Thursday, March 22, 2012

blossoming

My daughter and I have always spent a lot of time making stuff together. I'm fascinated by how our shared creative process has evolved as she gets older...  for instance- using new tools (with very close supervision). Equally interesting is how much it remains the same. We love to draw. We sit together for a drawing session almost every day. Winding down in the evening... waiting for muffins to bake in the morning...

It's as good for me as it is for her... and for US. We have a "three pieces of paper" ritual. One for her work. One for mine. One for collaborations. These are all going simultaneously which keeps it loose and fun. The other day I turned one of my doodles into a stamp. I usually like to carve by myself when everyone is asleep, but I didn't feel like waiting, and it was just a little blossom anyway. At first, my daughter took my pink stamp scraps to work with. Soon she and I were holding a carving tool together. It's early for this. but I can see we'll be exploring more printing together soon.
blossom
stamp
printing together
I will be working on refining that little blossom stamp... it looks like it needs to be on fabric!
And here are some ideas for printing with children that we'll be revisiting:
-stamping with children part 1
-stamping with children part 2: pattern design

 
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7 comments:

  1. really lovely! I am doing a little stamp carving today, myself.

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  2. I've carved with my older kids. My 10yo had no problems at all once I showed him how to hold the tools. My 7yo needed closer supervision but was still able to carve his own design with my help. I blogged about it on my kids/art blog but I don't want to go leaving links in your comments and seeming spammy. :)

    My 7yo and I also attended a parent/child art class at the RISD Museum, and one day's class included camp starving. They gave us each a roughly 2x3 block into which we carved whatever we wanted. They were the greyish ones, not the pink, so they were even easier to carve (but not good for detailed designs as they get a little crumbly). But for demonstrating the process to kids of scooping out then inking what's left and making the print...really, it was great, very kid-friendly and accessible, and I still use the design I carved that day, which was inspired by a design on some textiles in one of the exhibits we'd viewed beforehand.

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  3. I love your stylistic blossom - just my style! Your way of working with your daughter is inspiring - you both achieved so much.

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  4. Love print making with kids! I'm a screen printer and my son-4 yrs- just started! We made Valentines cards together-of course his was a rocket ship. It's a great tool to teach life skills- print making is such a step by step process and in regards to screen printing- it teaches patience and having to wait (for the screen to dry)! Love hearing about other adventurous parents! My friends think I'm crazy to let my kids near my art supplies!

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  6. love this time that you share with your daughter. such memories and love being created.
    so inspiring...

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