CartaBella

l'Artista Blog

February 6, 2011
by Bonnie Porter
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COLORFUL CASTLES.  
Brian Wildsmith’s colorful “puzzle” book inspired this project.  We observed all of the different geometric shapes he used to “construct” his towers and castles.  Then we went through a basket of children’s building blocks and picked out the shapes we would need to construct similar buildings on sketchbook paper.  


A few of the young artists chose to use a ruler to draw 1 in. squares, but it worked just as well to trace the wooden blocks.  We found triangles and other shapes for adorning the top of the towers.


Final step.  A bright and colorful pattern was selected and then everyone set to work painting their creations with markers.





January 1, 2011
by Bonnie Porter
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 STUDIO HOURS.  One afternoon of winter solitude and free to paint for personal pleasure.  Not a commission.  Not a lesson plan project.  
     For a long time I’ve wanted to sketch and paint this 1800’s Canadian woman.  It’s my acrylic/watercolor style interpretation of an oil painting which a pioneer artist did at a time when women in the arts were going against the current.  
     Thus the quotation I included on the canvas:  “Let the excellence of your work be your protest.”
     My friend Diana and I named her Francesca because she strikes us as a woman of Italian descent. 

 Our cottage during the snow and . . . .

my studio/classroom transformed into a dining room for our family Christmas dinner. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

January 1, 2011
by Bonnie Porter
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 ART & MUSIC DAY.  KinderArt students brought their instruments to our music in the studio session.  After studying the shapes and sizes, we concentrated on doing a contour line drawing of a guitar, paying attention to the instrument’s symmetry.

December 30, 2010
by Bonnie Porter
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SHAPES.  We’ve been on the lookout for shapes.  A Christmas clementine skin, for example, took shape as a “S” on the table!  Crafty letters are fun to paint and collage with bright colors, especially on grey indoor days.  Use your digital camera to take pictures of the alphabet shapes you see everyday—I see an “X” at the base of my office chair and I spy an “O” when I glance at my clock.

December 18, 2010
by Bonnie Porter
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KINDERART CHRISTMAS PARTY.  After reading John 1:1 and 14 in English, we learned how to write the word for “Word” in Greek.  “Logos” was not too difficult to write since we practiced copying the lettering several times.  Then we cut out the best one we had colored and attached it to a music sheet of JOY TO THE WORLD.  For a drawing exercise we walked around Mrs. Porter’s house and each one of us found a nativity scene to sketch.  For our fest we frosted Christmas tree cookies before everyone came to our party.