I loved the 70’s

Monday, July 22, 2019

I was a child in the 70’s so I come from an era of resourceful creativity.

Cool clip art, funky animation and lots of catchy song School House Rock surrounded me. My classroom cubbies were made from empty Ice Cream drums from Thrifty Mart. That spirit of recycled art was woven into much of our everyday experiences at school. Colorful paper chains and lanterns were classroom staples.
Finding these Eco-Labels as I sorted donations last week sparked memories and insight into who I am. I realized that imagery like this along with recycling things into new things as the labels promise played a big part in shaping me for good. They were so obviously 70’s, 1972 to be exact. Their graphic fun with an emphasis on recycling was part of a growing environmental movement back then. Encouraging the reuse of tin cans with the graphics contained therein were purposeful, practical and environmental.
My parents were born in the 40’s during World War II, in a time when reuse was necessary. Why did we ever get so far away from that reuse habit? It was so fun as a kid. I grew up steeped in my imagination because my surroundings always prompted it. We lived modestly in the 70’s when my dad was in art school. I remember us remaking a piece of aluminum foil into a crazy cat toy, it was the obvious thing to do. You’ve never seen such happy cats.
My public school education seemed creative as did the whole 70’s era. As I write this blog I become aware that I have built the studio on the fundamentals of my youth. That’s why it’s about open-ended creativity, resourcefulness and recycled art fun.
I’m not saying that life at that time was always easy or fun, there was a lot of turmoil during the 70’s. Somehow, the colorful, playful and creative expressions that surrounded our culture buffered the big stuff and helped round out the day to day. I am so excited to have found these Eco Labels, they have inspired me to connect with my roots and the endearing times of my youth. What do you remember about the 70’s?

Jemma W.
Owner

I Love Forky

Monday, July 15, 2019

I don’t know about you, but I am so excited about Forky! He is my kind of character and I think he is for kids too.
I knew when I first heard about this trashy character from Toy Story 4, we were going to be friends.
I love Forky.
If you haven’t seen Toy Story 4 you should. It tickled me to see a character made from recycled materials! The materials rescued from the trash can have become a mascot for what makes a toy a toy for a child.
Besides the physical materials that are involved in any kind of toy making, what makes Forky the toy he becomes is by intention. Bonnie, the little girl who now has Woody along with the rest of the TS gang creates Forky as part of a first day of school assignment. Though throughout the movie Bonnie isn’t asked what makes her Fork a toy, we know it’s due the spirit of her imagination and creativity that does it. After all that’s all that is really necessary when it comes to toys for a child, does it inspire their imagination.
Forky is a beacon. through this beloved movie Disney helps spread the word that a little creativity goes a long way even when you have limited resources.
I’ve always known that, it’s just so fun to see it on the big screen.

Jemma W.
Owner

Try Being Curious

Monday, July 8, 2019

Try being curious. The word curiosity has really been on my mind lately.
I’ve been practicing thinking curiously to keep me out of fear and worry. Those two seem to be old defaults for me. Through it I have come to appreciate the nature curiosity, it’s openness, always full of possibility.
It occurs to me that curiosity is a natural inclination for children. They wonder about things, finding reasons to explore, say, touch, smell and taste.

Curiosity is innately creative so it must be natural to all of us somewhere deep down. Possibilities open up when I apply curiosity. I like it said this way, “Once you open up that curiosity door, anything is possible.” – Teacher Scott Calvin of the Netflix show Stranger Things. On the show curiosity and creativity go hand in hand to get the characters out of trouble.
Lately when new people come into the studio, I even find myself talking about curiosity as I give an overview of the studio. “Get curious and explore. The ideas will come.”
There is something so comforting in that truth.

Jemma W.
Owner

Happy July!

Monday, July 1, 2019

We’re excited to create with you this month. We’ve got Camp CReATE and Camp CReATE TOTS, our Super Summer Slime Series with 4 great sessions of all you can make slime creating, field trip visits from two CVUSD campuses for Recycled Art fun along with our Wednesday through Sunday (W-F/11am-6pm and Sat/Sun-12-4pm) drop-in creating in our air conditioned studio and Parent’s Night out on Saturday, July 13th. We’ll start the fun with our Free CReATE booth at the 50th annual Westlake Village 4th of July Parade and event. Lets have creative summer fun together

Connection is the Heart

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Connection.
Tomorrow we start our week long half-day Eco Dollhouse Camp with the most important part of any home- the people who live there. That’s connection.
People often say the kitchen is the heart of the home but that is because it’s the place that draws people to it. The heart itself lies in the people who live there and how they connect with one another. Shame researcher, Brene Brown has said that connection is the ultimate human need. I would agree. We may connect in fits and starts but connect in a home we do. It’s how we feel love.
Connection, I would agree, next to food and shelter is the highest human need . It’s how we fit into this vast world. Connection was even woven into the idea that sparked my creating the studio, being one of the key elements to partner with creativity. I feel that connection and creativity go hand-in hand and elevate us. Whether it’s an individual experience in connecting with our own selves or a shared experience with the people in our lives on a creative endeavor.

