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September: Garden Impressions With Claude Monet PART 2

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Picking up where we left off, I am sharing two more Monet inspired projects my daughters and I did at home last month which I'm pretty sure grown ups will enjoy just the same. These projects invite you to go spend some time outside the house, just as far as you can manage while still practicing social distancing, and appreciate the natural elements around you. If you have a garden, no matter how big or small, it's a chance to see it in a new light and find fresh beauty in it you may have otherwise missed. It has been raining quite a lot lately but when the sun does come out, I invite Read More

SEPTEMBER: Garden Impressions With Claude Monet Part 1

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If David Hockney prompted us to explore the minute details of the indoors last March, Claude Monet inspired us to look outside and enjoy the natural beauty of the outdoors throughout the month of September. Unfortunately, we didn't go walking in the woods or traipsing by a bubbling brook, as one would imagine Monet doing to get inspiration for his work back in the day. It would have been wonderful if we had but the girls and I could only go as far as the backyard garden. As city folks though, I actually feel that we are, in fact, quite lucky to have an access to our own lush patch of Read More

August: Color & Expression With Alma Thomas

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Last month, the colourful, abstract expressionistic paintings of Alma Woodsey Thomas gave us life! Summer picked her as our featured artist for August and we enjoyed recreating her work. In fact, if you are looking for projects that can put your mind at ease and cheer you up at the same time, Alma Thomas's work is the perfect inspiration. But before getting into the activities, let's get to know this legendary woman a little bit more. MEET THE ARTIST Alma Thomas has always been a creative child. As a little girl, she enjoyed making puppets, sculptures and plates out of clay she Read More

MAY: Objects and Stories with Betye Saar Part 2

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In this second series of art activities inspired by Betye Saar, we work on whimsical projects using miscellaneous materials. These were a lot of fun for the kids to work on because they were given freedom to make use of almost anything they could find. PROJECT 3: BRIC-A-BRAC OUTDOOR MOBILE Materials: Sticks, string, random objects to hang such as dried flowers, fuzzy wires, muffin cups, bottle caps, felt, beads, bells, etc This project is similar to making an assemblage as it involves collecting objects to put together, but instead of building inside an empty box, they string them Read More

MAY: Objects and Stories with Betye Saar PART 1

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We are back exploring influential contemporary artists this month of May. We decided to skip April to give my girls some time off from structured art making and have more time for free play, which they spent with utmost enthusiasm. Now that we're back, I decided to introduce the girls to a more non-traditional artist who is known for making mixed media pieces. I wanted someone whose work does not primarily revolve around the painted canvas. Luckily, I came across Betye Saar in one of MOMA's At The Museum episodes. I read up on her life and work and was very much drawn to her eclectic art Read More

MARCH: Being In The Moment With David Hockney Part 2

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In one of Austin Kleon's recent email newsletters, he shares about David Hockney being a quarantine icon. Reading this confirmed just how appropriate inspiration Hockney's work is for this lockdown season. It is worth mentioning, too, that David Hockney, while self-quarantined in Normandy, France, continues to make art and shares his work online. I love his recent painting of daffodils titled, Do Remember They Can't Cancel Spring, which is a cheerful and hopeful piece for these trying times. He even suggests that "...people could draw at this time...Question everything..." and continued to Read More

March: In The Moment With David Hockney PART 1

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Let's face it. It is difficult to escape our current situation, specially for those of us who are quarantined in our own homes. And while I'm avoiding having to succumb to the pressure of hyper-productivity during this stressful and mentally troubling time, I also see the wisdom in making use of all the extra hours learning new things, specially with my kids. To be honest, we are simply trying our best to go about our usual routine prior to the lockdown and working on art projects has always been part of it. It has definitely brought extra comfort and entertainment to our family in these Read More

Kusama-esque Paper Mache Sculptures

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We are in Week 3 of community quarantine! To those of you who have kids at home, I totally understand if you find yourself at your wits end, completely out of any more creative ideas to do with them at home. At the beginning of the lockdown, we worked on this project that wasn't exactly quick and easy. But I thought, we've got so much time in our hands, we might as well do something more immersive and can stretch for a longer period of time. So I'm sharing this paper mache project with you now. It's a craft technique that has been around for as long as I can remember but have only recently Read More

February: Making Dots with Yayoi Kusama

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I was quite excited about tackling Yayoi Kusama with the kids because I find her to be a very interesting human being to learn from. Most people are aware of her madness and know of her obsessive art expression but something that I admire about her is how she has turned her psychological challenges into a successful career and a grand display of beauty. I own a set of Yayoi Kusama prints which I bought in National Gallery Singapore a couple of years back which I had framed and are now hanging on a wall in our home. I let the kids look closely at them and asked what they could see in the Read More

January: Picasso & Cubism

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One of my goals this 2020 is to learn more about the lives and styles of different influential contemporary artists, both of our time and of the past. I also thought it would be best to include my kids in this year long venture into art history as part of their weekly art sessions at home. As an unschooling family, I've discovered that when I try new things alongside them, it becomes a much more memorable learning experience for everyone. The goal is to focus on one artist each month. In January, we started off with Pablo Picasso who is widely known to have significantly shaped the Read More