Ludington Camping Trip

Ahhh, to get away and into the woods of northern Michigan!!! To not have to plan homeschooling lessons, but to enjoy the lessons as they come. To see the sun rise over the sand dunes and watch it set over Lake Michigan. And to feel the COLD air blow off the lake - BURRR. Camping in northern Michigan in May does have it's advantages, and disadvantages! One there were not many people around, but two we had to bundle up in our fleece to stay warm. We enjoyed a wonderful week of camping at the Ludington State Park. We spent time geocaching, walking, fishing, building camp fires, eating smores, and even got my daily workouts completed.

Even the dog got to go camping this time. Saturn loves camping, just like we do!
B spent an entire morning fishing for the invasive species - GOBY! As he pulled them out of the water, he would throw them into the woods. There are signs all over the park that encourage you not to put these fish back into the water. B was just doing his part. Count that as community service for this morning.

While B fished, grandma and I stood in the sun soaking up with warmth and gabbing the morning away.

Lampworking, part 2 - plus projects

B's second lampworking class was a success. He moved up to another (hotter) torch. At this class he worked on beads and, again, fish. All three fish are B's creations. The lollipop was made by Annette, the instructor, so show B that there are other things that can be made using different techniques.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY - this is a bead that B made for me for Mother's Day. Yes, it has a heart in it! I have it wired onto my key ring and LOVE IT!
The purple bead it B's first try. I also have that wired to my keys. He has said he might like making beads better than fish, but I'm skeptical.

We are not sure when B's next lesson will be. The draw of the dock at the lake makes him waiver in wanting to be standing at a hot glory hole. For now, I'm guessing the glassworking will resume. So little time, so much to do!

Lampworking 101

B moved from glassblowing to lampworking today at the glass studio. It's a natural progression. What boy wouldn't be thrilled to play with a torch and melt glass rods?! Some amazing projects can be made, once this early glass working techinique is mastered. And the really great thing about this is, it is something that can be done at home - without the cost of setting up a glass furance!

B will continue to take classes with Annette for the next several weeks. I assume he will move from the easier projects (like marbles) onto the more complex projects he has in his head. Then we will decide if this is a craft he would like to hone his skills at while we are at the lake this summer or he wants to wait and return to the studio in the fall.

Glassblowing Projects Unveiled

Here are the projects that B made in last weeks glassblowing class. This first one is a garden ball or large Christmas ornament. It is one of my favorite pieces he brought home and is currently hanging in our dining room. This is actually the very first piece he made.
Second, not surprisingly enough, is this hallow fish that is a great representation of his orange cap orandas. It actually holds water. This probably B's favorite project.

This is the seaweed/plant leaves that he was pulling. The idea is to either mount them on a piece of glass or put them in a vase with rice. Colorwise, these are beautiful.
Despite the mother's lack of skill with the camera, this Christmas ornament was made for grandma. It is white and then has a layer of green and red shards melted into the surface.
Two betta (yes the fish) bowls. The smaller of the two are going to be used in B's closet for his change collection bowl.
It was a great experience, although being a perfectionist B was dissappointed when he came home with his work. I'm not sure if he expected museum quality pieces the first time in the studio or what???!!! Definately an area we need to work on, in terms of acceptance :)

Playing in the Glory Hole

Some of you know of B's intense love of glassblowing and Chihuly artwork. We have spent countless hours standing (and sitting) in glass blowing studios watching the artists work. Well today we went to Baron Glassworks in Ypsilanti for a unique opportunity. B worked with the studio owner and actually learned to blow glass. He actually did it!!!! Talk about a G R E A T experience!!!

First thing Annette did was have B select some saftey glasses and off they went. There was not a lot of lecture, but 3 hours of hands on work. She explained things as they went. B made 5 projects and came out smiling :)

Gathering glass from the 2150 degree glory hole.
Tempering, to add structure to the molten glass. Done before blowing.
1st time ever blowing. Although B learned that blowing glass is actually not what is happening. You just put pressure into the pipe and the expanding hot air does the majority of the work for you.
Adding color before reheating.

Blowing
Jacking
Blowing
Blowing
Adding eyes

Adding fins
Shaping fins
More shaping
Pulling

Needless to say, this is the best art class B has ever been to. I took a happy artist home this afternoon. But no projects ;( they had to be put in the cooling boxes and can be picked up in a few days. So you've got to check back and see the finished work. And....what the next class will bring. Check one thing off B's "bucket list"!

Nature Inspired

Given that we were already kind of getting use to spring, the snow of yesterday and today dampened our spring spirits! So after shoveling off the driveway, the sun did come out and we walked to town. Specificially to see the new art gallery that has opened here. Daisy Lake Art Gallery is a small (two room) gallery that has been opened by a woman (who is a painter) who wants to inspire art appreication here in our little village of Dexter.

The current exhibit is nature inspired photography by John Dubielak. His work is AMAZING!!! I wish I could have taken photos to share. And this is right up B's alley, in terms of interest. Beautiful work. And thankfully, although a little chilly, we were able to get a walk to and from town into our day! Not quite spring, but close.

Beautiful Eggs!

Ahhh, finally a litte art in our curriculum!!!! A good friend recommended that we learn a Polish/Urkarian technique for decorating eggs. So we tried it too. B, mom and I went to the Polish Art Center in Hamtramack for a 2 hr. class. Then we bought the supplies to try it at home and make the decorations for our Easter bunch table. Since I'm not feeling incredibly creative today, I'm just going to give you the basics and share the photos. (why am I not feeling creative??? might have something to do with the fact that we had a shovel 6" of snow last night and the driveway needs to be done again this morning - ugh).

Okay, the Pisanky technique is done with wax and egg dyes. It's kind of a reverse image technique. First you put on the wax, which is what B is doing below.
Then you dye the egg, lightest color first. Then you put on more wax, depending on your designing. Then more dyes, each time using a darker color dye.
Then more dyes, each time using a darker color dye.
When your design and dying is complete - you candle the wax off. Revealing your artwork below! Each time we did it, there was always a surprise.

B's pond egg. This boy is obsessed with ponds and fish. A lot of his eggs had fish on them!
Here is grandma's attempt at sunflowers.
Our completed works of art. It was interesting what each of us was drawn to. I prefered the pretty traditional easter colors - reds, pinks, yellows, purples. B used a lot more of the darker greens and blues (naturally with his pond based thinking). And grandma was probably the most creative trying all kinds of things. The 4 eggs to the left are mine. The other 8 are Bs.

These are grandma's.
Our day of work - waiting to dry so they can be displayed.

It was fun and some of us are already thinking about doing holly eggs to hang on the Christmas tree. Some of us are really into this project, others of us are fine in knowing that we've learned it and experienced it - now we can move on :)