Cyndy Erickson gave me a book and an invitation last Christmas. The book is My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem. The invitation was to connect remotely with her, and others to talk about the book, its impact on us, and America’s relationship with race. As we read and talked about the book over several months, I decided to create a … Read
The Calming Power of Coloring
Mandalas keep restless hands busy while they calm the mind. Use them to inspire creativity, play with color combinations. Or wallpaper your house!
A Modern Ark
A photographer that inspires people to save endangered animals and their habitat. Watching him is fascinating. Look up species near you! Learn what you can do to help the earth!
Chalk Art
Watch your kids’ faces light up as they reveal their first horizon line–priceless! Chalk Mountains is a unique way to create a design and experiment with color. It helps with focus and flow. #aSTEaMactivity
Make Art. Cats Do
It’s winter in Iowa. An odd winter, but winter nonetheless. No snow to speak of; temperatures vacillating wildly from single digits to 40s and 50s. Yesterday an ice storm hit, but today temperatures in the 30s have melted it all away. No winter wonderland for us; we’re yearning for sunshine or snow to color gray winter days. I’m not the … Read
Clear Boundaries. No Limits
Art is unique in requiring that hands and mind be in the same place. Distraction and anxiety are at the forefront of challenges for Des Moines Art Center Outreach students. Art class provides opportunities for quiet, focus and mindfulness.
Color Me Calm
Last week I sat in a meeting and listened to a group of adults talk about how much they hate the holidays. It made me a little angry. I believe we have choices about how we experience the world, and that staying in the moment allows us to enjoy life to the fullest. I also understand that our culture puts … Read
Tell Me Something Good
I’ve worked with Des Moines kids since 1980. Sometimes it’s hard to be optimistic when the challenges seem to multiply each year. But this article and the statistics it uses to illustrate its points provides some tangible examples of progress. This morning I taught art to half a dozen boys who attend a group home for various problems they’ve had … Read
Get Happy!
“We’re happy!” declared the Burmese refugee group as they finished their Des Moines Art Center tour on May 8, 2014. This was the culminating activity of their four-week art class. According to the ELL teacher at Lutheran Services in Iowa, “many elderly clients are dealing with vision, hearing and general health problems. Some have endured torture and malnutrition… Many … … Read
Do Art
When we were little, my brothers and sisters and I used to sit on the floor under our big square kitchen table and draw on its underside. Thirty years later when I took my daughter back to see our old house, that art work was still there. Something akin to cave drawings. Art has been part of my life as … Read
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