The Bird's Nest

These days it really isn't easy tempting your child away from electronic gadgets. My boys are quite fond of both the iPad and the Xbox. I am not that keen that they should spend so much time playing on what is essentially a 2d square illuminated babysitter. It's bad enough that we as adults spent 9 years of our lives watching TV, with many of these programmes being pretty dire. But at least my generation grew up without all the digital distractions keeping us away from important social interactions, exploratory play, nature and friendships. Don't get me wrong, the internet surely is a good thing and has brought the world into our sitting rooms...but we shouldn't abandon the hands on, the creative, the discussion, the physical handling of materials, the glueing, the sticking, the getting hands dirty part of child development.

Here is a little report from a Danish child psychologist with 4 good reasons why you shouldn't let the iPad babysit your 3-5 year olds. I know it's in Danish, but it is based on the book "The Big Disconnect” by Catherine Steiner-Adair. And it makes sense. It tells of the need to explore in 3D and to touch, feel and rearrange, to discuss and ask for help from siblings and parents, to imagine, to smell, to use small motor skills.

The Blog posting provoked a lively discussion with a clear for and against electronic babysitters. Of course, it's a complex issue, and at the end of the day it's up to parents to decide what is best for them and their children. But I certainly know from my own boys, that, yes, they really enjoy playing on the iPad, but when they have their heads stuck 5 inches away from the screen, there is little interaction or communication between us and them.

I suppose a balance has to be reached between parents/carers and their children. With parents increasingly busy with work and their daily chores, it's all too easy to forget that children can become so engrossed in the digital world. I hope in future parents don't end up regretting how much time their children spent hunched over an iPad. After all, childhood is but a fleeting and precious time...

Last weekend I decided to lure BB away from digital distractions and enter the arty, sticky world of collage. Sadly I couldn't tempt no. 1 son, but at least he did watch the fun and see the mess we made....

BB initially made a lot of sighing and huffing, but quickly got into it and enjoyed seeing the progress we made. He started off by cutting strips of words in an old book, strips off coloured magazine pages, which we stuck on a map glued to a piece of card.  

We glued the eggs in place and continued layering it, scrap of paper after paper, including some torn  tissue. Then added a few old buttons...

And there you have it,"The Bird's Nest" by Mother and Son Alton...BB was quite proud. We debated colours, tones, how the glue affects different thickness paper, and how light would shine on the twig to give depth, when adding enough was enough, and all whilst we got stickier and stickier...

An iPad doesn't yet have the ability to tickle all the 5 senses, but on the other hand, looking at artists and their work on-line can perhaps motivate a child to have a go themselves.

This project was inspired by a representational collage in the current issue of Cloth Paper Scissors.

Creating my own Kate Tulett art

At the South of England Show this year, in the pouring rain, I stumbled across the very lovely Kate Tulett in one of the craft marquees. Kate is an art teacher, artist and generally a splendidly bonkers lady! I thought her collages were fab, and longed for one of her creations myself, but settled on a one-day textile course held at the school she teaches at in Oxted. But unbeknownst to me, my great hubby sneakily arranged for me to receive one of her aquascapes for my birthday, knowing that I have a particular penchant for all things sea related.



It was done in great haste as we only 'discovered' Kate a week away from my birthday, and the collage was a surprise, so it involved secret emails, and a hand-over on a garage forecourt.
I love my picture, it even has lines from a poem that Steve wrote for me many years ago!

Those who know me are well aware that I am a hoarder as far as fabric, buttons and ephemera go, and I like art which is both textural and three dimensional. So having a go at creating something as fun as one of her pieces was quite a challenge. Letting go, and allowing myself to empty my head of science and bees and such, even for a day, is not always easy. Nature accompanies me where ever I go :o)

And despite being amongst many (many!) children on the course, Kate was patient with all and sundry, no matter what age or temperament. I have done some machine embroidery before so I am reasonably comfortable with a sewing machine, but am always open to new techniques.

We looked at the work of Sophie Standing, a very clever textile artist and Kate explained her techniques, before embarking on our own projects. And although I haven't finished it, I'll show you how far I managed to get today.

First a sketch on muslin, then acrylic paints washed over the canvas

Here's one of Kate's pieces in progress

And two stages of other pieces of Kate's work!

Next the fabric stage, and here the photo of my garden for inspiration

Kate's desk!

My collage beginning to take shape with fabric scraps

Oh, oh! Small people upturning the giant fabric box and hiding amongst the multitude of textures and colours! Great fun!

But, of course, bees are always in my heart, and always part of my garden...

You'll have to wait to see the completed article, as there is more to add to my master-piece. However, I am pretty chuffed at the way it is progressing, and even the din of enthusiastic noise from what seemed like a hall full of halflings didn't deter my enjoyment of the day.

Many thanks to Kate and her two peachy assistants!