Art Life Studio

We had a lot of fun making prints and ceramics at ART LIFE STUDIO, owned by Juli Schumann. Juli is a great teacher: energetic, patient, encouraging.

We saw the kiln and learned that it can get as hot as 1900 degrees when firing clay. We made some cool trays and used the print press!

We can't wait to go back!

Thanks Miss Juli!

Crazy Chain: Green Phase

We have entered the "green" phase of our crazy chain. This is because we have way more green and purple paper than any other color. So it's very easy to predict that we will have a purple phase as well.

We like to stretch out and watch a few of our favs over Christmas Break.

Yes. That's Lord of the Rings - the final scene of the final movie on the screen behind Superstar.

We are still far far far from being done with this chain.

Cheekwood: December Trains

Smile Miss Thang!

Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art had a special train exhibit from April to December. We were smooth enough to catch it in its final days.

Here's a link to the exhibit site.

Here's a link to Cheekwood's site.

We became members this week, which is very exciting for us. Membership is $75 per family, it includes free parking and admission to the exhibits, gardens, and permanent collections. We also get a member price for things like summer camps and special events.

Score!

We will share a post every time we visit Cheekwood, and let you know what we like about it.

So far, so good.

Artsplorer Approved!

Painting Party!

Superstar and The Mellow One are happy to announce the arrival of two new sidekicks to the Artsplorers family:

Danger D

and Miss Thang ...

These two creative kids have busted onto the Nashville scene ready to party.
So we introduced them to Mission Art Burn, and started them painting.

We have 9 sets of watercolor paints for kids. 2 of them are crap. They came in some portfolio kit that was made in China. The pigment barely tints a white piece of paper.
2 of them very good. We acquired them through a summer camp back in Cali.
The other 4 look like this ...

I got these from the dollar store. I gave them as party favors for Superstar and The Mellow One's 7th birthday party. I have no idea what company made them; the label says it was also made in China - but by a more pigment-generous factory. It works much better than the other cheap-o set. Except for the brushes. As far as kid's watercolor sets and brushes go - Artsplorers advises you to always use your own brush. We 're not sure if crap brushes are mandatory for kid's watercolor sets or what, but they never work. A decent - work for the wear - brush set costs less than a few bucks at any art supply store. Stock em up.

We pulled all the watercolors out last week, along with the stamps and ink, and had a painting party. It was great fun and it put an unexpected dent in the Mission Art Burn stack.

Plus - we got to hang with the new sidekicks ...

Looking forward to more painting parties with our new sidekicks!

xo

The Artsplorers 

The Crazy Chain: Day ... who cares ... we've already taken a break.

The crazy chain is going back to business, after a week of dueling doggies and this guy ...

Danger D ...

who is very cute ... but very capable of eating staples.

Crazy chain will resume now that Danger D is safely reorganizing his own cabinets.

We love you, Danger D. Keep being your own kid, buddy.

Review: Creativity for Kids Sparkling 3D Paint Activity Kit

This was a fun, messy project.

Seriously.

When I say fun I mean fun.

When I say messy - I mean put down lots of newspaper and get the wet rags ready.

This set of 3D paints comes with a few sheets of templates, some sun-catcher cut outs, and two thin, plastic page protectors that you can use to create your peel-and-press designs.

The recommended age is 6 to 96. I'm going to go ahead and raise that recommended age to at least 8. My 9 year olds had a lot of trouble wielding the paint at first. It comes out as quick and as thick as glue, depending on how big you clip the hole on the tip of the applicator.

But they got it after a few tries.

Another helpful hint in the instruction manual is to cut the strap that holds the tip cap to the screw on lid (to keep the lids from getting lost). We just taped them back to the side of the bottle instead.

You can use the templates provided. Or my artsy kiddos like to create their own line drawings too.

'

Lady bug and Leaf hanging on our window!

The paint dries sparkly and clear after a few hours - or more - despite the optimistic dry time of 30 minutes written in the instruction manual. The ladybug/leaf combo took overnight to dry completely. Let's face it though - 90% of kid users are going to load on the goo. Give yourself 2 days to finish a design. Start with a whole bunch of line drawings, and fill them in the next day.

You can fit several design on one page protector in one sitting and use the page protectors over and over.

Once they got the hang of it, the Sparkling 3D Paint Activity Kit was a blast. We read the notes on making beads and jewelry, and I figure that will be next on our list.

A fun Mission Art Burn Project!
And an easy review!

Crazy Chain Day 2

 Superstar won't let a day go by without some linkage.

The crazy chain is getting so big - we're going to have to put large sections in a box and link them together once we use all the strips. We're not even halfway through the stack. What did I get myself into?