Ladybugs,Birds and Bees

The children were major bug enthusiasts this week. In the second summer session devoted to Native Species, we expanded to wildlife, plants, and birds that are native to the Northwest. We discussed the origins of art created out of natural materials by native indigenous cultures, and collected numerous materials on our nature walks to use in our art. The children found feathers, which were one of the earliest tools to write and draw with so we made ink and they did experiments with them. On Wednesday we had an outdoor class in papermaking and added leaves and cones to them while discussing the process of getting pulp from trees as the source for books and paper and the importance to recycle paper. People originally learned to make paper by observing wasps so it tied into our bug theme. On Wednesday we created the armatures and worked from drawings for our clay sculptures of bugs and birds. Over the week we experimented with a variety of techniques and materials for our prints and paintings, including using actual flowers and leaves as paintbrushes. On Thursday we had a presentation by Lisa Wilkes is from the nonprofit "Let's talk about Trees". The children were very engaged b her interactive talk about the various types of trees and cones and natural habitats. Take a look at the gallery of the young artists holding their final project and behind them are some of the other pieces they created as well as photos of their week.