The Shingle Strike by David Young tells the story of Irish poet Francis Macnamara’s endeavour to overcome the bullying tactics of an unscrupulous overseer. The convicts’ only hope of resistance and justice is to strike, but can Macnamara persuade his gang to join him?

What a wonderful experience this was. We thought we had missed all the plays that were on throughout the day as we had focused on ensuring that we managed to actually attend the Port Arthur Beneath your Feet – Archaeology session. Which was our main aim of going to Port Arthur. However after enjoying the Harbour Cruise, we decided to have a look at the Commandants House and the buildings surrounding it. However as we approached this the actors in the play were calling out ‘Last play of the day!’ so we decided to go and see what it was all about.

What a wonderful surprise it was. Everyone, even the children enjoyed the play!

Here are some pictures taken during it…

- A Soon to be Painting by Nik for her Nan

I have never considered myself to be very artistic, yet I have always considered myself to have a love of art.

In having a love of art, I try to give my children the same opportunities as I had as a child in order for them to hopefully also appreciate all it has to offer. I don’t believe that they have to be the best painter or sculpture to do this. Rather they need to be observant and true to themselves and their likes and dislikes.

Often when people think of art they only think of things like paintings, drawings, sculptures and craft work. However, art is so much more and affects every part of our lives every day. Art is obvious in all things like the clothes we wear, the buildings we live in and the items we use. It is also evident in the photographs we take, the meals we cook and the way we present ourselves and our homes. The music we listen to is art, as well as the films we watch and the video footage we take. Art is evident everywhere, every day of our lives, we just have to look beyond the obvious.

Art is the manner in which we arrange (or rearrange) items for the pure enjoyment over our senses, emotions and intellect. It involves colour, textures, patterns, mediums, visual representations and so much more. Art can invoke any and all of our emotions, and we don’t just need to go to an art gallery to enjoy it. It is constantly around us all the time.

So with this in mind I am always encouraging my children to be little artists. Through presenting them with opportunities to express themselves in any manner they choose. This includes such things as the clothes they wear, the colours they choose and the hairstyles they want. It also involves providing them with opportunities to explore more traditionally thought of forms of art, such as painting, drawing and sculpture as these are great ways for them to express themselves also.

So next time you are thinking of doing an art activity with your child/ren, Why not go for a walk around your local community and discuss the styles of architecture used in the buildings you pass, or have them present a meal as an art form.

Other ways you could enhance your child/rens artistic talents and love of art in general include:

• Letting them take a drawing book to bed rather than a reading book, from time to time,
• Going for a walk in nature, picking some flowers and coming home to arrange them in a vase
• Inventing something? Not just to be functional, but also visually pleasing
• Exploring fashion over the ages. What changes are obvious? Why might this be?
• Exploring colour choices, why is it said that ‘Blue and green should only be seen on a fool?’
• Architecture? How have things such as doors and windows in different age buildings changed over time? Why might that be?
• Hairstyles – how have they altered over time? Styles / colours / size
• By giving them access to things like musical instruments, camera’s and video camera’s for use whenever they choose
• Pointing out natural beauty when out and about on a nature walk or hike

The possibilities are endless, so next time you think of having an art activity, why not try to think outside the square!

For our learning the other day we made egg tempura paints and then painted with them. The children enjoyed crushing up the chalk to a fine powder with rocks before mixing it with some egg yolk and water.

We used stones we collected from the east coastline of Tasmania on a earlier trip around that way to crush the chalk into a fine powder. Then we whisked egg yolk and water together to make a frothy mixture. Once this was done we added in the crushed chalk to give the paint base some colour.

The results were stunning. Our first batch of paint was too watery and did not have enough pigment (chalk) in it. Therefore it stayed moist longer allowing for us to paint easily before the paint dried. But as Egg Tempura paint is supposed to be fast drying and lend itself just to short strokes with a paint brush, the second patch of paint we created from the egg yolks, chalk and water was much more ‘authentic’ and true to itself.

Recipe for Egg Tempura Paint

• Chalk Sticks. 2-3 small chalk sticks per paint colour or one large sidewalk chalk stick per colour.

Crush chalk into a fine dust. We used stones to do this but a mortar and pestle would work very well.

• One egg yolk per colour
• 2 teaspoons of Water

Whisk egg yolk and water together to form a froth mixture – like for scrambled eggs. Add in Chalk dust to mixture. Mix in well. This will then form a thick paste. The texture should be very thick. If it is not then just add more chalk until it is.

