This is my Favorite thing!
Families spending creative time together engaged in the moment and the love of togetherness. I often say to families, the family that creates together, stays together. It’s a time when everyone can express themselves and feel loved and understood as is.
Togetherness is da bomb.
We Are All Connected Somehow. Right now, one of my connectors seems to be Joy Prouty, @joyprouty on instagram.
Years ago when my daughter Maisy joined instagram one of her early follows was Joy Prouty, she would tell me about her story, her images, her then only one young daughter and the beautiful family she had. One day Maisy came into our kitchen thrilled that Joy Prouty was having an estate sale and it was right in our Thousand Oaks Backyard! Until then she had assumed Joy was far away in another state with her lovely tales of family life. We went to the sale but didn’t connect with the Proutys’ then.
A few years later I met Joy as she brought her eldest daughter to the studio for a CReATE date with a friend. I told her about my connection to her family.
Years later still, during a birthday party at the studio I talked with a parent who was a photographer @erin_m_fox. She had trained under Joy Prouty. I loved that connection so I tucked it away in my memory to go back to someday.
Someday came recently when I thought about updating my website with fresh photos. Erin immediately came to my mind, so I called her. When she came to the studio to meet with me we connected. We talked about work, family, life and of course, Joy Prouty. When Maisy had told me about Joy all those years ago I was intrigued by what drew my teenage daughter to an adult mama. She was intrigued by Joy’s photography and her heartfelt story posts.
I followed Joy too then and understood what connected Maisy to her. Talking to Erin recently I understood what connected her to Joy too. It was humanness, kindness, realness, rawness and Joy’s relishing in the beautyness too. As Erin and I talked we shared some nesses of our own.
Today Erin came to the studio to shoot it in-action during a Birthday Party. I watched her work, she connected with people, with inspired views she had, I just can’t wait to see it all. At the end of the day I feel lucky to take note of the thread that is woven through all of us while connecting us all. That’s what it’s really about, being in the connection. Thank you Joy for being a piece of my thread and for weaving into my life’s story that connected me to Erin. I am sure the connection won’t stop here. After all, we are all connected somehow.
Noticing lots of graphic tees with art and creativity messages on them. It’s so nice to see these two forms of expression get some every day exposure and validity for all. After all, we are ALL creative. It’s great to see these images and words that parents can buy for their creative and artsy kids. It may seem a small thing but it’s a subtle nod in support from the parent seeing a key piece of who their kids really are. That’s a good thing.
We offered an impromptu half day sewing camp for a group of friends this week. It was so fun for me and I’m happy to see the kids liked it too.
We might just have to do it again in early August.
Stay tuned!
I loved Lexi’s poolside lounge chairs so much and they were so easy to make! Inspired, here’s Creating st home idea 16 for at home summer fun using resources wisely (as they say in Girl Scouts)
Make furniture from snack and cereal boxes!
All you need is:
A clean food box
A pair of scissors
1 roll or tape or glue
A ruler
A pencil
Here’s the example idea:
I had heard the term Wabi-Sabi long ago and thought, I totally get that. I understand it to be a Japanese perspective essentially focusing on seeing beauty in the flaws of things like cracks, chips or worn spots. Each of those marks has a story to tell or a memory to spark. A tea cup that is worn and cracked might convey an unfolding story of how many hundreds of cups of tea that cup held. How many quiet moments in thought and perspective or how many conversations had been had. I’ve even heard that some artists in Japan fill pieces with cracks with gold to accentuate the beauty of the flaw and it’s story. At home, I have a cracked coffee mug that is part of a set I love and chipped bowl that belonged to my Grandmother. When I see the chip I think of her and cooking time we spent together. I still miss my grandma. She shared so much of her story, her life with me. There is Wabi-Sabi in that.
I see the studio in a Wabi-Sabi way too, with our painted tables, paint dripped floors, even finger printed windows and walls. I reflect on how much creating has happened there. How many memories of proud smiles beaming, of thoughtful faces thinking as they create, of moments shared by families in creative time. It is a core human need to connect with one another. Somehow, a Wabi-Sabi mindset weaves into that connection while helping me see the beauty in what is. It keeps me present and appreciative of the past all at once.
Do any of your things have a Wabi-Sabi story to tell?
If I told you CReATE STUDIO had a distant connection to an Italian city would you believe it? Let’s go back in time the days of World War ll when a small group of people took matters into their own hands to provide the children of their town with enriching early childhood education with a curious, hands-on foundation.
Legend has it, they gathered everyday things (something we know a lot about) to use as mediums for learning and discovery. Whatever was around anyone’s house was what was incorporated I am told. The town of Reggio Emilia today still adopts original principals for learning through experience and connection in a curriculum also used around the world and known as Reggio Emilia. We even have a Reggio inspired preschool in our own backyard, Oak Park Neighborhood School. Reggio’s kind of child centered learning makes sense to me because I see it everyday as children of all ages create through their own curious processes in our open-ended studio. I am not of a mind to teach but I do find the Reggio spirit flitting about our studio without our even realizing it. It seems that natural materials are often used in Reggio inspiration today but in our case, cardboard pieces, tin cans and twist ties do a similar job of connecting kids to their own big ideas and explorations as well as in working collaboratively with friends.
Are you curious to know the Reggio mindset? I like An Everyday Story’s explanation and find our studio spirit echoed therein.
See what I see in kids, what your kids see. The next time you head out on a walk, notice what your kids are drawn to and see if you can keep a thread of that interest intact for a few minutes or the whole afternoon through conversation or creation. Was it about color, speed or texture? With your own curiosity you are on your way to noting the world through your kids eyes.
Paint and glue and creating with you!
Happy birthday to Hannah (5) and Zoe (7) who we had the honor of celebrating birthdays with at CReATE today! The open-ended creative spirit and messy freedom was our gift to share 🙂
Happy Fathers make happy days.
We’ve got reclaimed wood blocks just right for decorating for Dads world. Come in and make one your way, bring a picture to make it an awesome photo block!