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

Day Three : Dream Big

"Little girls with dreams become women with vision." - Unknown

We began the day in circle for morning gifts.  Today's gift comes from the kind folks at Laurence King Publishing!  Laurence King Publishing is one of the world’s leading publishers of books and gifts on the creative arts. They work with some of the world’s best illustrators, designers, artists and photographers to create beautifully produced books and gifts which are world renowned for their inventiveness, and beautiful design.


They sent TWO books by artist Johanna Basford.  They are part coloring book and part treasure hunt. Within the pages are hidden creatures to find.  Johanna is a Scottish illustrator known for her hand-drawn, predominantly black and white illustrations. Her works can be found in products such as colouring books, wallpaper, and even tattoos. Visit the artist's website, for all kinds of cool stuff, like coloring techniques and upload your pages to her gallery. 

































 After morning gifts, the girls continued working on their art journals.  Today they learned about print making with the use of a Gelli Plate and began to explore this medium.  The journals were then placed in the sun to dry so we could begin our secondary project.

One of the things we love about printmaking is that there is a mystery to it.  It doesn't always turn out the way you think it will.  It is then we have to challenge ourselves to move past our expectations and use our creativity to move forward.  If we don't make mistakes, we're not learning anything new.  In art, sometimes you need to get lost to know the way.  The beauty of the art journal is just that, it's a place to get lost in the exploration and find yourself.  It's doesn't have to BE anything.  It's pure creative expression and experimentation.












































Today we began weaving the webs for our dream catchers.  We talked about the origin of the dream catcher, the Ojibwe / Chippewa nation from which it originated.  Dream catchers are sometimes referred to as sacred hoops.  They serve as a kind of talisman to protect sleeping people from nightmares.  It was believed that as dreams fill the night air, the bad dreams would get caught in the web and dissolve at sunrise, while the good dreams would drip down to the dreamers.  There are several indigenous stories associated with the dream catcher, and I would encourage you to seek them out because they are wonderful.  In one of the stories, a maternal "Spider Woman" known as Grandmother Spider, served as the spiritual protector for the tribe, especially the children.  As the families began to grow and migrate across the land, Grandmother Spider needed a way to protect and watch over all the members, so she created the first dreamcatcher.  Spider teaches us that everything / everyone is connected.  Spiders are masterful weavers and their webs are beautiful works of art. 



Asabikeshiinh is the Chipewa word for dream catcher, and also means spider.  If you would like to hear something beautiful, take a moment to listen to these children sing the spider song in Ojibwemowin!  I am always deeply moved when I hear the language of the first nations spoken.
























Tomorrow we will decorate the dream catchers!  If you have some special and symbolic things you would like to add, like a button from a grandmother, or a charm, a feather you found, please bring this tomorrow for your dream catcher.

Day Two : Becoming

"Blessed be those who have loved you
into becoming who you were meant to be." - John O'Donohue

As the girls arrived they got right to work adding details on their walking sticks while waiting for the others.  When everyone was here, we passed out the morning gift. 

Today's morning gift came from the generous folks at Papaya Art.  Today the girls received gorgeous colored pencils and pencil cases.   The girls were ecstatic!  Papaya sent other gifts as well, stay tuned for those.   Papaya is family owned and operated by Gina and Anahata Katkin.  Papaya is known worldwide for their artistic aesthetic and their beautiful collection of lifestyle and stationery products.  We are deeply grateful for the support and generosity. 

We began working on our art journals, adding background color to all surfaces.  The journals were placed in the sun to dry, then we took a nature walk.

Along the way we met a baby toad.

When we returned we began our secondary project, hula hoop dream catchers. The girls tore fabric into strips and wrapped their hoops.  Tomorrow we will begin weaving the web...that's the exciting part.

Day One : Opening Ceremony

"May your soul be at home where there are no houses". 
- Ursula K. Leguin 

Early this morning we set up camp for the arrival of our Mighty Girls.  While waiting for everyone to arrive, the girls helped themselves to the body art bin which is filled with hair chalk, nail polish, body markers,  face paints and tattoos. 

Once everyone arrived we began our opening ceremony.  We  talked about the lineage of those who mothered us and those who mothered the mothers and those we choose to honor by our being here together.

After the opening ceremony we handed out the morning gifts.  Today's delightful morning gift was a pom pom charm for their Frida Kahlo mercado bags.  The pom charms were sent to the girls from the wonderful folks at Land's End.  Here is their message to the girls...

"At Lands’ End, we are committed to encourage kids to enjoy the discovery of things they never knew. We hope you enjoy this gift and always remember to never stop learning. Have a great summer!"

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) was a surrealist painter born in Mexico who was known for self portraits.  She had polio as a child that affected her right leg.  She studied medicine and was going to become a doctor, but she was in a tragic bus accident at the age of 18 in which she was severely injured and placed in a body cast.  While she was bedridden and recovering, she began painting.  She transformed her wounds and her pain with her art by painting self portraits.  Frida has become a role model for generations of artists, for women, and for people with disabilities.  

If you would like to learn more about Frida's life, as well as other interesting women role models, you may wish to check out this book... Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls!


We had a visitor in the tipi this morning, American Dagger Moth Caterpillar (Acronicta americana).  I relocated the caterpillar to the treeline with a leaf and pointed out the black tufts of hair, these are stinging hairs.

We began our foundation project, the art journals.  The girls sanded board books, and painted them with gesso so they can better receive the other mediums we will be applying throughout the week.  




The journals were placed in the sun to dry, then we went on a nature walk.  On the way to the forest we discussed one medicinal plant used for bee stings and one yummy edible plant found growing in the meadow. 

We talked about the snakes of our region and safety when exploring in nature. Along the way we met a baby garter snake. 






















When we returned from our nature walk we began our secondary project, Walking Sticks.   For thousands of years the walking stick has been a tool for the journey, as a symbol, for defense, and support for the tired legs of the wanderer. 

While the girls painted their walkng sticks, our magical Story Crow by Artist / Writer Ginnylee Snyder, stood sentinel at the entrance of the tipi, watching over the flock.

While the walking sticks were drying in the sun, we cleaned up camp (leaving no trace) and hauled everything back to the studio.

See you tomorrow!

Made so & rooted by love,
Wendy

PS.  I have no idea why some of the font turned brown.  I have tried to fix it numerous times, and it keeps turning brown when I hit save.  It's a mystery glitch!

 

Announcement: Wondrous Art Events at Broadlands Nature Center!

This looks like a whole bunch of fun!  Visit their site for more info!