...and we may never return!

Heading off with family to Martha's Vineyard this week...looking forward to starring mindlessly into ocean surf, beautiful sunsets, fabulous seafood, whales breaching into my camera's view and just breathing in the fresh salt air....as my friend always says.."nothing beats island living!"

I asked him what he wanted to make...

...and my little charge replied..."how about a zebra!!"...and so we did...love the symmetry of his 4 legs :)

Now they're in my hands....

I picked up these old wooden bingo chips on a recent antiques adventure....thought I could use this ephemera in one of my mixed media collages...now that they are in my hands, what am I gonna do with them....think...think....

The Art of Cheesecake...

There is an art to making these beautiful cheesecakes at the Cheesecake Factory...and there is an even great art in not succumbing to the Lemoncello one....one must sometimes suffer for their art.

I have fallen a little behind...

My summer reading is stacking up...and yet the magazines keep coming and I keep buying more books...maybe I can get down to business at the beach next week....who has time to read when you keep running about all these summer days?

Floating away....

With the temperature reaching 100 degrees today there was nothing to do but float like a leaf in the pool all day...and I do mean ALL DAY...(and maybe tomorrow if this nonsense keeps up)!

Everyone needs a piece of the rock..

...and as rocks go, this is a nice piece of real estate...sitting right there in the Farmington River.

But...what is it?

Wandering about the Riverside Nursery in Collinsville this afternoon looking for perenials to buy...come upon this strange flower...have never seen it before...very cool..but what the heck is it?

Just bee.....

Sitting on Lauren and Taylor's patio this morning, sipping my hazelnut ice coffee and enjoying her flowers...when along comes a little honey bee...so had to try out my macro lense...(and not get stung in the close up process). Luckily the bee didn't mind the paparazzi.

Hurrah for Art...and farewell

...until next summer. The kids really bonded through the two weeks of art/theater camp...and there were alot of phone numbers exchanged...and a few tears shed...as they posed for one final shot...strike a pose!!

The HeART of art...

Today we made the most beautiful, huge and colorful hearts...always a great project...many parents wanted to frame these because they are such juicy and intense colors!

The Circus Comes to Town....

...or at least the nobel elephants, complete with all their finery, feathers and bling!

What a great bouquet!!

The combination of white glue/black papers and pastel chalks produced some beautiful results today in art camp!

First step...Glue Flowers

Today we worked on giant flowers...the first step is to outline their flowers in Elmer's glue...and let them dry overnight...tomorrow it's all about the chalk pastels.

Just Desserts...

As our first week came to an end we decided what better subject to paint than gooey, decadent dessserts with a splash of glitter on top! Another great job from talented kids.

HeART in Hand Art Camp....

We're off and running this 2nd week with some colorful projects....I love when the students take the time and really get into their artwork...the results always show off their great efforts!

Feed me....

A baby robin has been born in my hedges...the nest is low, only about 4 feet off the ground...the mother keeps a watchful eye on our cat, Chloe, but once in a while she flies away and leaves this tiny fellow to squawk..."where's my food!!"

Taking and Making Stock....

Before we do any projects in art camp we spend the first day rolling out lots of juicy colors of painted papers so we can incorporate them into all of our projects for the next two weeks...messy but fun!

Class Mural...

The new session of "HeART in Hand" Summer art classes started off with a group mural inspired by Romero Britto's art...always a good way to have the kids all warm up to each other and get comfortable.

Monet's Garden....

We ended our "Mornings with Monet" week with who else...Monet...photographed the kids then added them on to their own bridge over the waterlily pond in Monet's garden...sweet results!