The result was stunning paints with a goldish shine to each colour.

Nik's Dalek

Well, as I have said before the girls are definately Sci-fi mad and love Dr Who. This is a picture that Nik drew of a Dalek. She loves to run around the house with her arms outstretched in front of her saying Extermi-ate! Extermi-ate!.

We know she does not say the correct word, but it sounds (and looks) so cute!

Well we have been busy over the last three weeks working on our subject of China. The children have enjoyed watching a variety of documentaries related to the country. Most days we have also focused on a different activity or craft related to China.

Some of the things we have created include:

Chinese Word searches and Games

Chinese Colouring Ins

Chinese Dragons from Handprints

Chinese Lanterns

Lucky Chinese Envelopes

Large Chinese Dragon

Chinese Paper Dolls

Chinese Masks

Chinese Writing

Chinese fact Finding

Chinese Meal – Fried Rice

Chinese Mobile

Chinese New Year Dragon

Here is a picture of some of our work!

Nik's work

Jah's Work

Our Next country and theme is Japan, where we will be exploring this for a three week period, so keep an eye out for some of the things we get up too!

Today the girls spent alot of time doing some Art and Craft. I must admit that this has to be one of their favourite subjects. They love to be creative and to let their imaginations run wild. So today they spent time painting Calico bags. We had done some painted T-Shirts a little earlier in the year at my work, which the children enjoyed, so I decided to buy them some of their own paints and also Calico bag a week or so ago, so they could paint them. While purchasing this I also bought some Calico material which we will cut into smaller squares and paint, sew on and create miniature art expressions to them be sewn into a larger wall hanging and art piece further into the year.

So, the girls started out with pencil and paper and designed the picture for their bags, before then recreating their designs on the actual calico. Once the designs where replicated they took to painting then with the special fabric paint we had. Luckily Babcia was staying with us and could oversee the children’s work as I was too sick to do anything really. I had not been feeling well for most of the weekend, but yesterday everything just seemed to get on top on me. So much so that I have tried to get in to see the Doctor, but Wednesday morning is the earliest I can get an appointment.

Anyway,  enough about me being sick and more about my girls art work. The girls have created wonderful designs. NIK’s is all full of swirls and colours, which sums her up brilliantly, full of life and colour herself. JAHG’s is a little more tailored to her likes and dislikes, more refined and semetrical. She created a butterfly design as the main feature. Once the paint has dried, we need to iron the designs and then the girls intend to do some beading. They will be adding choice beads to the bag to enhance the overall feel, look and design. I am sure when they are finished they will look amazing.

Today the Girls did some clay modeling. They had a lot of fun creating shapes, animals and people out of the clay. We talked about the texture of the clay and its ability to be moulded into any shape we desired. We also compared the clays residue look and feel to that of foundation and talked about things that are made from Clay. The children enjoyed this activity very much, so I took the time to talk with a local Artist who teaches pottery, to see if we can arrange for the children to have some lessons from her. So watch this space we we are hoping to do pottery classes this first half of the year!

Clay Modeling

Clay Modeling

NIK also spent time today finishing off her mask that she had started earlier in the week. The end result was quite interesting and the mask look great on her!

NIK's Mask

Simply Stylish!

Drawing Bunnies

NIK has really taken a shine to being creative with pen and paper. Here she is drawing on a white board. She tells me her picture is of two bunnies. She is also expanding her knowledge and ability to write and recognise  letters of the alphabet. She can now form the letters N and T however her A looks more like a Q, but she is definitely making progress!

Finishing off her writing!

The Finished Masterpiece!

A Wonderful Piece of Art Work!

Beauty Salon is now open!

Today we had a really fun day. The children created their own Beauty Salon, where they would buff customers nails and give massages out! The salon was very busy all day, having over 15 customers through its door on its first day of opening!

Making a Mask

A Polish Mask!

We also enjoyed making masks today. The girls designed their own masks. This was a very thought provoking exercise. It was amazing to see their creativity coming out!

Fun at the Botanical Gardens

We also enjoyed a few hours at the Botanical Garden. The weather was excellent and after walking around admiring the beautiful flowers and plants we enjoyed a Picnic Lunch near the pond. Then it was off for another walk, before jumping on the bus after a wonderful day out at the Gardens.