creative jewish mom

Watercolor Painting With Pencil Drawing

Isn't this little watercolor painting sweet, and so perfect for summer? Truthfully my daughter painted this over a year ago, and we just came upon it, which is perfect timing, as I really didn't have anything to share with you today!

Watercolors are a great medium for all ages, and kids can produce nice works of art by simply filling in a pencil drawing with a nice combination of bright colors. Simple geometric shapes always look great, or something with just a bit more detail like this simple Jerusalem scene. I also love the geometric border at the bottom, the addition of which results in an exciting combination of shapes and patterns. Give it a try!

Building Drawing Confidence In Kids Bootcamp

Drawing is one of those things that I wish I had spent more time doing as a kid. Why didn't my mother encourage me to draw more? Well, she knows just about everything, but didn't realize how truly important drawing skills can be, and that when we nurture drawing confidence in a child, those skills can certainly be helpful in so many ways as as adult! 

So that said, I've been recently pondering how to help my two young sons make drawing a greater part of their life. They almost never draw in school, it's all coloring, and so because I never specifically encouraged drawing at home, well, sadly enough their skills are quite lacking given their ages and that they are being raised in a creative environment. Depressing really! So, it finally occurred to me, that since I believe that basic drawing skills are so very important, I need to do something about it. And the best way to start is to simply start drawing, and getting comfortable with the fact that everything we draw doesn't have to be perfect! 

So I've started a "building drawing confidence bootcamp" with my kids. This simply entails sitting down together almost everyday with paper and crayons or pens and drawing something together. This is done for a minimum of ten to fifteen minutes before I let them run out the door. (With the hope that we'll be able to do longer sessions once everyone learns to enjoy drawing.) The drawings shown here were done say on the fourth time we've sat down to draw together, and even the child who was the most resistant initially was even happy to offer suggestions about what we should draw!

Lesson: Fill a piece of paper with a horizontal pattern in two colors. Simple enough right? And yet two of my kids struggled with what to draw, while the one who's more cerebral and less artistic actually had no problem figuring this one out! 

I'll try to post the most successful of our exercises for those who'd like to try this with their kids. I'd say you have nothing to loose and wonderful things to gain!

Oh, and by the way, that's my version on the upper left, but you probably figured that out, right?

The Beauty Of Grape Vines

I started off the week showing you photos of dates just beginning to mature, so I thought I'd end the week with some photos of lush vines with grapes in my neighborhood! Grapes, pomegranates, olives, dates and figs are together in a category of special fruits that have an inherent holiness to them according to Jewish law, so we are particularly excited to witness their growth and to enjoy eating them when they are in season.

Traditionally, when one built a home in Israel, a grape vine was planted in the yard. Many also aspire to plant trees from each of the fruits mentioned above in their gardens. And those who are fortunate enough to live in old stone homes very often have a wonderful grape vine growing in their yard that generally climbs to a second story and provides share on a pergola on a second floor balcony! Dreamy.

Many of these grape vines are so old that their trunks are thick like trees, as you can see in the photo above. And while they do loose all their leaves in the winter, they come back with vigorous growth in the spring. It's so exciting to walk around the neighborhood and witness the first signs of grapes! 

And while we're walking around the neighborhood, we always take a few minutes to appreciate the beauty of our little haven here in Northern Israel, and the spectacular view of Mount Meron! 

Note: On a side note, as far as grape vines and container gardening are concerned, one can grow grape vines in containers, but the likelihood of actually growing grapes is fairly slim, and getting a vigorous vine that would cover a pergola is also not so simple. I tried it myself a few years ago, and did not succeed, and my little vines succumbed to the winter cold, alack alas. So if you're craving a grape vine, the best thing is to plant one in the ground, and the second best thing is a very large, and especially very deep pot, as the roots need depth. 

Chunky Knit Pot Holder From Rope

I just love my chunky knit rope potholder. Or is it a chunky knit rope trivet? Either way, this is one craft I'm going to do again as I think it would make a super great gift, for the right person that is! And with all the crocheting going on around here lately, I have to say, knitting this pot holder was really refreshing.

