Dragging out the Old Blog Carcass...

Wellllllllll...  We have grown in leaps and bounds this past year!   Remember when we did the logo for Her Point of View... and got to be part of two amazing independent films...

The Upside of Down

and got to work with Emmie Lou Harris and her awesome cousin Pudd at Woofstock?  

Woofstock

Remember when we helped lead an innovative group of young entrepreneurs with our friend Luke Duncan of Eli Mason and did the Pumpkin Fest in Franklin TN?  Remember our loads and loads of fairly bad photos that we subjected you to until we forced ourselves to learn some product photography basics.  Remember our visits to the Entrepreneur Center of Nashville and the mentors we were assigned from SCORE of Nashville, the incredible Cheryl and Joan?  Remember the hours and hours and hours our friend and mentor Michelle Schwantes spent with us, thinking and thinking and thinking and then helping to mold a business?  Remember the first nice website we ever had, designed by our amazing graphic designer/friend Daniel Brown?  Remember when we were finalists in the Martha Stewart American Made Awards and you all stood behind us and faithfully voted day after day for an amount of time that seemed like eternity?  Remember when we spent the week on the Nashville show set...  Remember when we hit record sales this Christmas?  We certainly do.

Wellllllll... We have resurrected this old blog, blown the dust off of it, shook out the cobwebs and recommitted.  We have things to say and progress to report and we have seen this year that you care about us and might not mind lending us a figurative ear.  If you are an old friend, you know that we have faithfully reported on Facebook, Instagram and our old website.  If you are new to the whole Pro Boh world, rest assured, we have not been absent since 2013. :)
Hello to our old friends and welcome to our new!  Here we go into 2015 together!!!    

Happy New Year! Watchword 2013: Efficiency!

Happy New Year from Zephyr Art!

It is that time of year where we all get our thoughts together for the brand new year that we are given. 

Julie's been reading a lot of English royal history and was intrigued with each monarch choosing a word or phrase as their "motto" for different events. Well, Zephyr Art's collective and individual motto for 2013 is Efficiency. We want to be more efficient in our art, business, teaching our children, even house work! In the soft light of the dawn of this new year anything looks possible :).

Zephyr Art is planning and working, in separate locations again :(, for our best year ever. We will amp up our craft show choices and schedule, we add to our toy and art line and we will try to locate ourselves a little closer together! 

We hope to see you this coming year and that you achieve the goals and dreams that you craft this January and beyond.

How to Get Out of Doing One's Chores: Lego Stop Animation

How can a mom steeped in creativity stop the creative process in her child to enforce the 'unload the dishwasher' edict? Arrg. She can't! That is what my kids know about me. :) 

(Honestly, that is what Eppie's kids know about her, too! -Sorry, Epp, secret's out.)

Also: Tell me that a free app is 'cute, creative, adorable, educational, etc.'. -Sure you can get it!

-No, you cannot get the one where you are a contract killer. 

That one always goes last, when I am in the adorable/ educational/ my kids must want to be brilliant app haze. -Sorry, it won't work, boys.

So, while not unloading the dishwasher is very naughty, this beautiful paper towel/watercolor background and intriguing storyline saved her and her phone from getting a grounding. Because she needed it to film the Lego stop animation adventure movie, you know?

Kidding aside, Eppie and I are willingly used thusly by our children because we believe that the celebration of creativity in kids leads to creative thinking (hello, paper sculpture while one should be cleaning the table!). 

Somehow our houses are no messier than other moms' that have children home all day, every day, thank goodness... It probably takes us longer to get them clean, though :). 

I can't wait for the sequel to this Lego underwater adventure. It is scheduled to be filmed when we are supposed to be folding the clothes.

Craft Shows, Bartering and Pocket Keeperoos!

Zephyr Art has been busy as bees this past couple of months! We have: started school with the kids, sold at the TACA Craft in Centennial Park in Nashville, and the White Oaks Craft Fair in Woodbury, TN (where we won a merit award!) and we are preparing for the Ketner's Mill Craft Fair on October 20th and 21st in Whitwell, TN. 

