An Artful Weekend

{Windsor Wonderland, Windsor Heights, 2010}

{Windsor Wonderland, Windsor Heights, 2010}

{Windsor Wonderland, Windsor Heights, 2010}

This past Saturday I led a ornament and card making workshop for children at the Windsor Heights community center for their "Windsor Wonderland" event. It was a really wonderful event and the kids (and adults too!) made some very creative work!

{Reindeer at Reindeer Roundup, Des Moines Art Center, 2010}

{Reindeer Roundup, Des Moines Art Center, 2010}

{Reindeer Roundup, Des Moines Art Center, 2010}

The next day, my husband Ken and I stopped by the Des Moines Art Center for their event, "Reindeer Roundup". There were crafts, cookies, hot chocolate and best of all, LIVE REINDEER! I even got to pet one! They were still quite young, and their fur was so soft! I just had to have my picture taken in front of their pen, they were so cute! After that, Ken and I braved the mall to take care of the majority of our Christmas shopping. (Glad it is mostly done!) I plan to make some gifts too... and of course share them here later!

Student Work from Crossroads Park Elementary Visit

{3rd Grade Student Work, 2010}

{3rd Grade Student Work, 2010}

{3rd Grade Student Work, 2010}

{3rd Grade Student Work, 2010}

{3rd Grade Student Work, 2010}

Today I had the pleasure of working with Kindergarten and 3rd grade students from Crossroads Park Elementary in West Des Moines, Iowa. They had a special Fine Arts Day with lots of different artsy visitors. I only got a few pictures of the third grade pieces, the kindergartners pictures were gone by the time I remembered to take pictures. With each class, I showed my work and talked about what being an illustrator is all about. Then, we discussed characters. Every student was given a random shape that I had precut from card stock. They were asked to create a character that was imaginative using the shape as a starting place. They completed their illustrations using a crayon and watercolor resist technique. I had a really great time at Crossroads Park and the artwork turned out beautifully!