The Benefit of Fun

What difference does it make to have fun?  Well, kids could answer that in about 2 seconds.  It makes ALL the difference.  If a lesson plan isn't fun, I've lost the students almost from the beginning.  And that's even true of the adults, too.  Their heart isn't in it and soon their concentration won't be either.  They stumble through the activity with only half the effort.  And the 'less than wonderful' results at the end of the project prove this project was not fun enough.

I know that life isn't all fun and sometimes one must do tasks that are simply necessary and not so pleasant.  But what if we began to look for ways to put more fun into our lives?  If we smiled more, if we laughed more, if we had more fun, wouldn't those unavoidable less fun things be more tolerable?  Doesn't the chocolate pudding at the end of the meal make the brussels sprouts less  unpleasant?

The Fun Theory by Volkswagon is a site dedicated to the idea that simply adding fun to our lives can make a difference for us and for the world around us.  Here is a video of an experiment proving this theory.  When the only way to get from down to up was a flight of stairs and and an escalator, the stairs were a lonely place.  But after a piano keyboard was added to the steps, thereby creating instant fun, the stairs became a much much more popular route.

Wind and Honey Creations

Inspired by the Creativity of Children

In keeping with the theme of children's art in the last few posts, I've created an original collage for the Crowabout Challenge.  This is for week 87.  We'll just ignore the fact that I'm 2 weeks late.  This collage is entitled Through the Window and it is meant to make one ponder the creative thoughts in the imagination of a child.  I've always remembered fondly a quote from the old Muppet Babies cartoons.  Gonzo said "Who knows what weirdness lurks in the minds of kids."   LOL!   That would definitely have been true at my house.

This collage began as an original digital collage printed with archival pigment inks.  It was then hand embellished with a variety of artist colored pencils.  And then mounted permanently on a gallery wrapped canvas painted with acrylic paint.    It may be found in my 1000Markets Shop.

On another note, I've been gathering a few treasures from sales lately.  I thought I would share.   I bought this suitcase from Aunt Agnes (as her niece running the sale called her).  The others have come from various sources.

Isn't this pin cushion sweet?

There was nothing in the thread box.  But I thought the box itself had enough character to stand on its own.

Dancing Swans all in a row.

I bought the photograph of this woman framed.  It is not a print but an actual photograph in 11 x 14 size.  Is this woman anyone famous?  Should I be recognizing her?  I'd love to share her with you for art purposes. But would love even more to know something about her.  Feel free to download her and please share your work with me if you do something creative with her.

A Moose, a Mountain, and a Garden Fairy

Yesterday hubby and I took a day off for a trip exploring the Wichita Mountains.  I know, I know, I know.  If you are from just about anywhere but here, you would not consider these "hills" to be mountains.  But technically they are.  Maybe just barely, but yes, they are mountains.  

I bring this up because I wanted to show you this wonderful moose.  

This is probably the biggest moose you'll see.  I would guess that he was about 15 feet tall.   I thought he was so fun with his crooked legs and wide antlers.  I have a friend from Canada that makes handmade paper using real moose droppings.  Hmmm.   Her name is LizAnnaOnTheLakes.  You might want to check out the beautiful handmade papers in her shop.  I bet this guy would create shiny metalic papers.  

Here is my entry for this week's Collage Play with Crowabout.   Butterfly Fairy is an original collage created digitally.  It brings summer right into your home.  You may purchase it in my etsy shop in 3.5 x 2.5" ACEO size ready to be framed or displayed creatively.

Cat Sitting with Kingsley

I've been at my daughter's for almost a week now.  I'm cat sitting.  I brought all kinds of art supplies with me and thought I'd get a lot of work done.  It hasn't really worked out that way.  I also brought clothes for warm May weather.  But it hasn't worked out that way either.  It has rained daily and is unseasonably cold.

  It has been a good week though.  Kingsley and I have relaxed, watched the rain, gotten to know each other better, shared yogurt, and spent time with old friends.  Well, Kingsley didn't come along for those visits.  But I told him about them.  And possibly the very best thing is I've learned how to roast fresh corn on the cob in the oven.  It is soooo simple!  You just put it in the oven husks and all at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  That's it!  Can you believe it?!  It tastes wonderful.

Here is my latest Collage Play with Crowabout challenge piece.  I created it digitally and it is for sale in my Etsy shop as an ACEO and in my 1000Markets Shop in 5" x 7" size.  Kingsley helped me design it.  He approves - mostly because it falls within his color theme.

  

Crowaboutit Challenge to Save My Sanity

I've been busy, busy, busy for weeks working on some commissioned work, creating new classes for my CraftEdu adventure, and dealing with a trainload of life that ran through our family.  Although I'm not quite finished with meeting deadlines head on, I discovered today that my sanity was greatly in jeopardy.  I knew what I had to do.  I simply must stop and do something utterly creative.  So I went to one of the most fun places I know, Collage Play with Crowabout.  This 5" x 7" piece is what I have created.  It is entitled "Tea Time, Ma'am".  It is a digitally created collage that has then been hand embellished.  I had fun creating it.  I hope you have fun looking at it.