Water Element

         Rain, wind, and more rain characterized this Art + Nature afternoon. 

It was the first time the weather insisted the artists remain indoors. 

Which is why we spent the afternoon wondering about the water that kept us all inside.

Smiles during circle time

Opening class with a circle, the artists considered the qualities of water.  

When I think of water, I think of...:

Wet
Drops

It comes out of our eyes when we cry

It is inside our mouths

Waves

Ice

When it is snow time, rain turns to ice

Snow turns into water when it melts

Iceberg

In the middle of the sea (South pole and Antarctica)

Water makes music when it rains

All the talk about water and rain made us want to go outside again and attempt a short walk. 

Running back to the studio for shelter

But it was too cold. 

So we turned back.

Warming up

ACT II:

Introducing the portable easel

Setting up the portable easel for the first time felt like pure magic. 

Silence descended into the room, remaining for.....about a minute.

The artists create a basic color wheel

It was a day of many 'firsts' including an introduction to the concept of a 'color wheel.' 

Mixing secondary colors before their curious eyes felt like magic yet again. 

One artist was so struck by its resemblance to a 'spin wheel' that she continued to refer to it as such throughout the afternoon.

Mixing primary colors

A couple of watercolor 'spin wheels' later, the artists embarked upon the most exciting creative exercise of the day: the building of boats.

Let the boat-making begin

All are welcome aboard including:
a pirate, a hippopotamus, an elephant,
and the Buddha :-)

Eventually exhausting all (known) available options for mounting a sail - glue, tape, clips - enter Museum Wax to save the day.

Museum Wax is a MUST for an artist's toolbox.

Its indestructible, easy to manipulate, and creates an unbeatable short or long term adhesion for the littlest or biggest of hands.

A towel serves as make believe water
for creative sailing crafts to float

Finding a pirate figurine in the collage box
was icing on the cake for this young artist

Who knew staying inside could make creative discovery that much more fun?