Around here, some effort is being made to prepare for Christmas- just used the pot that had the Japanese lanterns in it for a base for a pot of greenery - salal, cedar and red-twig dogwood - by the front door. I think the lantern painting is finished and will post it later. Not much to do for gift-shopping as gift-exchange has been cut back. I wish I had some kids to buy books for as there seem to be more exciting and imaginative books out for younger kids these days - as well as some of my favourite picture books still around. Ezra Jack Keats "A Snowy Day" is one I've long liked. A new one out called The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywell for 2 to 5 year old's looks like a lot of fun and could lead to some interesting chats about colour. I'm excited a about an upcoming book by Sophie Benini Pietromarchi about colour. She teaches workshops for children in Europe and this new book is aimed at children 8 and up and artists of all ages. More later- I anxiously await it! In the meantime, there is a delightful book by the same author - called The Book Book- with all sorts of imaginative projects. For one thing I am going to sharpen my pencils by hand (especially coloured pencils) and save the shavings to try something different to play with in my sketch book play projects.
