coral and tusk

merit badges by Coral and Tusk..

I am trying very hard to break a long and annoying habit of coming up with grand ideas and not getting them done. Although sometimes it is lovely when you see just how well someone else can follow through. In fact everything Coral and Tusk do is gorgeous, who wouldn't want one of these little guys in their pockets?

Speaking of which I found my lucky chestnut in my "not worn for 9 years puffer jacket" pocket when I went to the snow. Nice one.

paper loom

turn this...

into this...

with these paper loom instructions...

wintertime

If you are coming along to Art class today and have any scraps of wool or string bring them alone the more the better.
I am looking forward to the weekend. We are thinking of going on a day trip to the snow. It has been chilly and it seems best to embrace it. I can't wait to see some wintry countryside and drink hot chocolate and soup from a thermos...different thermoses of course.

the sound of wood Bartholomäus Traubeck

What a gorgeous idea! German Artist Bartholomäus Traubeck used cross sections of a tree, analysed the density and colour of the wood and translated it into a delicate piece of music.
Genius. 
You can go here to hear all the different types of wood he has made music from or buy a limited edition pressing of the music with a veneer of the wood on the B side. 

air drying dough fossils

turn this...

into this...

with these air drying dough instructions

Class information

Each Friday during school term I teach art/science classes for children. If you are interested in coming here is the information...

Where: AKA studio 130 C Nicholson st Brunswick East

When: Fridays 10.00 am -12.00 pm . You can come and go at any time during the two hours.

Whom: For children aged from one to five year old and an accompanying adult.

What: Each week we explore an aspect of art or science through making or creating something.

How much: $10.00 per child of participating age.

If you would like to see what we have done in previous classes look here.

This will be our first week back after two weeks school holiday so look forward to seeing you!

infographs

Recently I have been researching how to translate lots of data into an illustration. Enter the infograph. John Phillips Emslie was a topographical artist and folklorist practicing in the mid to late 1800's. The bottom four images are his. If you are interested you can do a search and find so many beautiful examples by different artist.

circus

There is no activity this week as we have been taking a two week break for the school holidays. Instead I will be taking my three year old to his first circus class today with the hopes of him becoming a famous human cannonball in the near future. 

The schedule will resume this Friday with classes as usual which will of course mean there will be a new activity listed next Monday. Have fun until then.

No class Today

It is the last week of school holidays so there will be no class again today but see you next Friday as usual.

Holly Throsby

We are always on the lookout for children's music that is enjoyable for the whole family and at the moment are loving the album "See!" by Holly Throsby. It is very sweet and catchy and filled with science and thought provoking threads to follow. You can buy it here!

NASA

As we are on holidays there is no activity this week but I recommend having a look at NASA's Instagram page. They are celebrating ten years of exploration of Saturn by the Cassini Mission, and I for one did not know that the average thickness of the rings of Saturn are only 10 m.  Maybe you did already.

no class today

Just a reminder as it is School Holidays there will be no Art class today or next Friday. So instead you can have a look at this map of all the solid surfaces of the solar system mapped according to surface area. I found it on It's Ok To Be Smart which is filled with such things.

Bernd and Hilla Becher

I have been thinking a lot about cassification and grouping of things lately which reminded me of a show of Bernd and Hilla Becher's work I saw years ago. Their life's work of collecting and classifying industrial structures is something else.