Bird Woman

Zaccai with Sacajawea Project Objects

Sacajawea was known as the Bird Woman so we made a papier mache model of a bird in her honor and we used an old symbol of a bird to represent her in this scholastic project.

One of my favorite wise travelers, the anthropologist Loren Eisley said "We are in a creative universe. Let us then create."

It is good to have some time every week for pure creativity, isn't it?

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Demo Cartoon

Demo Cartoon 1. (Zaccai)

Zaccai was demonstrating his pen and ink drawing technique during the Creative Workshop session a few days ago.

He likes the control and the quickness of this medium.

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Shoshone Village Project

Hannah Completes Her Shoshone Village Project

Sacagawea's Shoshone Village

For the last few sessions of our Creative Workshop, we have all been helping Hannah with this paper representation of Sacagawea's home village.

Sacagawea, a Shoshone Native American acted as interpreter for the Lewis and Clarke discovery expedition, crossing the Shining Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. She was able to obtain horses from her home village which made the difficult journey possible.

We have learned with Hannah that Sacagawea, The Bird Woman, was only about sixteen years of age when she and her infant son and trapper husband joined the famous Lewis and Clark expedition.

Beside being alert, brave and strong, Sacagawea is known as the first woman in America to vote since it is recorded that she voted for a place to spend the winter as an equal with the mostly military men of the mission.

She died of a fever in 1812 at the age of twenty-five, several years after the successful completion of the journey.

"Mitakuye oyasin" (We are all related).

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Watercolor Animal

Watercolor Animal

About a month ago, Al had never held a watercolor brush in his hand--now he is willing to tackle a fairly detailed color-in cartoon project (above).

Isn't that SOMETHING?

The cartoon was inspired by one of the folk art works in the local Mingei Museum.

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Maria

Maria

This painting was done mainly by Maria, our colorista who has left our care facility.

We have framed it with lively color in one of our papier mache pizza-box frames.

The size is about 13X13 inches--just about right for an accent decoration in a "Southwestern Style" room.

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Swiss Chalet

Swiss Chalet

This "Swiss Chalet", done in papier mache, features a three-dimensional or bas-relief effect.

The foundation/frame is a pizza box, as usual, and the whole is painted with acrylic color and finished with polymer medium.

It a lively work and everybody seems to like it.

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Magi in Rio Grande Canyon

Magi in Rio Grande Canyon

The name of this painting reflects the time I spent in Taos, New Mexico--the earth colors and the zig-zag "Indian" design decoration of the pizza-box papier mache frame are typical of that most enchanted land.

The Magi figures in this painting are imaginary religiously seeking beings which might walk in this beautiful and deeply spiritual place.

Like many of the arty things we produce in our Creative Workshop--most of us had a hand in the creation of this work.

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Arty Three

Hannah, Al, Zaccai--The Arty Three

These three artists keep the flame going.

Watercolors, papier mache, acrylics, cut paper, clay--they are there!

They have all got what it takes in art (and life): PATIENCE, PERSEVERANCE and a GOOD HEART.

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Drawing a Horse

Tries Her Hand. (Tomasito photo 2010)

One of the residents wheeled up to our workshop table yesterday and asked for a pencil and paper.

We were doing some Indiany things for Hannah's school study of Sacagawea and the Louis and Clark expedition--when the new artist asked what to do I suggested that she could draw a horse which she did--and a nice one too.

People are always surprising me with their creative talent.

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Zaccai's Puzzle

Zaccai Creating Puzzle. (Tomasito photo, 2010)

Al was practicing with his watercolor brush and made a lot of colorful marks. Zaccai accepted the challenge to create a picture using Al's dots and came up with a very creditable puzzle which may morph into something further soon--we'll have to wait and see.

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Our Bird House

Hannah proudly displays Our Bird House

Just about everybody in our Creative Workshop had a hand in the painting of this prebuilt bird house.

Even with all the help it took several sessions to complete--partly because of necessary drying time between processes and partly because of limited work time.

But these necessary delays made the final completion of the bird house that much more of a triumph--a small triumph maybe but still a real triumph for us.

Maybe the time passing between coats of paint and so forth helps the younger members understand more about patience--and it may help the older members remember their own impatient days.



I see such a difference in attitude between the young and the old.

For the young visitors--everything is new. Everything seems possible. All they need is to grow up and learn more about how to do things and they seem positive that life is good and getting better.

They go home after the workshop period often thrilled with their accomplishments and excited about the possibility that next session will be even better--besides their teeth are fine, their eyesight is keen and everything about their bodies is healthy and well and their memories are so complete they never even think about forgetting anything--in fact they feel so good they don't have a care about any bodily thing!

For the aged care home residents--they have experienced so much that even new things are not so very new and they sadly realize that things will probably never get any better but will only get worse until they finish with this life. Their teeth--if they have any--are a problem. Their eyesight is poor--even with glasses. Their bodies are a constant source of aches, pains and large and small breakdowns --and sometimes they can't seem to remember anything at all.


I feel very fortunate to have the company of these very young and these very old people together often in my life now as we practice creative arts--together.

Tomasito

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Hannah Decorating

Hannah Decorating. (Tomasito photo 2010)

Hannah, age nine, likes to do detailed decoration.

It is good for us to have such a wide range of ages and skills in our Creative Workshop. Everybody seems to be more alert and aware of each other and what is going on around them.

Sometimes the old-timer residents of the care home can get pretty grumpy, but when the kids are around they seem more self-controlled and polite.

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Watercolor

Watercolor Old Timer


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