“I bring you candles in the early dark hours. I bring a photograph of the moon half-full, walking through a bright blue sky. I bring the yellow leaves lit up by low sun. I bring the smell of burn.

I bring the peat fire, wet blacktop, bodies of spiders curing in corners, rosemary, the grass wet in the morning.

I bring a wool cloth, a linen cloth.

In the dark part of the year we find a scratch of light where we can get it. The stars are brilliant. The snow when we have it shines. We are walking together in the darkness, in silence or talking, the sounds of birds and animals, the hanging boughs of yew with their bright red, translucent berries.”

* * *

“For the dark part of the year, I bring you a calendar full of drawings from my travels this year. I bring you warm words, bunnies flying kites, robins & rosehips, the Belgian winter. I bring you my child-self, and early mornings in a kitchen an hour outside Ghent. I bring the young women working in warm, bright cafés at winter’s early nightfall. I bring you something to read with your tea or coffee, on the bus or walking to work (careful, there!).”

* * *
WORDS & ILLUSTRATIONS by the warm & oh so creative EIREANN LORSUNG

Just one of the many STORIES OF CHANGE taking place around the world!

DESIGN FOR CHANGE “is the largest global movement designed to give children an opportunity to express their own ideas for a better world and put them into action.

Children and adults learn through the Design for Change Challenge that “I Can” are the two most powerful words a person can believe. Children who have discovered this are changing their world.

This year, Design for Change reaches 33 countries and over 300,000 schools inspiring hundreds of thousands of children, their teachers and parents, to celebrate the fact change is possible and that they can lead that change!

The challenge asks students to do four very simple things : Feel, Imagine, Do and Share. Children are dreaming up and leading brilliant ideas all over the world, from challenging age-old superstitions in rural communities, to earning their own money to finance school computers to solving the problem of heavy school bags – children are proving that they have what it takes to be able to ‘design’ a future that is desired.”

Kiran Bir Sethi. Founder. Design For Change School Challenge

Karyn’s House. Machine Paper Foundation Piecing : Houses. the workroom.Toronto, ON.May 2011

Working for a school which is owned by an apparel company means that we have an ample supply of fabrics, buttons and ribbons, hence my weekly check in’s with the workroom’s blog make something. Houses inspires me!

Agne’s Houses. Machine Paper Foundation Piecing : Houses. the workroom.Toronto, ON.May 2011

I am in constant dialogue with myself when it comes to storytelling – searching for new ways to engage children in language and the arts. Felt cut-outs and recycled cardboard are useful but at this stage in my teaching career, I feel the need to challenge myself to involve a more diverse range of materials within storytelling, for both myself and the children. I have always welcomed the use of whatever is available in the room or on the shelf closest to you when a child asks you to read a story but… my goal is to create a thoughtful collection, something more permanent. With an emphasis on reusing materials and objects that I already have within my home, I am determined to make props for each of the stories I have in my library before I head back to school September 1st.

This afternoon while browsing my inspiration folder, this photo by the talented Miss Yokoo has reminded me that no matter how fuzzy or twisty the scraps from these ‘homemade props’ may be, they are worth saving and sharing.

Art + Photo by Yokoo

I like the idea of art that is temporary; creating on a bare table top or a the edges of a bookshelf. If you do too, be sure to have adhesives and paper nearby – some children just aren’t willing to accept that their creations get picked up piece by piece and put back into a glass container for use another day.

Drawing by Seth

We encourage children to talk to us about their drawings, write down their words and often look to the art shelf or in the recycling box for materials to extend their images and ideas. A child’s drawing provides endless possibilities for creative expression, storytelling and dramatic play – it is exciting, for both child and adult, to see a story transform from flatness to fullness.

These images inspire me to continue to encourage the transformation of flatness to fullness, they also serve as a reminder that I need to make peace with the sewing machine.

Plush by his mom, Karen (updated blog coming soon)

via acejet170

architecture, 2006
oil on canvas
110 x 130 cm

The following is an exert from ARTIST STATEMENT FOR THE NY DRAWING CENTER – Text by Sabine Finkenauer for the exhibition Non – Declarative Drawing in the Drawing Center, New York, September 2007

“I am in the habit of using a wide range of colors. I apply them according to the emotion they convey and in order to grant the right weight to shapes, rather than because of their representational value. I am not interested in complicated technical procedures or sophisticated materials. What attracts me to drawing is precisely the frugality of the medium, which facilitates a very direct and immediate execution. The quality that underscores the bareness and simplicity of the expression I seek in my work lies in this austerity of resources.

