summer of making part 3

I winded down my adventure-filled summer with a fun week creating 12 art bikes at CAMP 510.  The kids all drew up their individual ideas, presented them to their group, and then voted.  From giraffes,  zebras and purple ducks, to gardens and oceans, to lots of rainbows, the designs were amazing.

We scavenged materials - including fur, fake grass, duct tape, spray paint, buttons and butterflies.
We glued, painted, wired, snipped and cut.  Wheels were removed, decorated, and reinstalled.  It was great to see all the creativity in the assembly process.  The kids were so dedicated to building, making, and bringing their ideas to fruition - very inspiring.

And some amazing creations turned out, along with great matching helmets.  Come see them at this year's East Bay Mini Maker Faire!

summer of making part 2

My next foray into making with children this summer took place up at the wonderful Owl Camp up in Sonoma County.  It is a special camp with amazing staff who are dedicated to giving the kids an opportunity to explore nature fully.  The theme the week I taught was Art as Nature; Nature as Art, and I channeled Andy Goldsworthy, among others.  We made lots of different art and sculpture projects, but one of my favorites was the simple one made by some of the youngest campers on the last day, when we were hanging out down by the creek.

I assisted other staff in working with campers to build a teepee and weave tule mats.  It was so natural to harvest the plants on the property and use them immediately on a project.

I guided camper initiated projects like fort-building.  Hearing the kids describe a 4 part fort connected by a tunnel and a wall made me wonder how it would all come to pass.  It evolved and grew, and became a wondrous fort amidst a beautiful redwood grove.  The younger campers made a fort of their own, working and weaving together.  It was inspiring to see what was made.

Using the beautiful and colorful farm garden, I worked with kids to create a woven fence of colors.  It was great to see the color palette echo the garden colors beyond.

garden bounty

It was hard to end our month of summer vacation.  But it was great to be home, and the garden greeted us royally.  Tomatoes were in abundance, the basil was bushy and green, and the bean teepee was full of beans to be harvested.  Welcome home!

koviashuvik

I had the amazing opportunity to spend time at Koviashuvik, a local living school, while I was in Maine.  I declared to my kids that this was Mom's choice.  And what a wonderful choice it was for a way to spend time in Maine - truly off the grid.  Ashira and Chris Knapp are wonderful hosts, guides, and teachers, as they share the beautiful homestead they have created with their own hands.  Their electricity comes from their solar panels.  They grow most all of their food, and preserve it in their root cellar or by fermenting it.  Their daily flour comes from acorns from nearby forests, that they grind and dry (using rainwater to leach out the bitterness).  They keep ice from the pond yearlong in their icehouse.  And they harvest and make delicious maple syrup as well.

A wonderful outdoor kitchen is the center of cooking and eating throughout the summer.  A simple wood hearth and a homemade rocket stove do most of the cooking.  Delicious water comes from a nearby spring, and from rainwater collection.  

We were guided through our days with such wonderful intention about everything we were doing.  We harvested mint and made tea in their solar dehydrator.  Using the shave horses and draw knives was one of my favorite activities - and my daughter's as well.  We carved spatulas.  My son learned how to use a scythe.  Under Chris's guidance, I finally learned the proper way to sharpen a knife. We also made our own spoons using a coal burning and carving method.

Our shelter was a platform tent at the edge of the clearing.  One night there was a fabulous thunderstorm.  We looked out the tent flaps that appeared as stage curtains with a great lightning show in the fields, hills, and sky beyond.  Awe inspiring.

summer of making part 1

I decided to follow my heart this summer, and to focus on making things with kids.  Now I could have chosen to make jam or pickles, or felt wool bowls, all of which would have been so very enjoyable and satisfying.  But I chose to stretch myself further, and decided to build a structure - with 5-11 year olds.  With power tools.  And what crazy fun it was.   First I built a model, working with my daughter, to test things out; from design to process to engineering.

I was teaching at the amazing CAMP 510, along with many other talented maker/artist teachers.  We had 3 groups a day, with a total of 60 kids working on each project.  In my class, day one was filled with onsite testing (to see what size the structure would ideally be) and model making using balsa wood and cardboard.  And pins - an approximation of nails.  The kids learned about why bolts are better connectors than nails in the most hands-on way, as their pins popped out.  They learned about basic structural design, and on their own came up with how triangular braces can make a frame more rigid and strong.

Then we moved to full scale building.  We used donated varied length lumber, which meant that the math calculations were even more interesting - e.g. 11' 3 3/8" divided by 4.  The kids did it all: measuring, drilling, sawing, and screwing in those bolts.  Many girls joined me during lunchtime to help work on the project.  We did all the assembly on tables or the ground; including the slightly sloped (as students determined it needed to be) corrugated metal roof.  Using a level and string, we set concrete post bases in a square, and then added column base hardware.  And then we erected the frames, and they actually fit!  How empowering it was.

The roof was raised, with the help of many counselors.  As the structure was a shelter for a kid-built cob pizza oven, on the last day we built work counters on the side.  It all came together, as though it was all meant to be.

east coast christmas

We typically travel to the east coast to spend time with our families over the holidays.  It is a slower time of year, when there is time to sit and visit, spending quality time with our loved ones.  And watch the kids play.  At each stop there are rituals that we enjoy: walks along the canal, playing with antique toy cars by the fire, time spent with cousins riding on various vehicles around the race course in the basement, travels around the farm on the ATV, sledding on nearby hills, oatmeal breakfasts spent visiting and enjoying the beautiful wintry landscape, and driving around looking at the lights.  This year we had our own family fireworks display, as the new year came in with a bang.  Thank you, Eric!