And yes, while this pot holder is made with garter stitch, you can also knit one row purl one row for the traditional knit fabric, as you can see on my previous post knitting with rope. But I have to tell you, this version here not only has much more rustic appeal, you don't have to worry about the end stitches looking really uneven and the finished piece has a much nicer feeling. In the previous version I did a special edge stitch to help the situation, but it still looks a little funny, so experiment yourself, or take my word for it and go with the garter stitch!

You'll Need:

• cotton rope, mine was a small spool from the hardware store
• large knitting needles, I used size US 17

A pot holder is a great project to practice knitting with rope, but I'm quite sure there are many more projects that could be great, like knit rope bags, knit rope bath mats or rugs, knit rope stool covers, and anything else you can dream of! Enjoy and let me know how it goes. I think this would be a great gift with a batch of homemade muffins or a hearty loaf of bread, don't you?

Colorful Peacock: A Nine Year Old's Third Oil Painting

I love this colorful and abstract peacock painted by my nine year old daughter. I am so very proud of her and equally happy that she is following in my footsteps, and at an early age! And since I never studied painting myself, it makes me so happy to see my daughter excelling at it.

This is her third oil painting, done from a very dark photograph of a peacock. First, a "study" was done using pastels on black paper, and then she started to work on the painting (with guidance from her teacher) and all its layers. I love the results and especially the non traditional color scheme.

I am looking forward to seeing her develop her own artistic style and I truly hope that in making creativity a part of her life that she will in turn feel a great sense of joy and satisfaction from her pursuits. Of course it's up to her.....no pressure.....well........trying not to put the pressure on anyway!

Of course we sure do want to steer her in the direction of using her amazing gifts, so time will tell. As parents, that's really what it's all about right?. Gently and sort of non-chalantly steering our children down the path that enables them to excel at those things they do best. Come to think of it, I wish someone would do that for me now.......how about you?

One Proud Mama ( A Nine Year Old's Second Oil Painting )

I am beaming from ear to ear and so very very proud of my daughter for creating this beautiful little painting in just three one hour lessons. I squeeled when I saw it, and we've been enjoying gazing upon it all week. Generally speaking, nine years old is a little young to start learning oil painting techniques, but it really depends on the child. So if an art teacher thinks your child is ready, go for it!

My daughter is so very happy with the painting too and excited to learn more. Infact she's already thinking about palette knives and texture! In case you're wondering, this painting was done from a photograph of a strawberry. A little pencil study was executed first, and the teacher did not touch the canvas whatsoever. 

Now I think I'm going to have to start learning painting too so that we can go out together with easels and palettes of paint and paint landscapes and street scenes. Sounds great to me, there are so many beautiful things to paint in our neighborhood we won't have to go far.

Child's First Oil Painting - The Rolling Hills Of Jerusalem

Today is the 17th of the Jewish month of Tammuz, and we are thinking about Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, our Holy City, whose ancient walls were breached on this day many many years ago. And yet, we remember this day each and every year, and I thought it was so very appropriate that my almost nine year old daughter's first oil painting, (a value study) that she brought home this week, reminds me so very much of the lovely rolling hills of Jerusalem!

While oil painting isn't generally taught to children of this age, my daughter's teacher realized that she is able to understand some of the painting theory (yippee!) that one needs to paint with oil, and so here we go!

I never studied painting (yet), so I'm excited that my daughter has the chance and seems to be loving it so far. Of course if she didn't love it, that would be fine too, the main thing is to present our children with the opportunity to develop skills and find activities that bring them joy. And then we're one step closer to helping our children lead balanced lives, and at the end of the day, balance really is the key to everything, right?

Teaching Children About Architecture In Berkeley, CA

I love architecture, and had a wonderful time sharing this interest of mine with my kids last month in Berkeley, California. Berkeley has some amazing, even jaw-dropping, examples of architecture, from Victorian to Modern with lots of style in between. So if you happen to be somewhere where good design abounds, do take advantage of the opportunity to talk to your kids about architecture, and all that is involved in the process of planning and construction! (And if you have no idea yourself, well, just wing it!)

Here are two examples of wonderful architectural styles which are numerous amongst the homes in the North Berkeley hills: French Normandy inspired fairy tale type homes from the 1920's (love the little turrets!) and California Mission Style, very elegant stucco homes, with Spanish/Mediterranean inspired details. And hey, look at that tree, it's actually a humongous Yucca, (from the Agave family) we have some in pots at our house!

