10 Oct 2013

story stones


To open our art cupboard is to open the door to the natural world. Sticks, shells, seed pods and stones are our chosen canvases and we while away quiet moments under the shade of trees transforming them into artworks. Stretched out on a now paint splattered second hand sheet our hands reach for simple watercolour palettes*, watery huesclay, wooden beads and  twine.  Outside in the fresh air the babies feel uninhibited by the confines of the home and its sometimes aversion to painty mess. Splashes of colour teint the grass and ochre tinged bodies are easily and playfully hosed down. There isn't a lot of fanfare nor great planning and very few dollars have been spent. Simple and raw materials, gentle and timeless creations.

We collected some smooth river stones whilst exploring and using a simple news agency purchased watercolour palette we created some story stones. Armed with "not too wet" brushes and loads of colour for each swipe we painted simple story telling props of rainbows, suns and moons, trees and mountains and simple animals like birds, snakes and worms. Some rocks were painted all over in blue and green to represent the sea and grass too. When they were dry I sprayed them with a clear matt varnish to seal the magic in. 

* We will however replace our cheap watercolour palette with a better one when it's used up. I  believe that entrusting our babies with beautiful quality art materials yields such satisfying results for them. A modest investment provides long lasting, highly pigmented paints which make colours shine. Good quality brushes also grasp paint well and spread colour evenly, help to create fine lines and help with definition. Creativy flows when tools empower rather than hinder. When time (and often time and time again) is spent showing little people specifically how to take care of special items they always seem to exceed our expectations.

Steph x

8 comments:

  1. Love this so much. You are an inspiration, Steph. Thanks for sharing. Belinda x

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  2. you inspire me every time with your art ideas. they are always so natural, beautiful and appealing. x

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  3. Just gorgeous. So simple but beautiful and I love that you're using all natural things as your canvases

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  4. marvellous! thanks for the links, I am needing a watercolour set & brushes for this very thing to do at christmas camping. It was a smashing hit last year with all the kids! I love how you noted teaching them to look after their quality things x

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  5. Such beautiful pictures, I'm now following your lovely blog with GFC xx

    www.vintagerequiem.com

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  6. I'm looking forward to the day my little one is old enough to partake in activities such as these, so lovely xo

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  7. Beautiful! We've made several sets of story stones for ourselves and for gifts and they're still an absolute favourite!

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Your words brighten my day! Thank-you so much for joining me on my adventure. x