Portrait of a Dotty Family

Some say our family are a bit dotty. I don’t know why.

(to make your own dotty Lichtenstein inspired self portrait, find instructions at Art Projects for Kids here)

Going Dotty for Lichtenstein

Ahead of our planned trip to the Lichtenstein exhibition at the Tate Modern, the boys have been learning a bit about Lichtenstein and his art. Today, we made tributes to Lichtenstein based around advertisements. Gman and I based our paintings on adverts from a food magazine, and Waif made his own advert for a games console. We used good ole sequin waste to get the dotty effect. What fun!

Here’s mama’s frying pan:

Gman’s knife:

And Waif’s games console:

Every Day in May #1 Something Bubbly

Over at the Every Day Matters group, there is a new challenge running for May. The idea is everyone draws the same thing for each day of May. Here are the sketch assignments:

1.Draw something bubbly
2.Draw a favorite sound
3.Draw something that represents joy
4.Draw your socks
5.Draw a pine or fir tree or eucalyptus
6.Draw perfume or a scented product
7.Draw something you got for free
8.Draw a coffeepot
9.Draw a lock
10.Draw something creepy
11.Draw some gloves
12.Draw the oldest thing in your refrigerator
13.Draw a pillow
14.Draw a figurine you have.
15.Draw a pencil, your favorite if you like.
16.Draw something that scares you
17.Draw something from a first aid kit
18.Draw the palm of your left hand
19.Draw something that belongs to someone else
20.Draw your favorite drink
21.Draw the last thing you bought
22.Draw a map
23.Draw a summer joy
24.Draw something that makes you laugh
25.Draw a tote bag
26.Draw a screw
27.Draw something sticky
28.Draw a jug or pitcher
29.Draw something from a pet’s point of view
30.Draw the inside of your closet
31.Draw a houseplant

There’s a Flick group here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/edmeverydayinmay2011/ and a Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/296443287101735/.

Wanna join in?

Here’s my first sketch for Every Day in May. As you can see, I didn’t have any champagne so went with the next best thing – washing up liquid in water

Colourful Faces

We have been having some more fun in a Warhol style! Mugshots were taken, desaturated and posterized in Photoshop, then printed out, whereupon we got to work with the acrylic paint:

Fun, fun, fun!

Blue Bob and Other Feline Adventures

Ahead of a family trip to the Tate Modern next month, we thought we would make a start on a Pop Art project. We have borrowed books on the library about Andy Warhol and other pop artists, and have scoured the interwebs for project ideas. First up, colourful cats in the style of Red Sam by Andy Warhol. We started out with instructions from Art Projects for Kids, but of course the boys ended up putting their own unique twist on the theme! Here are Waif’s cats:

And Gman’s:

And if you thought Mama wouldn’t be able to resist joining in, you’d be right. But I only made one, cos someone has to make the dinner, right?

A Spring Burst of Creativity

I reckon spring must finally be here. Not because of any great change in the weather, but because the boys have had a sudden burst of creativity. Gman has been designing his own board game, which I am pleased to report uses a hexagonal patterned board . I am sure he will be writing about it soon on his blog. Waif has been drawing more of his intricate little maps:

Waif has also written his first poem in a very long time. I am impressed with its rhythm and layout, but wonder if the subject matter reflects too much science fiction?!

Does spring inspire new bursts of creativity in you or your children?

Fun with Fungi

We had fun with this week’s Sketch Tuesday assignment, which was to sketch a mushroom. Even MM took part, so there wasn’t mushroom at the table (boom boom!)

Waif drew a selection of chestnut mushrooms:

And so did I:

MM drew a mushroom ornament:

And Gman put an incredible amount of work into his detailed sketch of a jar of mushroom antipasti:

EDM #178 Draw Something Red

I’ve had a bit of a break from drawing, what with all this sewing…but finally tackled another EDM Challenge today.

Yes, it’s another pepper. But what a fine pepper it is. An organic Ramiro pepper no less.

We Are the Robots

This weekend we have been drawing robots. As you do.

Here’s my clockwork robot:

And the same robot from my husband’s perspective:

Gman got out the Inktense pencils for his awesome Dalek:

And Waif has drawn what is quite possibly the cutest, most coy Cyberman ever:

Gman joked that, rather than the usual Cyberman chant of “You will be deleted!”, this Cyberman might be more inclined to say “You will be hugged!”

And no post about robots would be complete without the mighty Kraftwerk.

Mail it Forward

It’s great to get something handmade in the mail. Am I right? So, I was the first in line to put my hand up to Whitney’s pay it forward offer. In return, I am posting the same offer to my readers. The deal is:

The first five commenters on this post will receive, from me, during the year of 2013, something hand made in the mail.

I can’t say when it will be (but it will be this year)
I can’t say what it will be (but it will be something I have made – a card, collage, fabric postcard, small gift…)

In return, you pay it forward by offering the same deal to five other people.

Let’s spread crafty mail loveliness all over this world, and brighten each others days!

Hands up if you’d like some mail!

ps/ if you are one of the first five commenters, I will email you privately for your snail mail address – I don’t advise leaving it in the comments section