moopy & me

Nest Studio art class #1

Monoprinting

I often get requests for online art classes for those of you who don't live here in Adelaide... so I am going to do my best at posting a few of my favourite little projects for young children over the next couple of months. They will be short and hopefully something you will feel comfortable doing at home... Of course, in Nest classes we go into much more depth and don't only focus on the method as done here... you could go for a walk or read a favourite book etc .. to get imaginations flowing.

Step 1 you will need :: block ink (it is sticky not runny), ink roller, paper, plastic sheet (or plastic placemat you can ruin), pencil & butter knife

Step 2 Using your butter knife, spread a large grape sized dollop of ink onto the plastic sheet

Step 3 Roll the ink gently in an up/down rolling motion, until the ink has spread the width of your roller

Step 4 Now roll the ink in a left to right motion until you start to smooth it out over the length of the plastic sheet

Step 5 Aternate this with the up/down motion until the whole sheet is covered nice and smoothly and thin

Step 6 Gently place the paper over the ink covered plastic sheet, DO NOT TOUCH the paper as it will leave big fat finger marks.... you may like to hold the paper down in the corner where there is no ink for your little artist when they begin drawing. Now this is the fun part.... START DRAWING (but remember not to touch the paper, show your child how to hold the pencil upright so that their little hands don't rest on the paper... although sometimes this can make for a nice texture)

Gently pull the paper away and presto! a really stunning monoprint appears, this photo does no justice to the delicate texture that the ink creates under the pressure of the pencil.

Try using different things to draw with (fingers, sticks..) and you can let this dry and get out other ink colours for a layered ..two/three/four coloured monoprint. Lily went ahead and used watercolour pencils to add some colour to her prints :: Above print is a cat with lovely long whiskers :: Top is another cat but this one has many wings for flying.... next to Lily on her first day of "proper" Kindy this week.

I have so much fun with my Moopy's art ... here is the "flying cat" with digital colour added and printed up on my trusty bubble jet.

Rolling along

I have been playing with patterns all week.... I wish I had a pair of these skates so that I could zoom along a little faster. The new artroom is taking longer to organise than expected ... but my 'back to school' deadline still gives me a good two weeks to work on it.

Note to parents :: there are a couple of placements still available in some of Nest Studio's art classes, click here to get all the info. We are focusing on all things paint this term, I can not wait.... we haven't had the paints out on the canvases for a whole year (except for our mid year exhibition).

Well I still can't show you pics of the new artroom and shop extension because it all looks so hideous... so much packing away... throwing away... painting... oh the painting that needs doing.... holes to bash into walls... (we have one done... and one to go)

I made the birdy up there in cotton + felt on linen... a mix of solid fabric and stitching

My new favourite

Could the Japanese possibly bring out any more brilliant magazines.... when will the addiction end?

Moe is my new absolute fave mag... all about children's literature, in particular, illustration. I can't get enough of it and wish I could get back issues. Every issue comes with a paper pull out of something very cool and has a 8+ page article on one illustrator.... plus so much more. This is one magazine where I really do wish I could read Japanese.

This is the adorable calendar in issue 1 for 2008.

An article on the wonderful Mitsumasa Anno and his book Anno's Journey

A N D this awesome article on Bruno Munari

Looking through this magazine actually gets a little overwhelming after a while... so much to look at, so much inspiration, so little time.....

I really should open up my fresh crisp new sketch book that Chris gave me for Christmas (covered in delicious japanese paper) .... problem being it looks too good to use.. silly I know... I like Keri Smith's solution to this popular conundrum... go right ahead and just ruin the first page... scribble all over it..totally go nuts... ahhhh now you can start sketching without fear!

Hey Decole

How exciting! the stock I ordered well in time for Christmas has finally arrived today?? oh well... I hope you saved some of your pennies because my shop is chockablock full of Decole right now.... (sorry, offline sales only, please don't email me and ask if I can sell online, cheers) I only wish I had ordered a little extra for myself... I have only ordered one or two of some items, so if you are a Decole fan I would pop into Nest Studio (Elizabeth Street, Croydon, South Australia!) soonish.

I celebrated the New year with friends in the empty new studio and we pretended it was my birthday ..(it is actually next week but most of my friends are away so I got in early). We felt a little sorry for ourselves the next morning so we chilled out in the airconditioning until we dared to brave the outdoors to frolic in the surf and share some good old fish and chips at Grange beach at dusk (can you believe the 41.5 degree days and 35 degree nights we have been having ..yuck)

For those waiting to start art + zakka workshops & classes... I will keep you posted over the next week or so... I do the big move tomorrow ... then I can assess what we need and we can get back into it. You are welcome to join up as members in the mean time... the form is here.

