Styling a Skull Scene

New Zealand International Film Festival

Visit www.nziff.co.nz

Christchurch 7-23 August
Timaru 18-23 August

The Importance of White

For my digital photography course, we took this seemingly benign photo. It was to stress the importance of white and it's power to create contrast. The students took an alternative photo with a model standing in the middle. However, this one evoked the most chatter. Plain white wall. It's the simplest of backgrounds but very striking.

Stick Family Three

Our dear friends shared their most recent family photo with us. Their very artistically inclined daughter combined her skills with her absolute love of nature to create this: A naturally artistic rendition of her family.

Creativity is key to a happy childhood and photos like this prove just that. We love.

The Court Theatre 2015/16

Christchurch is a city blessed with art. True artists flock to the city and The Court Theatre is the I Ching for stage performance in The Garden City.

I most recently attended a charity event and Ali Harper was the  entertainment for the evening that helped raised money for devastation in the city.

There are a plethora of we'll-produced events this time of year so grab the 2015/16 Season brochure for details. I've never been disappointed at The Court. You won't be either.

#artislife

Photographic Outtakes are Puzzling

Here is a glimpse of what we have been photographing in our real life. We have been commissioned to photograph the vintage collection of a New Zealand native and his family's treasures from over the past 6 decades. Extraordinary stuff and here is our favorite outtake from the session. Life is a puzzle sometimes. 

Shopping Scene

This soothing all white display was eye catching and had the intense power to distract us while boutique shopping. That takes effort.

Spotted: Street Art

Pritzer Awards Japanese Eco-Architect Shigeru Ban

"Cardboard Cathedral" in Christchurch New Zealand

Japanese Architect Shigeru Ban has been deemed the Rumpelstiskin of building design and that title earned him arguably the most prestigious award in architecture. He is the recipient of this year's Pritzer Prize. It was noted by the judges that they highly recognized his decades long contributions to natural disaster relief. He has been known to use matierials such as the cardboard in the structure above built after the devastating quakes in Christchurch New Zealand and the school below built after the 2008 Sichuan quakes killed almost 70,000 people. These purpose built structures have become permanent in some areas as the people of different regions embrace the architectural endeavors as symbols of a new future after the devastation caused by tsunamis, earthquakes, and landslides to name a few. Ban served as a juror for the prestigious prize and is the second Japanese architect in a row to win.

Chengdu temporary classroom built by Ban
Images courtesy of CNN.com

Two Projects in Pics

Toilet Paper Rolls. They were the catalyst for our art projects below. Our first choice is a festive one that we did for St. Patrick's Day so bookmark this page for next year. 

The uses of tissue rolls are endless and are one of the most common trash items in the landfills. Why not get creative with giving back to Mother Earth while reducing, reusing and recycling? They are easily recyclable and most children's care centres, art establishments and the like will happily take a donation. Donate later. For now art...

Project # 1

Four Leaf Clovers

Project #2 

Randimal Rolls
Our artist here created three random animals out of scraps, bits and glue. No extra purchases necessary to create any animal of your choice. A Sharpie always helps.

How gorgeous are these? This will inspire kids with ideas of how creative they can be with their own animal.

Captioned Christchurch

I recently went on a photography biking tour through downtown Christchurch. We observed so many things: revived turn of the century architecture, earthquake riddled buildings, a pavillion of palettes and of course, abundant foliage that boasts images rarely seen by the outside world. It is a gem of a city some would say and we biked, stopped, unloaded and shot more times than I can count but it was worth every pedal pushed. I'm exhausted so let me quickly present what we've chosen as our top shot from the bike tour. 

Bikes, bricks and beautiful frames.

Easy Pom Pom Creations via Martha Stewart

I found an extra package of these (left) gorgeous paper lanterns by MarthaCelebrations that had been left over from one of our events last year. This decor piece is perfect for children's parties, teas or showers so I always try to keep quality staples like this in the house. They were stashed neatly away in the party bin and now, needing more pom poms, and on serious time constraints, I turned to marthastewart.com where she provided the below images of the very simple how to on creating your own. Imagine the versatility-little ones, massive ones and varying paper colors are just the start. What are you waiting for?

What you will need:

Tissue Paper

24-gauge white cloth covered floral wire

Scissors

Tips: 

• Don't over stack paper so you can get a clean cut when rounding the edges. (Martha recommends 8 sheets)
• Try varying paper (i.e. stripes, polka dots, contrasting colors, etc...) for dramatic effect.
• Make varying sizes for matching decor pieces.
• Separate layers by pulling them away gently to avoid tearing.

Shop supplies: 

Love the look created with the smaller pom. Napkins, candles, vases, flatware are all places this pom could go!

 All photos via marthastewart.com
 For original project click here.

Martha Stewart's Cooking School - Cooking, Food & Wine (Google Affiliate Ad)
Martha Stewart's Cooking School (Google Affiliate Ad)

It's Smart To Have a Smock

All of my children enjoy art. Whatever the medium, they are not afraid to experiment and get their hands dirty in order to create something amazing. I must admit that I was, for years, afraid of all that children's art can bring. Tiny scraps of paper, stained hands and Jackson Pollock inspired creations that end up ruining something nice ignited panic within. It has been almost a decade since my first child was born and I, as many parents do, have learned to let a lot of those initial fears go. I also rely heavily on a smock. This simple bit of outerwear for every artist is a must have in a home studio. It allows you to create freely without the worry of splattering paint. I love these particular ones because of the vinyl outside with cotton arms and tie. The full length of the arms offers complete coverage to keep clothes and body safe. 

Now art should not be done in best clothes but acrylic paints, turpentine and pastels can cause irreparable damage to clothing so a good smock is a necessity for all the little artists out there. Who needs best clothes anyway with stylish smocks like these?

 Choose gender appropriate and colorful smocks to encourage children to wear them.

 Vinyl coated outside offers the best protection and can be easily wiped cleaned so let your 
wee artist go to town!

This is smock resting position on our easel so that we don't lose it or risk spreading paint throughout the house.

 

Check our From Saks to Salvation to see how we made the smock a gift unto itself!

Tip: If you don't have a smock, use old t-shirts that are lying around. Just be sure to wash them properly to avoid ruining other laundry!

This beautiful girls' smock was featured on our shopping blog so click here and check it out!!

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Simple Project Through a Child's Eyes

I have been meaning to post these for a while now. We love to have the children do many of the things that we did as children and this simple and fun project is timeless and also well worth the wait. It is also a test of patience as some sets can take up to a few days depending on size.

You can find these "magic" grow capsules at many novelty shops worldwide. 

Warning now, the capsules are small and should most definitely be kept away from little ones. Our youngest was only able to observe this project from afar. 

Plop the capsules in water and watch them grow, baby grow as my eight year old says. The photos really are self-explanatory and were taken by our five year old who was until just a bit ago upset with me for not posting his project earlier. So sorry, son.

Enjoy.