Teething Delirium

Daffers via my BB

The above photo is a wonderful depiction of how terrifically tired I feel, as expressed by my infant daughter.  D is sprouting a few more teeth, and her pain happened to worsen at around 5 AM.  5 AM also happens to be my can`t-get-back-to-sleep-if-wakened time.  So, I am tired to the nth degree, Daff is napping, and H is spending an awful lot of time watching Dora today.  Although we did have a crafting picnic on the rug where we collaged and made flag banners with origami paper.  That was fun.  Also, it is pouring rain, so all of our bike riding and or strolling plans were literally dampened.  Officially, an unawesome Tuesday.  

PS I know what you`re thinking: Is Daff crawling around at some ancient Greek ruin.  Nope, those are just the ridiculously ornate support beams holding up the indoor pergola in our rental. And yes, that wall colour is essentially Mexican Tan, the bane of my existence.  Can`t wait to live in a house that we OWN!

Cinco de Mayo!

The 5th of May must fall on a Saturday, what like, once every 7 years? 


 The last time it fell on a Saturday, I was a Uni student in New Zealand, and probably studying hard trying to get every penny's worth out of my tuition since I was paying exorbitant international student fees.


Now, of course, I'm living the weekend life.  But really, my husband likes to socialize and I like Mexican food, so I can see no better way to enjoy this weekend than with a Cinco de Mayo party for our friends and their kids.


And so begins my scouring of the interwebs for wonderful ideas for the party.  So far, here's what I've found:

diy cinco de mayo pinata from studiodiy

 

diy geometric cinco de mayo fiesta garland from ohhappyday!

These dulce de leche cupcakes from Joy the Baker

Any of the 36+ recipes provided by Serious Eats

Agave Margaritas from Bon Appetit

Tequila (Gummy) worms (my husband's idea & for the grown ups)

So, even though I'm fairly sure it is a holiday enforced by the companies in charge of the Jose Cuervo and Corona brands, I raise a glass to Cinco de Mayo, giving the world an excuse to party every 5th day of May!

Any other awesome ideas?

Art for Kids: Hirst & Matisse

Over our holidays, I happened to catch an interview with Damien Hirst on Charlie Rose.  Hirst was promoting his series of Spot Painting installations happening at Gagosian galleries in 11 major cities across the globe.

While Mr. Hirst is a controversial artist, I think his spot paintings are a perfect way to introduce young children to contemporary art.

DAMIEN  HIRST
Cupric Nitrate, 2007
Household gloss on canvas

And while my 3 year old may not ensure all spots are equilateral in distance, she knows how to draw a circle, and how to colour within the lines, so spending some of our (many hours a day of) art time working on something like this could be incredibly fun, and perhaps we'll have a gallery showing of our own (...in the playroom...it's super exclusive!)

Or you can make like Jordan and develop some grown-up spot paintings to adorn your walls,  for, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars less than buying a new Hirst.

(photo by: Oh Happy Day! )

Of course, if Mr. Hirst is not your thing, there are still other great artists whose works translate well with children.  What about Monsieur Henri Matisse?  Any toddler can pay homage to Monsieur Matisse with some kiddie scissors, coloured cardboard and a glue stick (and then eat brie avec baguette for lunch, with une petite tasse de grape juice).

I remember seeing a Matisse exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery when I was just a tyke.  At the end they had an excellent art area where you could attempt to make your own Matisse-inspired creation. What fun!  I love kid-friendly museums and galleries!




Henri Matisse
The Snail, 1953
gouache on paper

(I mean, look at that!  Totally kid do-able!)

Are there other artists, classical or contemporary, that you think translate well into kid art?