Yes, they would have to be the cutest skipping ropes out.

I ordered myself a birthday present or two at Amazon.jp last night....apparently it will be arriving on my birthday..yah.. so I will share all the fun with you then. Hopefully my posty wakes me nice and early (as he usually does) with a little parcel ..and I get a coffee in bed to go with the excellent reading [(coffee from Chris not the posty..)..well not that I read Japanese] .. rather excellent viewing material.... mmm one can hope!

paper bunnies

Well hello hello

Long time no see huh.... it's nothing personal ... I have just been keeping extremely busy with the shop and studio... infact I must say I feel a little disconnected from you all at the moment... I will have to do that whole post every day thing for a month, to get back into it maybe.

I feel quite dreadful actually.... I haven't even posted about Moopy's 4th birthday... Chris has finished uni ..whooop whooop! I got the keys to the new (extension) of my studio/shop yesterday..WOW .. so much light and space... umm I have some little itty bitty illustrations (printed on fabric and stretched onto canvas frames) up at Uncle Alberts Cafe in Norwood at the moment (little boy Moopy above is one of them). I thoroughly enjoyed the process of these new works and intend to explore it alot more in the new year....

Hey did you see Mandy in this months issue of Frankie... isn't her work just the sweetest. I am not sure if I have mentioned it here or not but you can buy her prints, cards, stickers, buttons... umm what have I missed.... at Nest Studio (offline in Adelaide... check her out on Etsy for online sales) I must say I have been extremely slack in the information department here at Moopy&Me... but I fully intend to rectify this very soon... I think the problem all started a couple of months ago when I lost my camera....

And the thought of posting without fresh pics was just very uninspiring...hence large pause... I have found my camera though.. but you know when that pause is so big you just don't know when to jump back in... like trying to jump into the big skipping rope... especially when you tried doing it with two ropes for the first time ...and your head is bobbing in and out ..waiting for the ropes to be in just the right place...

Well merry Christmas to you all and heres to us catching up more often!!

Sharing the love

I have almost put a self imposed ban on me looking here ... every time I check the ever so talented Christina's luscious blog, I end up obsessed with a new doll or pattern or fabric..... She recently showed a lovely girl sporting an ever so cute sun hat .... that I just had to make... now I don't know if there is a secret club of sunhat wearers, but I couldn't google a pattern for the life of me... and believe me, I spent a number of hours. So.. incase you are part of my club (the club for people who can't find sunhat patterns) I went ahead and designed one for us.... to share and spread the love with. Go on.. click in the side panel there and give it a try, I would love to hear from someone who manages to make my pattern work.. the brim can be made wider and has lots of room in it to make it floppy (or trim it to make it more bonnet style). cheers.

 

And you can make it double sided too... fun!

Hello all Shinzi Katoh fans... Nest Studio (offline) now has an adorable selection of Shinzi's wears.... bags, postcards, lunchboxes, posters, mugs, ummm.. placemats.. it has made going to work such a pleasure!

Speaking of work, I have the most wonderful news... especially for those who live in Adelaide or already come to Nest Studio : art classes for children.......Nest Studio will be expanding into shop 2!!! (currently Leanne's Queen Street Pilates Studio, she has just bought and started renovating a fantastic much larger space just down the road... which she will have a community garden in! can't wait). So all of my students will now have a bright large airy space to be creative in, I can't tell you how excited I am... we move in late December/early January. This also means I can invite more people into the studio during my non-teaching hours ... to be creative/have mothers groups/teach other workshops... the options are endless.... I will post about the application process very soon.

I will leave you with another little Moopy&Me that we drove past today (public holiday) whilst getting inspired by our South Australian countryside.. somewhere near the Myponga Reservoir.

   

Birthday season begins..

Royal Adelaide show :: New shop window with a dress I did make :: Moopy the 'Care Bear' at a special little girls 4th birthday, face painting and all! we had such a great time

Thanks for all the well wishes on the Softies book... but I have to say now.. some of you have said "my" book, which is very flattering but not true... I am a contributor amongst many... Also a big thank you to all of you who popped in on the weekend to celebrate at the Softies little shindig, it was a great start to Chris' and my 5 year anniversary, we continued on with celebrations (alone..for once! Lily was at her uncles) with a superb dinner for two at the Victory Hotel (Sellicks)... I can't rave on about that place enough... what is lacking in decor is made up for ten fold in the food/wine & service.

