Day Five : Closing Ceremony

Walk carefully, well loved one,
walk mindfully, well loved one,
walk fearlessly, well loved one.
Return with us, return to us,
be always coming home.  - Ursula K. Le Guin

Photo by Chelsea Dobert-kehn

The girls arrived and explored the body art bin while others added to their walking stick as we awaited for our entire group.

Photo by Chelsea Dobert-kehn

Photo by Chelsea Dobert-kehn

Once in circle, we handed out the morning gift.  Today's inspiring gift came from Sourcebooks!  Sourcebooks is dedicated to the belief that books change lives.  Their mission is reach as many people as possible through books that will enlighten their lives.  We are very grateful for the wonderful books they sent our Mighty Girls.

Lou Hamilton is the creator of Brave New Girl.  She is an artist, writer, filmmaker, and coach.  Her mission is to creatively inspire fearlessness through health and well being.  

We began the morning with a special writing prompt for our art journals.  

The journals were put away and we began our secondary project.  The talisman bracelet.  The girls chose beads and a special charm and created a bracelet for themselves.  Talismans date back to antiquity and are believed to bring good luck or protection to the person who wears them.  We make talisman jewelry in every Mighty Girl Art gathering.  The Mighty Girl talismans are meant to be symbolic to the girl who creates it. 

Photo by Chelsea Dobert-kehn

Photo by Chelsea Dobert-kehn

The girls then learned another printmaking technique called, Inkjet transfer  and employed this method to decorate the shipping tags used in our closing ceremony.  The tags will later be used as bookmarks.  We had just enough time to squeeze in another project, so we made some super cool feather pens.

The wonderful parents began to arrive and fill the tipi forming a concentric circle for our closing ceremony.  We had a special guest sing to us from afar by way of technology.  Celtic rock singer, Mimi Burns sang a song that is special to her brave daughter who came to our camp all the way from Indiana.

  

 

After the closing ceremony we had a party with dragonfruit lemonade and edible flower ice cubes, and...a magical "moss" cake with berries.  We said our goodbyes and packed up camp until next summer, leaving no trace.

Dear Mighty Girls,

Thank you for coming to Mighty Girl Art, for having the courage to say yes to a tipi in a woodland meadow.  Thank you for your willingness to try new forms of creative expression.  Thank you for believing in us and thank you for believing in yourselves.  Mighty Girl Art is magical because you make it so. 

Thank you to all the Mighty Parents for blessing us with your extraordinary daughters.  Thank you for your generosity, and for your kindness. 

Thank you to Chelsea for transforming me each summer, I could not do this work without your intuitive ways.  Thank you to Mary and Nora for your hard work...I had always dreamed that one day a Mighty Girl would step into a leadership role of assisting and you made that happen this week.  Thank you to Diane for seeing the beauty of this work and for wanting to help. 

Thank you to my dear friend, Lady Erin Fairlight, for the edible flowers!   (Parents, Erin teaches magical potions classes for both adults and children where you learn to make everything from herbal remedies to bath bombs!)
In closing I would like to say that Mighty Girl Art is what she is, not because of me, but because of US.  ALL of us.  And so I thank you all and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your summer.  Until we meet again...

Made so & rooted by love,

Wendy

PS - Here are some recipes for "Moss" cake:

• Nettles Cake rom the amazing Wondersmith!
• Forest Floor / Spinach cake from CBK!
• The frosting recipe I use is from Magnolia Bakery in my home town! 

Chalk Art on Tree!

Day Four : Heal the World through Joy

“Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.” - Terry Tempest Williams (When Women Were Birds)

This morning, as soon as all the girls arrived, they began exploring the body art box.  They painted each other's nails.  They chalked their hair and when they were settled we began our day.

We formed a circle for morning gifts.  Today's gift was once again from Papaya!  In addition to the beautiful pencils and cases, they sent these amazing pocket watercolor pans, and field sketchbooks.  Papaya, we love you and we are ever so grateful for the way you support and nurture the creative spirits of our Mighty Girls.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Today we dove deeper into our art journals.  The girls explored the medium of collage. The girls learned how to use a hand drill so they could attach twigs to their book spines.  Ephemera and found objects were added, and rubber stamps, and oil pastels were introduced. 

Their journals are so beautiful and expressive.  I am sure they will be excited to tell you about their creative process as they share their work with you.

Tomorrow we will lead the girls through a writing prompt.

 

*One of the things that can happen with art journals is that the pages can stick together and tear.  Here we have an opportunity to discover Wabi Sabi.  Wabi Sabi is the Japanese art of finding the beauty in the imperfection.  For instance, when a beautiful piece of pottery breaks, they will glue it back together and make the imperfection the art, by painting the cracks with gold.   We can use this same technique with our art journals!

 

 The journals were placed in the sun to dry, then we finished working on our secondary project, the dream catchers.  Today the girls tore thrifted fabric into strips, and used bits of yarn and feathers to decorate their dream catchers.  They were invited to add personal objects like a grandmother's button.

Together we packed up camp, leaving no trace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Mighty Girls,

I can hardly believe tomorrow is our last day of camp.  Tomorrow 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