Day Five : Closing Ceremony

"Let the paths of your fingertips be your maps
and the ways you go be the lines on your palms."

- Ursula Le Guin

When the girls arrived they began adding details to their art journals.  When our circle was complete we presented morning gifts, mini alpha stamps and glitter glue.  Once everyone settled in we began our writing prompts for our art journals.

Prompt # 1 (inspired by artist, Penelope Dulligan who does this exercise with her daughter about the parts of her day):

I asked the girls to imagine a flower which rests upon a thorny stem.  Upon it there is also one bud waiting to bloom.   I asked them to draw this flower in their art journals.  Next we named the parts. 

I explained that the flower represents the good things happening in their lives right now, things that make them happy.  Beside the flower, I asked them to write a word or two about something they are grateful for.  Next I asked the girls what the thorny part might represent and they immediately answered, "things that hurt".  "YES", I replied, "hurt, anger, fear...now name thorns".   Lastly, I asked what the unopened bud might represent.  The girls answered, "something waiting to bloom or happen".  "Yes", I replied, "now write about something you are looking forward to or waiting for".

Prompt # 2:

I asked the girls to close their eyes and place both hands upon their open journal.  I asked them to think about the Ursual Le Guin poem that I read to them on the first day.  I asked them to think about the lines of their hands and imagine that their hands are maps.  Next I asked them to open their eyes and trace both their hands onto the journal.  The left hand is to represent what is held in the past.  The right hand is to represent what the future may hold.  I asked them to draw symbols or write words that maps the past - AND - to try to imagine possibilities for the future and map that too.

After we completed our writing prompts the girls created a transfer print onto the shipping tags that they will exchange in the closing ceremony.

We said goodbye the same way we said hello, in circle and honoring our ancestors that brought us here.  We finished the morning with a pizza party.

First, a heartfelt thank you, to Chelsea and Grace for their hard work in making this happen.  Thank you to my son, for carving all those walking sticks.  Thank you to Robert, for bringing the pizza and for taking care our son.  AND thank you to the parents for inviting these Mighty Girls into being!!!


Dear Mighty Girls,

What a joy this week has been... to witness your creative process and your sense of wonder.  It was inspiring to witness the way you challenge yourselves to try new things, and learn new skills.   I will miss you all so very much. 

Parents, thank you for blessing us with the gift of your daughters.  It was an honor to work with them.

Also, know that my studio door and my heart will always be open to you.  If you find yourself in my neck of the woods, please stop by. 

Until then...
Walk fearlessly, well-loved one.

Made so & rooted by love,
Wendy

Here are some really cool things to do before school starts...

• Don't for get to watch the Perseid Meteor shower this weekend!
• Super fun Wild Art at Lewis Ginter in Richmond.
• Here's a really amazing art exhibit you MUST see! 
• Weird things that happen during the solar eclipse.

Day Four : Hundred of Ways

“Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."
- Rumi

We began the day with morning gifts.  Today's gift came from the generous folks at Natural Life.   Natural Life was founded by Patti Hughes, a woman with a passion for making things.  Her product line includes clothing, accessories, home decor and keepsake gifts with an artistic flair.  This morning the girls received little coin purses and stickers.  Thank you, Natural Life! 

The girls got right to work on their journals.  Today they explored the use of collage and ephemera in their art journals.  Two of our Mighty Girls discussed vision boards and how to make them so the girls could explore vision boards in their art journals.  The purpose of a vision board is to bring your imagination to life.  We use images or symbols for things we might like to achieve or places that we would like to visit and create a visual touchstone of hopes and dreams.

While the journals dried in the sun, we took a hike to the creek.

When we returned, we began our secondary projec - Wayfinder Bracelets.  Yesterday we made beads from old maps and storybook pages.  Today we began stringing them.  We added additional beads and charms.

Dear Mighty Girls,

I can hardly believe tomorrow is our last day of camp.  Tomorrow we put finishing touches on our journals and we will explore writing prompts.  Also, please remember to bring your tags with you tomorrow as we will be decorating them and exchanging them during the closing ceremony.   *Parents, our closing ceremony begins at 11 am.  There will be a pizza party afterwards. 

Made so & rooted by love,
Wendy