Young Art!

Watching children being so free with their paint, has been one of the fun things l have had the privalge to watch lately.  I thought you might like to share this joy with me. 

                                               Fingers are so much better than paint brushes!

I have been busy trying to set up and run my new Art studio, so my own work has taken a slight back seat! This is my latest piece..it is much lighter in "real" life!

Painting, rain, broken sandwich-board and finger painting fun!

Another day in the studio.

This morning l had a lot of wonderful new clients aged between 2 and 4... loads of fun. We read the story "Arnie, the Accidental Hero" by Joanne Partis. Lots of interaction from the children and they appeared to enjoy it. Then we went and painted... My studio does work with 8 children... yeah! 

 Lots of great paintings were created.

Yesterday the wind blew over and smashed my sandwich board to pieces... RIP my board. So, Tony made me another one... bless him. x

Then, this afternoon, l was really surprised anyone bothered to come to the 'Messy Baby Play' as the skies opened, the rain came down and the thunder rolled!!!! But a wonderful mum came with her gorgeous son. 

Let the fun begin!

Today, the messy play was finger painting... we had fun.

 Work of Art begining to be produced.

Then, we cleaned ourselves up and had the Sensory part of the session. Today, we had yards and yards of yellow tape... he wrapped himself up several times, giggled, then we had to unwrap him... very funny.

 Hide and seek in the chiffon... children love this material.

On the way home l saw this wonderful sight... young women wearing hats... wow!

Night all.xx

Yesterday, l  made some new toys for the Texture and Sensory baby class. For the first toy, I filled up a bottle with water and added some stones. They made a really lovely, deep thumping sound.

The second water bottle l filled with coloured water and added a whole load of sparkling stars and snowflakes. At first, the parents thought it wouldn't work because you wouldn't be able to see the stars.

They were very surprised when it worked and the babies loved it.

I then put water in a clean, empty, Innocent's bottle and filled it with sparkly stars, circles and hearts and then added small, letter beads. So sparkly, shiny and made a noise... success!

The babies really took an interest in these bottles and played with them for ages without getting bored. They made nice noises, looked pretty and were "small" hand sized... what is there not to like?

Just make sure you use really well cleaned bottles; check for cracks or sharp edges; tighten lid and make sure the tape you use is strong and a water-proof kind. All this is for health and safety reasons.

Today's babies and some Art!

For those of you who think l have forgotten, l am also an Artist... Here are some results of my last eco-dyeing! Windfalls from the garden; eucalyptus leaves; orange peel and a copper pipe.

 This is a large piece of the old silk l bought from the charity shop... It dyes beautifully.

Then, l dyed an old, white, cotton sheet with the same windfall flowers etc. but not the copper pipe, although the copper pipe bundle was in the same pressure cooker load. It is a very subtle cloth but l really love it. There is more blue in it than appears on this image.

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Today's Baby "Messy and Sensory" class was so much fun; this little lady was the perfect client! Ha. She didn't wait for the others... she just dived straight in. She loved it. What is it?...Angel Delight. She really tested it and experimented with it to the full. It was delightful to watch. This is what messy play should be all about, which is why people come here and don't do it it at home! Ha! Also, l love messy play.

She was not happy when the "messy" play was taken away from her...cruel Lynda.

But, two seconds later... water and glitter  helped to help her smile again!

Then, after everyone had been cleaned up... sensory play took over.

It is amazing how much fun an empty kitchen roll can give a baby!

"Just keep still will you"... My children had these "slinkies" over 30 years ago and they are still going strong... amazing.

The huge, stuffed toy lion l bought yesterday was a great success with the babies.

Toys never really change much. This wooden container, with a bell inside, still fascinates babies 35 years on! Simple is, sometimes, best!

The Lady in Red. This young lady put on the red veil herself. Great fun was had by all the babies with the chiffon this week.

 Hug time with my large, "granny" puppet.

 A new baby with the most amazing smile!

 Time to calm down... The very hungry caterpillar does just that!

Just look at that grin! Ha!

Then they went home......Ha! 

 Will show the other images tomorrow! Night all. xx :)

The Baby Session images from Thursday... unadulterated fun!!

Good evening on Friday 13th April......!

Yesterday, l up-loaded so many images l thought l would leave Thursday's baby session for today's blog. The messy and sensory play session was a little different from usual as l had two older children all day. Remember these two fun children from yesterday's entry?

I have to admit they were brilliant and fascinated with the babies, which helped. At the start of the session, the little ones were given chubby paint dabs and encouraged to make marks onto photo paper that l had secured to a large piece of thick cardboard. One unexpected event was when the babies giggled because their feet made squeeky noises when coming into contact with the photo paper. The little boy showed his preference for orange and red, much to his mum's surprise. He and the little girl were just so full of smiles about everything, especially the big children.

I am surprised how many babies these days, don't seem to like lying on their tummies. I wonder if that is a consequence of the currently fashionable professional advice that one should not put children down to sleep on their fronts, as a way of reducing the incidence of cot deaths? Just a thought!

How could you not smile back? Ha!

The end masterpiece... Tracy Emin eat your heart out!

Sensory play with help from one of my young assistants. I just love this material and so do the babies and parents, it seems. 

During this session, mums are often surprised at what l give the children to play with. One mum said to me this week, "I have just come to realise that you don't need to buy lots of expensive toys for your baby, just visit the 'Pound Land' shop and your local chemist!". She is quite right, most babies will be happy with boxes, spoons, saucepans and a few things that rattle or jingle. 
This mini hot-water bottle has one smooth side and a side that is rougher and has ridges on it. It is perfect for trying different textures and just the right size for small hands to be able to hold for themselves. Also good for teething... as demonstrated below!

The felted  scarf was a big hit with the babies as it is so soft and very colourful.

Making friends and having fun with a rattle and telling everyone about it... so cute!

I just love working with this age group, they are so like sponges, soaking EVERYTHING up and storing it away for later use. Fantastic privilege to be part of their lives, even for a short time.