BUTTERFLIES a la ALEXANDER CALDER

We've really gotten into our "study" of the life cycle of the butterfly. Our caterpillars are well on the way toward their transformation. Those 5 little critters we received in the mail became 5 fat and juicy caterpillars!

They then migrated from the bottom of the jar to the top were they suspended themselves one by one, upside down like little "J's" .

No matter how often we looked we never saw that actual transformation into a chrysalis! Those sneaky guys always planned it when we weren't looking! Now they are hanging there-barely a resemblance of their former. The chrysali are beautiful! Earth colored pods with opalescent spots that catch the light. Still and sleeping now with the most miraculous changes within.

The kids and I decided it would be the perfect time to resurrect another project I came up with for Winter Craft Day at Dea's old elementary school. That year the kids were studying different time periods of art history. For the modern art unit, I thought it would fun to make some kind of mobile. I've always been attracted to Alexander Calder's mobiles-especially the the ones emanating from a base as opposed to being suspended from the ceiling. To bring a little summer to our winter we used a butterfly motif that I found online. The kids made some amazing mobiles that year!


Now that we had plenty of time on our hands for the project, I improved upon the original design and we went to town.

Here's how it's done and what you will need:

Various specialty art and scrapbooking papers
Acrylic paints
Rock
18 gauge Floral wire
Old fashioned clothes pin
Pipe cleaner
Glue stick
glue gun
duct tape
bottlenose pliers
Black floral tape or colored wire
Feather craft boa of faux fir fabric(long hair)

Find a nice rock that would make a good paperweight or sturdy base .

Wash dirt off rock, dry and paint with acrylics.

Paint your clothes pin-this is the butterflies body .


Using 3-4 different specialty or scrapbooking papers, cut out a butterfly shape in various sizes so that they can be glued and layered onto each other. It’s best if the bottom(and largest layer) is a very thick paper).


Make sure you leave a thin space between the butterfly wings where the body would be(see pic). This space will eventually be glued to the inside of slit in the clothespin. You can also cut out smaller shapes to glue onto butterfly or even use stickers, buttons, glitter-whatever you fancy.

Using glue gun, put a spot of glue in the middle of the wings

Take an 18 gauge floral wire and wrap floral tape or another colored wire around it.

Make a loop at the bottom-this will be where the wire is hot-glued to the rock.

Attach the other end of floral wire to the clothespin by twisting it around a “leg” of the clothespin underneath the wings or around the “head”. You may need to use bottlenose pliers to twist the wire good and tight.

Take a pipe cleaner( the antennae) and twist around the clothes pin head and tighten with bottlenose pliers.

Using glue gun, attach loop of floral wire to top of the rock.

When wire is secure and cool you can hot glue a chunk of feather boa or faux fir to the duct tape around the base of the wire. Looks like wacky moss and conceals the duct tape!

You’re done! It may take some adjusting of the wire to get it to keep the butterfly upright. You don’t want your wire so stiff that it won’t move in a breeze or so limp that the butterfly just flops all the way over!
Set your butterfly by a fan or open window and watch it “flutter” in the breeze!

And don't forget to enjoy some APHID POPS or NECTAR with your new butterflies!!!!Goya makes yummy nectars the kids can drink like a butterfly. Don some wings, get a proboscis(straw) And drink up!

Or mix up green KoolAid and pour into an ice cube tray. Stretch plastic wrap over the top and poke a toothpick into each compartment. Freeze.

When frozen, pretend you're a ladybug and eat em' up!

NATURE TABLES

From spring...

...to summer

I love this wood lifecycle of the butterfly set: from eggs on a leaf, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly!

Needle felted caterpillar and cocoon. For caterpillar, simply wet felt some little balls and string together. Sew buttons for eyes. You can also cut a little mouth. For the cocoon, I followed these directions but used a rock instead of a plastic Easter egg.


I love to collect Goddess rocks. Here's one with her baby!
She represents both mother Earth and the goddess, Litha.

GRIZZLY VIDEO IS UP!!!-GOING GREENER-Free Entertainment

GRIZ VIDEO HERE!!! Scroll to bottom of post!

We did pretty well in the Free Entertainment department this past week, putting this Going Greener commitment to use.

The Scottish Highland Games & Gathering of the Clans:

(Thanks to free tickets from our friend, Nature Lady-the sewing master) Last weekend we joined our fellow clans in some Celtic celebration at the Scottish Highlands Festival. The highlight of the festival is the games, or traditional athletic "Field Events". These consist of really big muscled men in skirts throwing, heaving, lifting, pulling, tossing, swinging and tugging a variety of large and/or heavy objects. My personal favorite is the caber toss. A caber is a 16-21 foot long wooden pole weighing in around 100 to 150 pounds. In this event a kilt clad guy will pick up the caber from the bottom of it's light end and balance it on his shoulder.


Carefully running forward, he then attempts to throw the caber upwards and end over end to have it fall straight away from his body.