We thought we would share some photos that we bartered for with our friend Sue Christensen. We did a logo for her healthy meal service, Silly Chicks Prepared Meals and she presented us with gorgeous photos starring her adorable granddaughter, Chloe and our newest creative play design, Pocket Keeperoos! 

Sue's Silly Chick

Pocket Keeperoos have pockets to keep those special little treasures, toys, sewing notions (if you are so inclined), gift cards and even iPhones. They have sturdy loops on the tops of their heads so they can be your traveling buddies, hooked onto diaper bags, purses or belts. 

If you want to get out and see some awesome art and beautiful fall foliage, take a little drive to Whitwell and the Ketner's Mill Craft Fair October 20th and 21st! See you there!

15 Hours, 11 People, One Big Honkin' Van

Yesterday we packed 4 adults and 7 children and a bunch of stuff into a 15 passenger van and made a 15 hour trip from TN to PA. We are crazy. Just for the record.

Handmade Toys and Toy Safety

Almost everybody would agree that when it comes to toys, handmade toys, using natural materials, are probably as safe as you can get.  It is also reasonable to think that makers of handmade toys are personally 'handing' their toys over to their friends and family and are very particular about what goes into those toys.  Here, at Zephyr Art, safety is VERY important to us.  When we were predominantly using button eyes we sewed them on by hand until we were SURE our toddlers could not pry them off with their little razor teeth.
We were told, and we read, that 'safety eyes' are safer than buttons and, though we don't necessarily agree, we have incorporated them into our designs.  We reinforce each safety eye with glue, and for the very small eyes, glue and and a few strategic stitches. (...and we highly recommend that all crafters do this, as we have seen these eyes dislodge, especially when used with polar fleece.)  We have switched to using all new materials unless we find recycled items that are clearly labeled as natural fiber (cotton or wool), and we have made sure to design with little hands, mouths and curiosity in mind.  We have watched our children try to eat, pull apart and strangle themselves with a slew of store bought toys and have tried to avoid designs that might, in any way cause alarm and, we are confident, will not cause harm.  We believe that most crafters, artists, and makers of handmade toys do all these things as well.  There is no fortune to be made in the making of 'handmade' anything and it is almost always a labor of love.

Due to the major influx of factory merchandise we have seen strict safety laws put into effect in the United States.  Fortunately there are organizations that are fighting for the makers of handmade goods and there are some exemptions that make things easier to comply with the laws.


 
We are happy to announce that all or our toys are now safety compliant and labeled as such.  We have jumped through every hoop and can offer our toys in the most discriminating markets. :) Our registration numbers and safety info are now listed on our tags, which are sewn into our toys.

We believe that our toys have always been safe and we believe that handmade toys, made in homes and studios throughout the United States, though certified or not are safer than mass produced factory toys.  We believe that they are worth the investment it takes to make them and the higher prices that they must demand for artists to continue to make them.  We appreciate all those that buy arts and crafts, homemade items, local items, products made in the USA and other sustainable, even though often more expensive merchandise!  Thank you!

Zephyr Art and Friends, Pocket Keepers and the Sanity Keeper!

 We would like to introduce to you our newest friend and collaborator, Nancy Iacono of Tom Cat Designs!  Nancy has agreed to help us with our Pocket Keeper Dolls and has put her genius to work on producing a pattern to our design that will make production more efficient.  She has also agreed to help us with sewing the afore mentioned darlings!  We are confident that this is the beginning of a long and happy friendship and working relationship!

Nancy currently owns her own sewing studio (as well as a beautiful bed and breakfast) in Narranganset, RI and has worked for Hasbro Toys, Triboro Quilt Company, Disney on Ice, and other companies creating sample pieces, prototypes and finished products.  Please visit her website at
                 http://www.custom-sewing.net/.