My work generally treats just of “things”,objects taken from daily life such as pieces of furniture, dresses, plants, buildings, or mountains. Figures such as little girls, princesses, or dolls that appear to be related to children’s stories and imaginary worlds are also present. This whole universe of “things” is portrayed in a simple yet rigorous formal language, playfully situated between abstraction and concrete images. Also leading to poetry and irony, my approach to this seemingly naïve or even stupid imaginary world is clearly formalistic. In my search for the limits of representation, things are divested of their attributes and converted into “form”. Form is the true theme of my work—the ambiguity between representation and definition being a sign or symbol that travels in an intimate and subjective way from the visible to the invisible, from what we see to that which exists.”

head, 2007
lacqued iron bar
165 x 230 x 1 cm

Sabine is currently an Artist in Residence at Cité International des Arts de Paris (March-April 2010).

via itisnicethat.com

…in Reggio Emilia, Italy, July 4-17, 2010 for 100 participants.

The main contents of The Summer School will be:

“- The principles of the educational project- Infant Toddler Centres and preschools, Istituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia.
- Experiences of theories and practice in dialogue
- The school seen as a system of interactions and relationships
- Analysis of research projects
- Encounters with teachers, pedagogistas and atelieristas
- Parents participation in the life of the school
- The experience of the preschools and continuity with the primary school
- The hundred languages of children. Expressive and cognitive learning
- Exhibitions seen as professional development tools
- Atelier Ray of Light, Atelier of Water and Energy. Visits and workshops
- The cultural project of the International Centre Loris Malaguzzi
- Reggio Children and the role of International Networks
- Friends of Reggio Children International Association
- The town, the community, the early childhood services in Reggio Emilia
- Encounters with local administratoris, politicians, city council members
- Projects in collaboration with Univerisities
- The Italian Educational System
- Experiences from the World: dialogues and conversations with the participants

The programme will be developed through lectures, power point presentations,
plenary sessions, workshops, hands-on, working in groups, role playing,
projection of video clips, analisys of documentation tools, making the learning
visible: workshop in motion.

The two weeks will be in English. The participants are expected to have a good knowledge of the language in order to facilitate exchanges among them and to support active interactions and communications.”

DOWNLOAD PDF

…currently on my list of things to “try to do” this summer

Surface Printing Workshop – SEPT 12th, 2009 12 – 4pm

“This is an opportunity to learn and explore simple means and methods for printmaking, while also absorbing Lotta’s organic and intuitive design sense for inspiration. Get inspired to create your own individual & unique projects!

The emphasis will be on printing on already existing items using easy techniques (like stenciling, printing with linocuts and even potato printing!) anyone can use at home without special or expensive equipment. You will come away from the class with a couple of completed projects and much inspiration to print on anything from pillowcases to totes. Print-makers and creatives of all levels and experience are welcome to attend this exciting and intimate workshop.”

If you can’t make it:

Visit Lotta’s online shop for inspiration!

Zara Wood aka Woody

“When it was recently revealed to Woody that she has vision superior to 20/20 vision, she put it down to excessive drawing. With a background in Fine Art, Woody’s approach to illustration is dynamic. Deemed as prolific and versatile, she produces work for advertising, editorial, publishing and fashion clients in Europe and Australia. Woody regularly exhibits and has her own range of limited edition art products available from international stockists including the V&A in London and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.”

Zara Wood’s interview in SHIFT

The folks at imaginechildhood believe that “children should experience the world through their own eyes, ears, fingers, and toes. That direct interaction with nature is the best way to learn about the world, and that open-ended imaginative play is the best way to learn about what it could be.”

“Part community forum, part storefront, imaginechildhood.com is a place where parents and kids can find their own definition of childhood. On our blog and in our store we offer stories, activities, and innovative products that encourage exploration, creativity, and open-ended unstructured play. So take a moment and imagine childhood… what do you see?”

photos by imaginechildhood.com