I am so excited for this dollhouse camp because I believe it will bridge these two C’s in a beautiful way. Decorating a mini home and the people that live there will give our campers an avenue to create a connecting space for themselves as well as the family that lives there while making fellow camper friends and spending time with us, the studio staff. In these created worlds the kids can make everything as they would like it to be and when the week is done, they will take their creations home to their families and share connections with them as they talk about their amazing projects and their week with us.
Last week was a skill centered camp, this week is a connection centered camp. We can’t wait!

Jemma W., Owner

She had skill

Monday, June 17, 2019

My grandmother, affectionately known in our family as Darling was a sewer. She had skill.
She’s the reason and the inspiration for why I teach kids and adults to sew now. An art studio is not the most likely place to learn to sew but because of the way Darling taught me it was the perfect fit for sewing at CReATE. She taught me with such an open mindset that gave way to endless hours of my creative explorations at her machine each summer. I learned from her that I could sew anything I dreamed up so I did and I loved it. Because of that nurturing I have become a sewer for life. It is a skill that runs deep in me and I want to share it, hoping to pass on a lifetime shill of sewing for others.

Tomorrow begins a week of machine sewing for campers at the studio and I can’t wait to be a part of the unlocking of this skill that channels all kinds of ideas and imaginings. This week Darling, though long passed on will be in my heart and my memories as the hum of machines run and the sparking of creativity flows.

Dad

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Happy Father’s Day Dads!
We appreciate you and we celebrate you. Thank you for leading us along each day and showing us what can be.

Hello Summer!

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Summer is a mindset.
It’s certainly about time off from school and our regular schedules but also the warmth of the air, sunshine and longer days that just feel like extra hours. The essence of it really strikes me as an easier time to be in the now. To take it all in. Now is where creativity lies in wait, to be seen and explored. Well then, hello there summer, you bring with you so many gifts.
Applying our creativity to the things we do is a wonderfully curious way to make the days more colorful, more memorable and fun. Let’s share time together in the zone of creativity and let summer unfold in it’s lovely now way each day.

Yay for Thursday

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Yay for Thursday! Let’s get messy and curious together tomorrow morning, 6/6 at CReATE! Come join our Messy Toddler Art class at 10am for Puffy Chalk Painting and more!

Summer Fun

Monday, May 27, 2019

I can feel the spirit of summer fun approaching as school starts getting out for our area schools in the coming days. There’s something so special about summer and all that it invites to our days. Just the word means a change of pace and instantly calls forth thoughts of sandy beaches and sunsets.
I have my own warm summer feelings as we prepare for our summer camp programs, slime workshop series, our spotlight on shells and stones in June and Rock Painting fun in the sprit of the 4th at the 50th Annual Fourth of July Parade and event that finishes at Bernice Bennet Park!
This summer we are excited to offer two half day specialty camp weeks through our partnership with the City of Agoura Hills; the week of June 17th we’ve got a week long Machine Sewing Camp with a Stuffed Pal theme where sewers of all skill levels will explore and learn about the wonderful world of Machine Sewing while creating a stuffed pet pal along with comfy supplies like blankets blankets and pillows for their pals.
The week of June 24th we are hosting a recycled Doll House camp where kids will create and decorate the interiors of their big Cardboard Box house with all their flair and detail they can dream up! This is a great opportunity for kids to explore their inner designer as they create the perfect home with furniture and accessories they are sure to play all summer long!
The week of July 8th we’ll host our annual Camp CReATE half day camp series for kids age 6-12 with a different fun theme each day and materials to fit the theme as well as our signature free-style creating!
The week of July 15th we offer TOT Camp CReATE for kids age 4-6 with a different theme each day as well as materials that match our daily themes and free-style creating fun!
I am excited to have the Slime fun back this July with our Super Summer Slime Series each July Friday from 3:30-5:30pm where kids can make as much of a different popular slime each week as they have time for!
We are also excited to be partnering with Conejo Recreation and Parks District to offer a weeklong half day Recycled Art Camp Series with a daily theme for hands-on making fun from 9a to 12pm.
You can see all our summer fun listed on our Happenings page.
We can’t wait to spend the summer with your families! Let’s create!