Thank you Nancy for being so absolutely wonderful, creative and, um, flexible! :)  ( We might ought to mention that WE would love to be able to do the splits.  The photo is Nancy doing Yoga on vacation in Italy. )

Whether being used as an extra pocket for special toy treasures, a creative 'envelope' for money or gift cards for that special senior, a pocket and pin cushion for sewing scissors and notions, or an abundance of other innovative ideas, our Pocket Keeper Dolls are the perfect gifts and make the handiest friends around!  Visit our website at www.zephyrart.org to order yours today!

Our Art Party, Featuring: Our Friends!

Our budget for advertising, and just about everything else, is pretty small. :) But, like all small businesses we still have to get our products out there and noticed. So, in order to have some photos of more than just our combined families of children, we turned to our friends for help.

Recently we invited some of our kind friends over for a photo shoot party at Julie's house.

It was just a little soiree to get some sweet photos of sweet kids having a good time being creative.

We had cupcakes with white icing (made with homemade vanilla!) and sprinkles in a rainbow of colors, white chocolate dipped/ rainbow sprinkled pretzel rods. Our friend Brenda brought fresh strawberries from right down the road. Thanks, Brenda! They were delish!

We had three creativity 'centers' with Sculpey sculpting, pipe cleaner and bead creations, a paper doll area and a place to draw on giant paper.

The area by the table became quiet when the kids went off to create.

 The older kids nicely helped out with the younger kids and half a dozen of them piled on to the front porch swing making us all wonder how long it would hold up!

It is always inspiring to see kids making and doing. 

 We love the age of no creative inhibitions. 

Just pure color and line on clean, white page. Letting the hand move and the color flow...

We strive to create like that still.

At some point Leonardo, the turtle, was released into the house and the kids had a great time finding him again. He is back, safe in his aquarium, thank goodness.


I think we took some good photos of happy children doing creative things, which was exactly what we wanted to do! I'm sure you'll be seeing more of our photo shoot party pics around the website and blog soon. Thank you to everyone who came over!!

How to Teach Your Child to See Like an Artist

Have you ever asked a child to draw you a house?  We have all seen the stereotypical square with two windows and the triangle roof.  Add a door, maybe some steps and there you have it, a house, drawn by a child.  A little uninspired maybe, and why is this?  Children are, if you think about it, not particularly interested in 'house design'.  Have you ever asked a child to draw you their favorite toy.  Here you will see something a little more original, a little more detailed.  A child cares about their favorite toy.  As adults we can show children how to see in a way that will help them forge a relationship with the subject matter, exploring and therefore remembering the experience.

Zephyr Art is based upon nurturing creativity in children.  When we were younger artists we often offered classes and workshops.  We began by teaching drawing lessons and quickly realized (and have since learned that scientific research supports this) children need to nurture their creativity far more than they need to be taught technical artistic skills.

"Who has ever seen a tree?" We would ask.  Ha, they had all seen a tree.

"Can you draw one for us?" We would ask.  Well, of course they could.

The children would draw trees and we would all look at them together.  They did a beautiful job of drawing smooth straight tree trunks with branches jutting out, perpendicular from the main stems.  Some children drew circular leaves and some left bare sticks but they were all very much alike.  We set the drawings down and grabbed their hands.  We would go outside and play in the trees!  We ran to the trees and felt their rough bark, ran our hands up to where the branches burst out of the tree trunks in upward angles, rolled the silky smooth leaves through our fingers and noticed how nice it was in the darkness of their shade.  We would explore the trees for a while and then go back inside.  We asked for tree sketches a second time.  Suddenly we were presented with original drawings.  Some trees had shade scribbled at their bases, all had bark. Many of them sported knots or imperfections in the trunks. All the trees had leaves and the leaves had jagged edges and veins.  One child drew insects climbing up into the branches. The point is, we showed the children how to really see the trees.  We demonstrated that if they observed something with more than just their eyes, really tried to experience it, they could later recall things about it that they wouldn't have remembered otherwise.

Children should be taught to see this way, taught to observe closely.
We should all push each other to experience life, see a little clearer than we are naturally inclined.  Who knows?  Some day somebody might ask any one of us to draw a tree!