There are so many little details that may be obvious to us, but really need to be pointed out and talked about in order for children to appreciate them. 

Post and beam wooden construction is quite common in Berkeley, having originated in this area in the late 50's, and seen in this Japanese inspired home probably built in the late  70's or so. Don't forget to talk about how things are built, like this fun red gate for example also inspired by Japanese garden design and quite simply constructed using 2x4s.

I love this stream-lined mid-century modern home with its flat roof, set amongst the trees, and of course we just had to talk about this nicely preserved Volkswagen bus, since my kids had never seen one!

On the UC Berkeley campus there are some amazing examples of architecture, including the Hearst Mining Circle Building designed by the architect Julia Morgan, and Bowles Hall (I think?), a dormitory that looks like it was lifted right out of an English boarding school!

And of course, the Campanile on the UC Berkeley campus is a wonderful site to behold on a clear day, and especially since its chimes are real bells that play a concert every 1/2 hour! What exactly is the purpose of the Campanile? Well that's something else worthy of discussion, right? Ask your  kids to think of three reasons why, for example, someone would build a tower like this one.

Start talking to your kids about everything and don't stop, they'll benefit immensely! And in fact, in many cases children would much rather have conversations with you than do craft projects, alack alas, so do rise the occasion and help build your children's future by encouraging creative thinking. I'm with you, I'm going to try just a little bit harder too!

My First Castle Model Was A Great Learning Experience

I am seven years old and this is the first model I've ever built. I love my model castle and I'm really proud of it too. My mom didn't realize what a great present the model kit was until she saw the floor plans which helped me built the model brick by brick, and the fact that I actually worked on it for a few nights in a row.

I learned about how stone buildings are built, and now when I look at some of the old stone buildings in my neighborhood I can even begin to understand how those were built too. I have to be honest, I don't always enjoy the craft projects that my mom would love me to do, but this one really appealed to me, and I hope I'll get another chance to do another model soon.

And now, my mom would like to get a few words in too:

There you have it my friends! Just because your child isn't interested in sitting and doing the projects you present to him, doesn't mean that with just a bit of trial and error that you won't find something he'll actually complete and feel proud of. An invaluable experience for every child and well worth the effort on your behalf. Okay, you're right, I got lucky, we received this model as a gift, and I in turn am giving you this blog post as a gift, which you can in turn pass on to your child! Happy creative parenting!

The Granduer Of Jerusalem On Another Sad Day In History.....

I was in Jerusalem for two days this week and had hoped to show you beautiful photos or our historic and holy city. Instead I will show you photos and tell you a little bit about the very sad event that occurred while I was there.

The Jewish people together with many visitors of all faiths from around the world pray at this very spot every day. Prayers for everything, but especially for peace with our enemies, who are so very very close, and in some cases practically next door. Prayers for freedom from fear in everyday life, a basic right of all humans everywhere.

The residents of Jerusalem have been inconvenienced for years as the new train system was built, and yet that is minor in comparison to the events of yesterday. A bomb filled suitcase or backpack was detonated at a very busy bus stop, a bus stop that I myself have used many times waiting for buses to return to my home up north. One woman lost her life, 50 others were injured physically, countless others experienced deep trauma. We were driving not so far from the scene when all of a sudden the air was filled with sirens, and police cars came out of the woodwork rushing to the scene. Moments later we heard the tragic news on the radio, and stopped in a corner store to see for just a moment photos of the scene on their television. Tears came to my eyes— tears of sadness, of disbelief, of frustration.

Here within these ancient walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, the Jewish people were under siege and suffered great tragedies at the hands of the Romans many thousands of years ago. Today the enemies are not the same, and yet they want the very same thing.

Here is the Tower of David, David HaMelech, the very same David that wrote the book of Tehillim (psalms)—a book used for prayer and supplication, a book read to find a place of peace within.

And yet there is no peace in our tiny land across whose borders missiles have begun to fly again this week. And so we will continue to pray for peace and we will certainly not lose hope that indeed the world can be a much better place.