Whoever "turns" the largest caber wins. Other field events include the Stone Throw, Scottish Hammers-swinging and flinging a 50 inch 16-22#hammer, Weights for distance/Weights for heights-more swinging and tossing of heavy stuff, Farmers Walk-an attempt to carry two 168! pound weights a certain distance,

and Tug-o-War. The strength and skill showcased here are quite impressive!

Intertwined throughout the festival grounds one can also find vendors of both Celtic and non-Celtic wares, food, music, dancing, educational centers, kid games,




drumming and piping competitions, and a kickin' Celtic-rock band. Along the way one can mingle within the gathering of the clans-various booths representing different clans and/or offering information on heritage and tracing your Scottish or Irish ancestry. Now that I have traced my own ancestry back to some Irish and Scottish names(McNamara, MacDonald, and Hogue) I look forward to learning more about assembling a family tree and which main clan I belong to. As an adoptee, I am grateful for this festival and really enjoy the feeling of belonging and connecting to a history and people of the past that I have always felt a strong kinship toward.

IRELAND...
I've long had an obsession with it. I once read about a man who circumnavigated Ireland in his sea kayak. He wrote of the concept of cellular memory-the idea of having tangible memories of your ancestors kind of "imprinted" in your biology. This is why many experience a sense of coming home or having been there before when traveling to a particular place. I haven't been to Ireland yet but I have had similar feelings when hearing Irish music, seeing pictures, hearing an accent, etc. As a child I dreamt of the Cliffs of Mohr before I ever saw a picture or heard about them. Pretty surreal stuff. I'm definitely pulled THERE.


Someday.....




Theater in the Park- Pantomime:


Thursdays at noon in Peratrovich Park located in Downtown Anchorage one can usually find a large group of parents and kids as well as summer campers eating a picnic lunch and enjoying an hour of Theater in the Park. Throughout the summer there is a mix of Juggling, comedy, improv, and more -always inviting the audience in for interaction and participation. This week's special was pantomime. The first half of the hour consisted of a series of cute and classic skits by a one woman performer. For the second half, the mime "broke face" and using her voice, revealed the basic premise behind pantomime. Pantomime is storytelling without words where one uses their body to tell the story. Teaching children to pantomime encourages imagination, creative thinking and problem solving, and a deep understanding of stories and concepts. Pantomime also gives children a chance to explore their bodies and creative movement. Children are already natural actors and this group was eager to participate in the lesson in pantomime!

Shy at first, Lo was quick to join in the group in following the mime's impromptu movements. Thinking pantomime also comes naturally to children, I was surprised to see that Lo and many of the kids her age had some trouble at first. Using just her body without speech and toys to convey an idea was not a concept she was familiar with. It was interesting to see Lo making that mind/body connection. A child her age can imitate as well as imagine and create a scenario for play, but has difficulty creating pantomime unless given a "script".

After the brief lesson, some children(and a camp counselor!) were given the chance to act out a short skit with the direction and narration of the mime.


Then another group performed the same skit with no narration(and only a little direction!). The kids did a great job and Dea and Lo enjoyed this unique afternoon in the park.

On another green note, Huz has decided that he is going to bake all our bread himself! He was a baker and pastry chef for over 20 years and is THE MASTER of BREADBAKING. Oh. My. God. was this sooooooooooooooo yummy!!!



I'm gonna get fat.....

HAPPY 4TH and other good things

HAPPY, SAFE, and CELEBRATORY 4TH of JULY to ALL!!!

Here's to hope, renewal, and revitalization(OBAMA!) within our country in the coming year.

Yahoo! My work is being featured on the cover of the current issue of Alaska Women Speak Magazine!

"AWS prints the writing of women from Barrow to Sitka. The viewpoints are from individuals who are part of a rainbow of cultural, ethical, racial and social backgrounds - all with the experience of living in Alaska. Some women grew up in Alaska, many did not; add a dimension of growing in different parts of Alaska or any state or country - and yet we call ourselves Alaskan.
Alaska Women Speak has a Theme for each issue. The theme or topic serves as a catalyst for the writing. Each person brings their experiences and Alaskan perspective to each journal resulting in articles of great variety.
Since 1992 much of the history of AWS as an organization is the wonderful women who have been involved in this volunteer-based magazine."

One of the editors is a client and she liked the painting that I had in my session room. She asked if I would be willing to put it on their cover. Not my best work-it really was just a liitle something to add some color to my room. They had asked me right at the deadline to come up with an artist's statement/bio-they needed it right now! I had never even thought of an "artist's statement" and had no idea what to write. So I pulled this weirdness from out of the recesses(and my blog bio):

RunninL8 is a mommy of 2, massage therapist, evolving artist , seeker..., toymaker, tree hugger, outside playing, warm rain and soil under her bare feet loving, Celtic Zen Gnostic Neo-Eco-Pagan Syncretist Silly-ist. She has been creating as far back as she can remember. Her artistic expression has taken many forms: photography, drawing, writing, watercolor painting, jewelry design, fiber art, acrylics…-and is indicative of the environment and emotions surrounding her and within her own inner landscape. She recently introduced herself to acrylic paints and they have been exploring and playing ever since.
This piece, Virksha Dance, is one of her first tentative approaches and was created to bring a bit of color and whimsy to her massage session space. It is a reminder of the dance between working both grounded in the physical and suspended in the etheric.
Her writing and photography can be found weaving in and out of daily life at http://www.mountainpulse/



blah, blah,blah.