Creative Living... Only for Artists?

What do you think about when you hear the word creative?  Do you immediately think about your friend that paints those terrific landscapes, or your nephew who doodles around the margins of his schoolwork.  Creativity is, naturally, often associated with the Arts but did you know anybody and everybody is creative to some extent?  Creativity is not the talent to execute some artistic skill (and we will use this term to include all of the Arts)  but a thought process.  Artistic talent is simply a tool to express creativity... and it is only one in a plethora!  Creativity is displayed in a myriad of fashions.  It can be used to create something entirely original and unique, put to work in the use of an old concept in new context or called upon to adapt an already existing idea into something a little more relevant.  It can be summoned out of boredom, necessity, or simply for the sake of expression.  There is really no way to explain in one paragraph all of creativity's many facets...

Children are naturally masters of creativity.  They do not automatically have a set vision of how the world should be.  They explore their way through each day and learn through stretching themselves out into their environments, reaching further where they are not impeded and withdrawing where they find it is too difficult to proceed.  Parents can help their children discover paths to creativity in many different ways.  We thought you might be interested in a few of the things that we have discovered to be great creativity builders and avenues to creative living. (...not in any particular order.)



1.  Let your children be bored.  We know, this is a pain in the neck but forcing your child to think, dream, and invent ways to entertain themselves will help your child develop thought patterns that will improve the quality of his or her life.

photo by Jakob Bailey

photo by Jakob Bailey

2.  Raise readers!  Reading encourages children to think in many different ways and many hours of creative play can be invented around the contents of one book!











3.  Encourage your children to play.  Creative play is an excellent platform for learning and vital in the development of healthy, happy, children.

4.  Hold off critiquing the 'artwork' or 'artistic expressions' of younger children (preadolescence).  Have your children explain their work to you instead of guessing what they are showing you.  Point out concepts that your child has executed correctly, not what he or she has done wrong.  Ex: Wow, your drawing is perfectly balanced!  How did you think to add that bird up there?  You did a great job of filling up your whole page and I love your use of contrasting colors! :)

5.  Be creative yourself!  Come on, we know you've got it in you!  Think of a dinner that your family loves and present it in a new way...  Think of a fun car game and change one thing about it...  Wear an article of clothing in a way it was not intended to be worn...  Write a poem, choose new colors for your washroom, draw something...  Anything that gives birth to new thought will do!  Creativity breeds creativity! 

Color Wheel Scavenger Hunt, Getting Kids to Observe

Creative thinking starts small. A creative thinker is always looking, observing, seeing. There are so many ways to get kids thinking and looking around and sometimes we make up little games to get things rolling. 

 

I (Julie) teach Art in a local homeschool enrichment program in TN. I had my middle through high school art class try out our new Color Wheel Scavenger Hunt today. We are all getting spring fever and even I needed an excuse to get outside and meander in the grass. 

The object of this exercise is to observe and find, in nature, objects to fill in the color wheel. Since there were not a lot of flowers beds near, I accepted written examples and drawn pictures of things that the kids saw and could not pick. 

We discovered that some colors were really easy to find: yellow and green are everywhere right now. Orange, not so much. There were some dead leaves still around, so we did not end up having to draw buildings and cars in the orange slots! We also found plenty of red in a holly bush, but the sheer number of bees in the bush made us scream and run a safe distance away to write and draw the berries into the red section. Purple was very easy, there are so many low growing purple flowers right now. Blue was another hard color. Someone asked if they could write in 'sky' for blue and I thought that sounded great. There were also some blue-ish purple-ish flowers in the grass and we thought they might be blue enough :)

The kids brought their nature findings inside and arranged them in the correct color slots on their papers. I loved seeing the finished products and the different choices the kids made!

 I am always impressed by their creativity and cleverness. Next week is our last class until September. I think we'll have an Art Party with some art games and such. 'Pin the Ear on Van Gogh' maybe?! 

I learn so much from teaching Art, like how to stay creatively open and fearless and I hope that the kids learn the same thing from me.