Painted Aprons for Chili Cook-off Winners

 Autumn is the season of Chili Cook-offs. Instead of spending a lot of money on trophies that people don't want to have to store, why not give them something useful to go with their bragging rights, like a set of wooden spoons or an apron. For an upcoming Chili cook-off I thought I'd give first, second, and third place winners aprons upon which I painted cooresponding number of chilis. Aprons were about $3 each. It's easy to copy chili shapes from images online, or you can trace a real chili in pencil if you've got one handy. I painted the silhouette with black acrylic and when it dried, I painted the topcoat of red or green acrylic, leaving some of the black show through for hatch marks. It's funky, fun, washable, and a conversation piece. I hope the winners can use it to brag about their win at cookouts for years to come.

Hypertufa Pots

When my horticulture teacher coworker, Keith Blackwell, suggested I teach how to make hypertufa for summer camp, I asked, "hyper what?" Turns out this is the stuff that those stone looking bird baths and Japanese lanterns are made from. I've seen some really beautiful gardens of hypertufa pots and planters and since our camp theme this year was "Down on the Farm" I thought planting and harvesting appropriate craft projects were perfect for art class.

There are many recipes online and all of them give ratios. I used:
one part Portland Cement
one part Peate Moss
one part sand
one part Vermiculite (not really, it was more like 1/4 or 1/2 of the other stuff)

So when I ordered the ingredients I got the same number of pounds, which was a huge mistake because 100 pounds of the cement was not nearly as many cups or (bowls or whatever you are using to scoop to be considered one part) of Peate Moss, so I ended up with tons and tons of that left over. In fact, for 30 campers, I used about 97 pounds of cement and about the same of sand, but only maybe 1/3 of a 50 pound bag of Peate Moss. Students scooped and counted while wearing their latex gloves and dust masks. You don't want to get the powdered cement in your lungs because the moister is what turns it to mortar and that's not good to have in your body. We used a wheel barrow and worked in groups of 9 students at a time, pouring water and mixing with their hands. You want it to be able to hold together, but not be runny.

Then we pressed the mixture into the insides of old plastic planters, 6in round or square ones worked well. You can use old yogurt container,s milk cartons, or whatever inspires you to form a mold. I tried using mosaic tiles in the tops of one pot, but need some more practice, as some fell out when it dried.

Two days later we popped the hardened containers out of the plastic containers and let them finish drying for another day. I think ideally, a week or two would be needed so that it can cure, but a day or two is perfect if you want to carve a design or sand the outside to smooth it out.

Be sure to find a plant that works with your new pot. We poked a small hole in ours, but I'm not sure that's necessary since the Peate Moss should help absorb some extra moisture if the container is large enough. It's a learning process, but so far, so fun!

photo credit for plant pics to Keith Blackwell

The Christmas Card Tradition

Writers and illustrators, neuroscientists and full-time moms need to give themselves permission and time for creative projects that have nothing to do with their career. Homemade Valentines or birthday cards may be just the little selfless act to get one's creative juices going for weightier projects. I've made Christmas cards every year for decades and have given myself a few rules to keep it fun:

1. Do it for love.
Sometimes life can feel like a series of obligations. This should not be one of those times. Do it for the love of the process and love of the people who will receive the cards.

2. Don't procrastinate.
December is usually crazy busy at my house. Even things that I enjoy doing normally feel stressful if there's too much else to do. I like to have my cards made before Thanksgiving.

3. Limit the number.
I don't have time to make a card for everyone I love. I usually send cards to old roommates and friends with whom I don't have regular contact, as well as siblings and parents. I never get angry when people don't send me cards or give me gifts, so I can only hope that others feel the same.

4. Try new things.
This is a time when I don't feel bound to my artistic style. I try new media and I try to keep the card text, news letters and envelops thematically and visually united.

Here is a card I made for my parents when I was 5.

As a college student, I kept the card tradition, sometimes xeroxing sharpie drawings, sometimes using printmaking methods. Below is my husband's wood cut of a toy soldier (he made the year before we met) and my screen print minimalist Christmas tree.

Here is a little pamphlet book I made with a newsletter in the middle and a picture of our first child.

Another pamphlet book card, included a Martha Stewart style quilled snowflake ornament. It is a little smashed after 12 years in our card scrapbook. Again, the newsletter was in the middle of the card.

 When we first moved to Georgia, there was a pear tree in the back yard, so I did an wood engraving of a partridge in a pear tree that year.

And in 2004, I did our first Christmas video.  This tiny disk fit perfectly into another ornament/card.

50 pen and ink, water color, glitter, and calligraphy cards was time consuming but rewarding.

My easiest card was made by hot gluing a couple buttons for a snow man. 

Another year, I screen printed snowflakes but accidentally used screen filler instead of ink, which gave it a glossy surface with varied value. Gotta love happy accidents.

My then 3-year-old daughter's drawing (left) became our card one year. My Uncle Orval, who had done more than 50 consecutive years of Christmas card making himself, called this a "dill pickle Christmas tree." A sewing machine and fabric scraps made the above card possible.

In 2009 I made a gingerbread house and then took a picture of it. The acompanying family newsletter was a "recipe for a happy year" which served 5 and expired 2010.

I thought I'd use my Children's illustration style and do a little painting to show the joy of 2011.

Last  year, each card was unique. You can see the collage process below."Wishing You The Best of Gifts This Christmas" include gift cards that said things like, "forgiveness" "Friendship" etc. Inside the newsletter listed some of our favorite gifts of the year (like education, work, and fun) and a short paragraph for each.