Saturday, July 18, 2009

No Better Way to Be Together

The Art Girls


Jami's Portrait: My Real Name is Rainbow Songbird Clock 

Chloe's Says They Are Just Friends



Yesterday was the last day of art camp at my house. The week ended with blue sky and sunshine, the same way it began. All the windows and walls were covered with art and Skylar brought crepes, fresh fruit, and whipped cream - the kind that comes in a pressurized can. Is there any better way to celebrate when you are 10 years old? We went into the green backyard and everyone made sweet and messy strawberry/raspberry wraps.  We exchanged gifts, wrote poems for each other and at the end of the morning we took all the left-over paint outside and covered the sidewalk with sparkling hearts and handprints. We painted with our toes and the soles of our feet. Some of the paint was semi-permanent, so the week will not really be over until it all washes away. Even then, it will not really be over. I know The Art Girls are checking this blog. I will post more portraits tomorrow. I think we can keep this going for a while yet . . .

A poem by a previous Summer Art Girl (she was 9 when she wrote it!)

YOUR FEET KNOW THE WAY
Justin Linton

Your feet know
the way home.
They can tell you
the alphabet.
They can lead you
to the forest
and show you
many things, like
a special tree
in the sky
and beauty.

Your feet can do that.
They can.

And toe-painting, too. 

Summer View From My Kitchen Window

Summer View From My Kitchen Window
I am already more than a week into my summer holidays and just beginning to settle into this greenest of seasons - so glad to be at home with my windows and my light. I am just learning how to post these blogs, spending too much time in front of my computer, not enough time with the sky.  The morning began with thunder - an hour of pouring rain and thunder!!  Long after sunrise, the sky was still dark and ominous, but then suddenly the sun broke through. I put on my garden shoes, grabbed my camera, and went out to the flowers . . .   

After the Rain

After the Rain
After all that wild weather, the day lily leaves were covered with such quiet raindrops . . . 

After the Rain

After the Rain
One side of my yard is lined with leafy peonies - the grandmother of all flowers - pink, white, deep, deep red.  I have been deadheading the flowers all week long, but this one, just opening, survived the storm. I have lived in my house for nearly twenty years; these peonies were here long before I moved in and with any luck will be here long after I am gone.