Questions answered : Softies is available at all good bookstores... even if it isn't on the shelf, I am sure it can be ordered... (Adelaidians can get their copies at Nest Studio too)

Lily's dress in the previous post is from Seed, we of course got it at a sale... I think it maybe Liberty fabric?

I get this one quite a bit so I might pop a more thorough FAQ in the side panel very soon. Something along these lines "I like your art studio for children how can I start my own?" Firstly, Thank you. Secondly, I had the dream of teaching art to children in a studio for quite some years before I started at my own premisis. I tested out my ideas and desire to even teach (through volunteering my time at schools and other children's art studios) well and truly before I went back to Uni (after already being there for five years doing an honours degree in visual communications) to get my teaching degree. Then I tested my ideas again by starting out small, I think that is the key, especially if you don't have financial backing... I only had 12 students in my first term of enrolment, of which 5 are still coming to class three years on!! (I try my best not to have favourites but admittedly my original kids have a special place in my heart.) It is hard work running your own business and because I am at home being mum with Lily all week and Chris is working hard as a student at uni, there is only so much I can do..If my studio was all I had in my life I would obviously be pushing harder (and earning an income) but I prefer to enjoy each part of my life in appropriate measure. I love what I do, that makes it a whole lot easier to go without some of the other things in life...I believe that if you do what you love and put yourself out there, then you will get what you need back. Passion-Education-Passion-Courage-Perseverance-Balance-Learning-Patience-Passion...... That is how I started and continue to grow.

Favourite books for teaching with? Great question! but that is a whole other post! soon I promise.

Where can I get your toys? No where. well except for a few stragglers hanging around in the Nest Studio tree.. I made a deal with myself (that I haven't told you) that I wouldn't make any toys in 2007 for retail or wholesale... I am meant to be doing my book... aahemm.. yes my book.. I have been working on it but more so in my head than on paper... Sign up on the mailing list over there in the side panel and you will be first to know. 

Sunny days

Moopy hanging out with me at the shop yesturday... she had her first art class with other children (with me teaching) and it went swimmingly. Thank goodness.... I was worried how we would both cope ... her not sharing... me losing it.... but we were both on our best behavior! What did we do you ask? we made paper using confetti (the colour runs beautifully) and next week when it has dried, we will draw on it. We read the newish book by Peter Reynolds "So Few of Me" (actually it is a year old). I love Peter Reynolds books.

Friends :: Louise (interiors) Emily (The Purely Cotton Co... I design/ed Emily's business identity... the heart flower up there) Eddie (photographer) Claire (illustrator)

Adorable children's art, inspired by "Where does Thursday go?". love it!

Softies (Penguin Australia)

Launch Party!! at Nest Studio, 4pm this Saturday Sept.8

See you there xoxo Carly

Nest Studio is in Croydon, South Australia.

Drum roll....

::A few little thank you gifts for the girls who attended my textile workshops::

I had so much fun, it really was a relaxing 'me time'/designy/craft session for all of us. I made the patchworky goodies for them to highlight just how awesome their textile designs were... included are their very own designs! the overlapping circles, leaves and pink moose were all designed by the gals ..... I then mixed them up with some of my other favourites to make pouches and coasters.

After the big month of 'Chris'... (the month where he is studying so madly that we all go a little mad) things are slowly getting back to normal... as in normal piles of mess rather than the gigantic ones we have now! I am looking forward to some well earned time with my sewing machine.... (and you thought I was going to say family!) speaking of which.. a little Moopy update for friends and fam living far far away... she has started pre-kindy... loves it! and writes her own name! how exciting.

 

Would you like a strawberry with that chocolate?

Attention all MiniMoopy Stitch-it pattern buyers! it appears a batch of my mail has disappeared.. (thank you to those who kindly alerted me to this mishap) Unfortunately due to Chris hogging my computer for almost a month (and he will keep doing so until his last exam on Saturday) I can not contact you all and work out who got what or didn't get anything.... so I am resending all patterns bought in the last 4 weeks... gmmmph.... it sounds annoying, but infact this is easier than trying to track you all down. My big heart felt appologies to all of you who have been checking the mail box...waiting and cursing me...

I will get back to normal chatter next week... when I gain control of my computer again!! see you soon. (and a another big thankyou for the major literacy discussion and advise.... I don't think y'all have commented so much in all my time here at this little blog....we should do that more often)

The fondue set was a gift from a mum of one of my students... lets just say she knows me too well!