My girls fell in love with glass blowing after going to Dale Chihuly’s exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. They took glass blowing lessons to learn and now they are able to rent time at a glass studio to create glass art on their own.
We recently visited the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum in Seattle. If you get a chance to go, we highly recommend a visit. Here’s a video of our experience! Read more…
Need a craft to celebrate Chinese New Year 2018, The Year of the Dog? I made a cute puppy paper bag puppet that is also a game. Feed the puppy candies using chopsticks!
Here’s how to make the puppy paper bag puppet. You will need:
My oldest daughter, Grasshopper and Sensei, loves design, particularly industrial design. I am frequently buying bottles full of unappetizing liquids that I am forced to drink because she loves the shape and design of the bottle.
I think my daughter will apply her artistic skills towards social justice projects. I saw a glimpse of this recently when she wrote to Mama Chia about their eco-unfriendly package design. What really made me happy was how she combined her SIMS math class (real world applications of math through group work) with her industrial design interest: Read more…
This was my daughter’s first National Portfolio Day and we wanted to share tips that we learned the hard way:
We visited Emily Carr University of Art + Design at the weirdest possible time. They had closed their old campus on Grenville Island in preparation for their move to a new campus about a ten minute drive away.
Their new campus, however, wasn’t quite done yet. We walked to the old campus and drove by the new one. Read more…
Author Debbi Michiko Florence and I are creating a six-part Asian Culture Series with books, activities, and recipes. We are kicking off the series by looking at the Asian New Year.
This is part one of our 6 Part Asian Craft and Culture Series:
Did you know that Japanese New Year and Korean New Year are celebrated on January 1st, but Chinese New Year and Tet, Vietnamese New Year, is celebrated based on the lunar calendar? (More Chinese New Year books here.)
Today, we are sharing:
Thanks for coming on our Asian Culture series journey. Will you celebrate an Asian New Year this upcoming year? We hope this post will make it easier! Read more…
My daughters fell in love with glass blowing after going to the Chihuly exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts a few years ago. They wanted to learn how to blow glass and there is a glass blowing school (Diablo Glass) near the museum, but, of course, it was booked solid for a year after the show.
Chihuly at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Photo from TripAdvisor.
We waited a year and tried again, and they both got a spot for a week long camp during the summer. It was a hot summer, as I recall. This is pertinent because the furnace for glass blowing is 800 degrees Fahrenheit, and they had to wear long sleeve t-shirts and pants for protection.
Grasshopper and Sensei makes a seahorse working with hot glass and a blow torch. Read more…
I’m thrilled to be doing a giveaway with Workman Publishing on an arty interactive board book journal to inspire young artists. Please fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter.
My Book of Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg
A Scribble it, Smear it, Fold it, Tear it Journal for Young Artists
My Book of Beautiful Oops! is a hands-on journal that’s designed to help young hands and minds turn an “oops” into art. The friendly green alligator-familiar to readers of Beautiful Oops!-prompts the reader to imagine the possibilities of a bent page. Decorate a smudge. Play with splats and spills. Even complete a poem that was accidentally ripped in half. [interactive board book, ages 3 and up]
My son has always loved making weapons from bows and arrows made from sticks, to wooden swords that he carves and decorates himself.
He made this Samurai armor and sword upcycling sketch book covers and cardboard boxes. Duct tape was also involved. It always is involved in his projects.
In earlier days, he made swords using aluminum foil and duct tape for a Percy Jackson book club with his friends. Now, he needs a run to Home Depot to buy wood without a curve in it, drawing out his designs that his father cuts out for him. Read more…
I'm a co-chair of KidLitCon. It's March 22-23, 2019 (next year) in Providence, Rhode Island. Click on image for more info.
