"Art Is Kind of Like Science"

"Making art is kind of like science, mama. You take all different kinds of materials and do experients* until it looks really really cool!"

By "it" he definitely does not mean his craft cubby. That thing isn't looking very cool these days — at least not to me.

Oh well. I can't be accused of stifling his creativity!

*This is how he says experiments.

"Reuse Is Better Than Recycle"

My son has a frustrating habit of stealing things out of our recycling bin. He uses the items to make art projects, "machines" and — most recently — musical instruments.

He might make a mess, but I love his creativity! And I suppose he's right. Reusing is better than recycling.

How My Boy Makes Art

Sounds effects...intense dialogue...BAD GUYS!

That's right, people. When my kid is making art, don't expect to see pretty flowers or neatly filled in coloring pages. According to him, that stuff is "boooooring!"

Unfortunately, he's a bit of a temperamental artist — fiercely protective of his creative process. I'll have to be sneakier if I want to capture more of his unorthodox methods.

Meat Eater

I can't bring myself to post about holidays and major milestones. Finding something meaningful to say on days like Christmas, New Year's Day or my son's birthday is just too much pressure.

So instead of musings about a new decade or a list of resolutions, I give you a picture that our little artist drew today (labeled by me for your convenience):

I bet you're wondering why I chose to post this picture. After all, kids produce a ton of artwork. Why share a drawing of a meat-eating rock?

Well, once you read the conversation that occured while Rowan was creating this picture, I think you'll understand why it's now one of my favorites.

Rowan: "Mama, I can use markers and glue sticks without any help now."

Me: "I know. You're getting so big. You can do a lot of things all by yourself.

Rowan: "And I know a lot of stuff, too."

Me: "Yep."

Rowan: "Like about science and space."

Me: "Mmm Hmm"

Rowan: "Like I know that when an asteroid falls to Earth, it becomes a meat-eater."

Me: "A meat-eater?"

Rowan: "Yeah, it's an asteroid up in space, and then it falls down to Earth and becomes a meat-eater."

Me: [thinking...then cracking up!] "Oh my God, Rowan! Do you mean a meteor?!"

Rowan: [thinking...then smiling sheepishly] "Oh yeah. That's right. A meteor!"

The thought of him imagining a world in which rocks fall from space and transform into razor-toothed carnivores gave me the best laugh I've had this year! ;-)

Wishing you lots of laughs in 2010!

Right, Wrong and Rowan

Rowan says he's making a magazine.

Naturally, it looks nothing like a magazine...at all. The loosely formed mass is comprised of paper that Rowan has cut up, painted, and stuck together using what he calls "sticky things" (tape, staples, string, glue sticks and gift ribbon).

He's been working on his magazine for more than a week. One day, as I pondered the project's total takeover of our dining room table, I told Rowan that he was holding his scissors the wrong way. His response? "There isn't a wrong way to hold a scissors, mama. As long as it's cutting, it's fine."

Touché.


It wasn't the first time he had corrected me about his methods. "This is how they show me to hold my pencil in preschool," he once declared, demonstrating his tripod grip. "But now I'm making art. I need to hold my pencil the crazy way because it helps me make wild circles and fireworks!"

"Oh, I see," I responded. "That makes sense."

On that note, I have a special request for Rowan's future teachers: Please, please, please don't crush my little guy's artistic dreams just because he colors outside the lines or has absolutely no interest in drawing anything that looks like anything you'd ever recognize. I like him just the way he is.

Save or Toss?

I have a little problem.

It's this thing:


What is it, you ask? Well, according to Rowan, it's a masterpiece — a book that he created using pens, markers, blue painter's tape, glue sticks and what he calls "special scratch paper."

Naturally, I'm quite impressed by my son's determination and creativity. He worked on this thing for almost 45 minutes.

But...um...what should I do with it now? Have I given it enough recognition by taking a picture of it and sharing it on our blog? Can I recycle it now? After all, when it comes to art, the process is more important than the end result...right?

What would you do?

Rowan's Abstract Photography

Rowan found the camera while watching Sid the Science Kid yesterday. My oh my, he took some freaky pictures! They kinda sorta give me the heebie geebies.

Check them out:

Sooo freaky.

The Sea Lion

Because Rowan is talking in his fast/high excited voice, I transcribed the conversation to help you follow along:

Rowan: Well, this is my sea lion and...

Me: Now wait a minute. What are you telling me about here?

Rowan: This is my sea lion made of your jewelry. And this is its nose, and it's holding a ball on its nose. See?

Me: That's cool. So did you make this?

Rowan: Yeah. Out of your jewelry. [If Rowan thinks that this is my jewelry, Kyle better buy me some nicer stuff! HA!]

Me: That's cool. Why did you decide that it's a sea lion?

Rowan: Because LOOK. See that? A ball on his nose? A tail like that! That's a sea lion. Except...it's not like a normal sea lion. It has a spot where water comes out.

Me: Oh, it has a spot where water comes out, so it's not like a normal sea lion?

Rowan: Nope, it's just like a fake sea lion. See that?

Me: Cool. K, give us a smile!

Little Shutterbug

Rowan LOVES playing around with the camera. I usually end up deleting the results (blurry snapshots of my butt in yoga pants, for example). But Rowan recently took some pretty cool pics.






He even captured an elusive and rarely documented creature: Kyle doing yardwork. (tee hee!)

-Angie

Autumn Marathon

Nasty Cold. Pink eye. Stomach flu. Ear infection.

If you wondered why we’ve been too busy to blog lately, now you know.

Thankfully, Rowan recovered from his various illnesses just in time for some fall fun. Last weekend, we visited the apple orchard, carved/painted pumpkins (and roasted seeds!), baked apple crisp, and raked leaves.

An entire season in one weekend. Whew!

I'm glad we didn't wait for this weekend. I think the snow flurries might have dampened our spirits.

Next up: Rowan's triple birthday do-over costume extravaganza!

-Angie

Arts and Crap

Rowan has been sick since Saturday, leaving us housebound and stir crazy. He felt a little better today, so we ventured out to Michaels to pick up some wreath-making supplies. I also bought Rowan his first 64-count box of Crayola Crayons! I was surprised to discover that the crayons are made in the U.S. (Hopefully, that means they're less likely to contain lead, melamine and other toxic chemicals that some factories like to feed to children.)

When Kyle came home from work, he asked Rowan where he got his awesome new box of crayons. Rowan replied enthusiastically:

"Mama bought 'em at the arts and crap store!"

Hmmm....toddler mispronunciation or statement of fact? You decide.

Then I told Rowan that I wanted to take some pictures of him coloring. For once, he seemed excited to pose for me. "Mama, I'm going to give you my best smiles EVER!" he said.

This is what I got after that bold promise:






Still a cutie to me!

-Angie