Spring forward in just five days. (But who’s counting?) Longer evenings for family walks. Warmer afternoons. Flip flops…
…And bubble blowing! In honor of spring, Nana helped us blow some bubbles with pastels.
First gather your colors.
Next, make your grass. Turn your pastel stick on its side and lightly, gently, make a bit of color for the ground. Remember? Nana taught us that this is “skumbling.” Here comes one of our favorite parts…
Fist it in! Use the side of your balled up fist and blend the color.
Let the youngest ones join in! Pick out their own colors, draw circles. Blend!
Keep the baby wipes close by too. See?
Now it’s time for sky! Pick a pretty spring blue and lightly fill in all the way to the top.
Fist it in!
Next, Nana talked to us about bubbles. She asked us to think about their shape. Are they always round when you blow them? Usually not. Big, fat bubbles can be any sort of shape. Use your imagination when you draw your bubbles in yellow.
Then Nana talked to us about bubbles being translucent and transparent. Are bubbles clear? We decided that they always reflect the light and have a bit of color. Maybe you’d like to add some pink or a touch of blue.
Use your finger this time to blend the colors and soften the edges of your bubbles.
Next, add just a bit of pink – all on one side because of the light – to show how your bubble reflects.
You can choose to outline your bubbles in blue, as Nana did. The blue helps define the shapes. Or you can decide, as eldest did (above), to leave out the blue. Hers looks lighter and more transparent, don’t you think?
One last touch. A bit of white on the same side as your pink. For depth. As 11-year-old did, above.
Five-year-old’s bubbles.
Eight-year-old’s pastel.
Three-year-old’s bubble creation!
Then, of course, it’s time to make some real bubbles.
Then, time to clean up!
A note on pastels: Pastels are an easy, forgiving medium. Fun for children and adults alike! Details on the pastels and paper we use, how and where to purchase, and links to all of Nana’s other pastel lessons are all contained in the post Pastels plus links to tutorials. A simple set is very affordable.
The practical aspects of a mess: Pastels are blessedly messy. We always have baby wipes close by to wipe hands. We wear something we don’t mind getting stained or don a smock.
Ready to blow some bubbles?
How lovely. Thank you for posting this now, so we can do it to celebrate the first day of spring. (But it is hard to think in that direction as I sit by the fire!)
Phyllis, thank you! We were sitting by our fire yesterday. But we’ve been having a few warm days here and there.
I have been reading your posts documenting these art tutorials with Nana and I have to say they are AWESOME!! You are so lucky to have such a wonderful person like this in your life. I love the patience and creativity that are obvious in these lessons. The photos of your children’s hands dirty with pastels are great, it’s like their hands become little works of art too!
There must be something about Nanas. My Nana was equally wonderful and inspring. 🙂
April, you are right about Nanas! She blesses us in so many ways. And she is most patient to teach all five of ours these fun lessons. She loves it and it shows. We so look forward to her art lessons. Yes, I love those hands covered in pastel colors too. Thank you for your kind words.
Ready for Spring! Thank you for the wonderful comments! More to come!
Forever,
Nana
This looks like so much fun! I think I’m going to have to put pastels on my list of art stuff to get for us. AND browse around Nana’s lessons. So glad I meandered in to this post!
This is fabulous! Thank you for posting such detailed steps. Makes me feel like we might actually be able to pull this off. Off to locate a set of pastels!
THANKYOU! I am so excited to try something new (but still simple!) for “Art” class!! ;D
Stopping by from the Homeschool Showcase
Did this today, then Stumbled it. 🙂 Thank you!