, scarf and trousers made following a pattern in 'Creative Play for your Toddler' (see my booklist), and a Waldorf doll jacket made from the free pattern available on Waldorf Mama . I was inspired seeing the tiny knittings seen on Little Jenny Wren for waldorf dolls, and the encouragement to just start knitting for your chosen doll (... or bear in this case) rather than following a pattern, has led me to start something else... we'll see how I get on. Perhaps bear will have himself a whole wardrobe shortly.
We have been Bisy Backsons this weekend. Boo was mesmerised by the magical puppet show and the gnome-sized creations in the 'winter wonderland' at the Vancouver Waldorf School's Christmas fair Saturday morning. In the afternoon we headed to some open studios at the Eastside Culture Crawl . Apart from visiting a few galleries it was the first time I'd seen local artists work in Vancouver, and it was pretty much like many open studios I've been to in London, with a few more misty landscapes thrown in (with conditions being as they are I'm finding myself falling in love with the misty vistas arounds us). I'm always interested in seeing work in paint, printmaking and the like that I've made work in, but what we really loved was the handcrafted wooden furniture, like that at Hartwood Creations. Dadda Boo is inspired to get into his wood workshop and get sawing and sanding.
It may be wet, but there is beauty to be found in the dark.
Sunday I finished painting Boo's room and moved her back in (pics to follow), so reclaiming my studio. Its just the beginning of development for each room, I have tons of ideas for making Boo's room magical and my studio inspiring and functional.
Work done, it was time for play. Snow play. Our local ski mountains have opened a month earlier than last year, so we glided up Grouse Mountain in the gondola with Boo padded up in her new snow gear. Dadda Boo started to ease himself back into snowboarding with a few bumps, and Boo just took it all in.
Last night was a 'bad night' in which Boo was screaming out 'can't sleep, can't sleep' from her bed, ended up in my bed (poor Dadda Boo retreated to the basement) and spent some time kicking me in the head before finally succumbing to sleep, only to wake up in a stinking whinging mood the next morning. With tempers frayed, surely what a sleep deprived mother and daughter required was a spot of watercolour painting? Watercolour might not spring to mind for painting in the early years, but Waldorf education espouses it for young children, using a 'wet on wet' technique. Boo will be going to a Waldorf preschool next year, so I figured it might be good to give it a go.
There is a lengthy rationale and description for this mode of painting in 'You are Your Child's First Teacher' by Rahima Baldwin Dancy, but I will try to summarise. The idea it seems is to move away from rigidity, hard boundaries and heaviness, allowing the colour to be experienced in its purest form, and for movement and fluidity to occur. Sounds lovely, I've always enjoyed the unpredictability of colours bleeding myself. So here we go.
I lay out all that we need:
Wooden board, good quality paper (mine was some overly expensive Fabriano that had got buckled in my portfolio, as I couldnt put my hands on any watercolour paper), watercolour pigment diluted in a small amount of water (I used Winsor and Newton), water jar, sponge to remove excess water, rags to clean up and a wide flat brush.
Baldwin Dancy recommends using one colour for a 2-3 year old, and choosing from red, blue, yellow. The rounded edges apparently deter the young uns from painting around the edge.
First the paper needs to be soaked - we did this in the bath. Then the excess removed with the sponge. Then it begins.
Thirty seconds later, Boo becomes more interested in the water jar, and at this point I wonder why I have even prepared it when we are only using one colour?! She enjoys turning the water crimson, and putting some of the tinted water onto the painting.
Ten seconds later and Boo is saying 'want the other paint'. I know the paint she means, the finger paint. So out comes the finger paint and Boo is pretty absorbed in that for a little while.
I guess the thing about the wet on wet technique is that is more of a visual process, watching the fluid movement, the artist slightly physically removed by the length of the brush handle. Boo is definitely absorbed by tactile sensory experience, the feel of materials on her hands and being able to manipulate them directly. We'll try it again, and I'm sure by the time she goes to preschool she will find it mesmerising, but for now its fingers in and let's get mucky!