'Tis exciting!

LADYBUG, LADYBUG

We know there are LADYBUGS here in Alaska but they are one of those insects that we seldom see. Beloved, especially by children, this attractive, docile, and easy to catch little creature has always been a welcome addition to our yard.








In order to really enjoy observing and experiencing ladybugs we have to buy a box of them from the greenhouse and/or make our own! Last Summer while using utensils to cut and make designs in our Sculpy dough, a fun way to make ladybugs-or any beetle- revealed itself.

What you will need:
Sculpy dough
various sized spoons
toothpick
leaves with nice hard veins
Acrylic paint

1. Warm up a nice ball of Sculpy and use thumbs to push and mold Sculpy into bowl of spoon.
You don't want a lot to rise above to "rim" or spill over the sides so you may have to experiment with how much to use.



2. Carefully lift an edge of the Sculpy so that you can then pull the rest from the spoon. This is the ladybug's body.


3. Smooth out any rough edges.

4. Take a small ball of Sculpy for the head and press onto one end of the body. (Our heads tend to be bigger than a real ladybug's but we like the character it gives them!)


5. Using the toothpick, score a line from head to rump to delineate the wings.



6. Now it's time to go find some richly textured leaves. Ones with thick hard veins work very well.

7. Roll out some Sculpy with a rolling pin-about 1/4 of an inch thi

8. Press the underside of the leaf into the Sculpy and gently roll the pin over it a couple times.


9. Peel the leaf off of the Sculpy.

10. Using the toothpick, "cut" out the leaf shape.



11. Place ladybugs and leaves onto baking sheet and cook in the oven per instructions on the Sculpy box. *You can bend and curve the leaf to give it some definition or just leave it flat.


12. Once baked and cooled, paint your ladybugs and leaves with acrylic paint!

Have fun! Lo and her Friends have incorporated these cute little guys into their play for the past year. They are great sturdy additions to any dollhouse, gnome fort, or other imaginative play. They are also a wonderful companion to carry tucked away in a pocket!

Here's our finished results. Lo decided to make a very colorful ladybug and I also made a longer shimmery colored beetle. Lo included her bee and a multicolored ladybug!

It was when Lo discovered her first ladybug at the age of 2 that it really hit home how fortunate we both were that I was able to be a stay-at-home mom. We were at the park when one flew onto her arm. Usually sensitive to creepy crawly types, Lo was instantly enamored, allowing it to crawl all around her arm and hand. She punctuated her many questions about it with "awwww!"s and "so cute!"s. It was also the day she first discovered her shadow! I was so grateful to have witnessed this.
I felt sick at the idea that had she been in day care I never would have been apart of this. I've always wondered(and I am excluding those parents who are suddenly single or experience extenuating circumstances -there are many variables involved, of course, but I will clarify further by directing my negative feelings toward those parents who don't need daycare but who celebrate the institution of daycare anyway. Parents who think that being home with their children is weak, boring, less important than their jobs and the parents who don't take the time to think for themselves, research and plan ,to the best of their ability, the best course of action for their children before committing to have them)
"How could someone pay another person to get the honor and pleasure of experiencing these things -and many of the other great milestones and discoveries?!?! I was once one of those paid people. Those mommies and daddies have no idea what they missed...
But I've digressed...
I can't decide whether to hatch our own ladybugs with a kit to learn about their lifecycle or buy a box to set free. I'll look into it and see. For now, our Painted Lady butterfly caterpillars arrived yesterday and we are looking forward to witnessing their metamorphosis again this summer.

Did you know?
*If a Ladybug is held in the hand while making a wish, the direction that it flies away to shows where your luck will come from. ;)

*Ladybugs chew from side to side and not up and down like people do.

*Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so that birds and other predators won't eat them.

*In some Asian cultures, it is believed that the Ladybug understands human language, and has been blessed by God, Himself.

*If you squeeze a ladybug it will bite you, but the bite won't hurt.

*According to a Norse legend, the Ladybug came to earth riding on a bolt of lightning.


*During hibernation, ladybugs feed on their stored fat.

*In the 1800's, some doctors used Ladybugs to treat measles! They also believed that if you mashed ladybugs (ewww!) and put them into a cavity, the insects would stop a toothache!

*One might think a ladybug's coloring would make it an easy target for predators. Actually, it serves as a beacon to let a predator know that the ladybug tastes terrible!