ART CAMP

My church sponsored an ART CAMP for

20 kids ages 8 to 14

I shared my time to show the kids

how to create an ART JOURNAL.

Embellishing our creations with words

that bring strong images to mind will 

stimulate the imagination giving further

dimension and depth to our pictures.

It will help to increase one's vocabulary,

powers of observation and self expression.

Increasing our powers of observation 

can have the effect of increasing

our AWE & WONDER of God .

It allows us to discover creation in a more

 intimate way coming to a place to

CONSIDER instead of Understanding.

I took the pages home to sew them all 

together on my sewing machine. Each 

child was able to take home a journal 

of about 10-12 pages with pictures 

and descriptive words.

This student drew her classmates

as she viewed them from across the table.

GYOTAKU WITH PRAWNS

My daughter and I taught the kids how 

to do gyotaku. The prints were made on

rice paper, glued onto a canvas followed

by wet plaster with swirls of paint at the 

bottom of the canvas. Before the plaster set

 the kids pressed in shells, sea glass and

drift wood. 

The last project of the day

was without instruction. The kids 

had the opportunity to choose  from

our boxes of shells, driftwood, sea glass and

paints to make whatever their imaginations

wanted to create.

SALMON GYOTAKU WITH DRIFTWOOD, SEAGLASS AND SHELLS

I have finally finished adding the

embellishments to my gyotaku.

I have the perfect place to display it with a generous

shelf below to create a driftwood beach.

As with any beach there are many treasures to discover. . .

limpets, oyster shells, clam shells, a crab, footprints in the sand,

and worn, bleached driftwood.

I have used my collection of seaglass and pottery found

on the beaches of Scotland and Washington state.

I have had these hooks saved for something special for decades.

I found them in an abandoned house in Newfoundland on the Great Northern Peninsula.

I'm guessing they are cod hooks as that was once a vibrant fishery in Newfoundland.

I used plaster of Paris to which I added blue acrylic paint. After mixing it well I spooned it out on top of the fabric. Before adding shells, driftwood etc. I added a deep blue acrylic on top of the spooned out mixture and swirled it a bit before adding my embellishemnts.

Gyotaku