budding artists?

Friday was another art day - but this time it was hands-on. You might recognize that this is my studio (Thermofax on the left behind Ben and etching press behind Josh) Ben was 8 in Nov. and Josh will be 10 in March. They slept over Thursday night; Friday morning they asked me if they could learn to sew, so sure enough, they took turns at my sewing machine and did very well, indeed, at putting together the top of a doll quilt for their little cousin. Their idea! I cut, they sewed - and in between, they played street hockey in the garage. After that, I took them to see my mother. and then we headed for the studio to do gelatin printing. I offered them the choice of printing on paper or fabric and they chose fabric, which I thought was very interesting. Here's Ben, adding some finishing touches to the plate. He loved pummeling the gelatin, but don't we all? Both boys chose to work in black and red.Next, it was Josh's turn. This is what the plate looked like and here's the first print. And here he is with the first and second prints on the fabric, looking proud - as well he might!When each of them had made four prints, we put them up on the wall to dry. It's a series!! Also interestingly, in most cases they preferred the ghost prints. Hilary left me with several pieces of their fabrics and a request that I find some way to stretch or frame them. Hmmm...a challenge because of the odd shapes. But I'll do my best. We had a fun day. Yrs truly was in bed by 9:30 pm and slept for 12 hours. Today was more leisurely and Marty and I are both glad it was Saturday. We got up late (see above) and went to the movies this afternoon to see Slumdog Millionaire. I loved it; Marty did not -- he found it difficult to follow (lots of flashbacks, noise, heavily accented English). I loved the color, the visuals, the language; the story, despite some violence. And I thought the cast was wonderful.