Mommy therapy

For the past few years, I have been taking art classes as a means of therapy.  Mommy therapy to be exact. There comes a time every day...usually around 5 pm, that I want to pull my hair out.  And just when I can't take it anymore, my kids are fast asleep.  Peace and quiet.  But have you every watched Groundhog Day?  Sometimes I feel like Bill Murray.  5pm comes every day, and usually just as crazy as the previous day.

So instead of paying a lovely person hundreds of dollars to hear my woes, I decided to sign up for an art class.  I think every stay at home mom should sign up for an art class.  Vanderbilt offers art classes to the community at a really low cost.  My first class was painting with acrylics, then drawing with live models, digital photography and most recently, pottery on the wheel.  Painting was fun but not my thing.  I found that I really enjoyed working with charcoal in the drawing class and the photography class was not much fun late at night.  But I loved pottery!

I made over 20 pieces of...art?  I figured the more things I tried to make, the more I would learn.  Every Thursday night my hubby came home early so that I could rush out the door and get dirty.  I couldn't get enough!  I loved working with the clay and learning the MANY steps to throwing pottery.  Once you get the piece to look how you want it on the wheel (which is soooo much harder then I expected), you have to wait a few days and then work on "trimming" the piece.  You need to shave off extra clay and help the art piece sit properly.  Next it is fired for the first time and becomes a "bisqued" piece of work.  Next you "glaze" the art piece.  Glazing looks like milky paint that doesn't necessary look the color it will be at the end.  You dip or paint your bisqued piece and then have it fired in the kiln again.


So with each step, there were a million things to learn.  And a million things to mess up.  This is one of my first bowls.  It is only 1 inch high and very lop-sided.  And the speckled glazing just doesn't look quite right.  This was a big fail.

By the end, I finally made a few bowls that I was proud of.  Here is my new cereal bowl:

And this round bowl that I love...but don't know what I will put in it!

And my all time favorite peice from this class is this leaf bowl.  It turned out exactly as I had it in my mind.  Luckily my instructor helped me with trimming the bottom so that it would sit evenly.  Otherwise it might have cracked in the kiln!

I also learned how to make mugs.  My first mug is in the middle.  Not the best thing in the world.  It was also my first attempt at a handle.  But I got a little better and made Caleb and Abby these mugs.  We use them every day.

I had so much fun making different pots, bottles, vases, creamers, etc.

I can't wait to take the class again.  I feel like there is a lot to learn!  Every step has many details. This was very fulfilling...in so many ways.  It was a great way for me to make it through the hard days of parenting.  But there was this element of artistic release that meant more then just getting a break from the kids.  It is so wonderful to do something that has no need...to create just because you want to create.  Can you tell that I am hooked?

Treehouse anyone??

I am excited to announce the arrival of the first ever Deering family treehouse - construction is scheduled to begin on May 11th.  Let the planning begin.  And by planning, I am thinking about the design.  I have a few ideas.

How about this one at Garden Design.  I am sure our guests would love to stay here.  Hmmm, maybe I can make it the master bedroom.  The kids don't REALLY need a treehouse, do they?





























Or maybe this one in an issue of Popular Mechanics.















This is a nice collection of decks in this intricate treehouse, also from the Popular Mechanics issue:

Well...I don't think the treehouse will look quite like my pictures.  I am guessing Mark has to keep his day job.  And I know my measuring skills are not up to snuff.  But since I was dreaming of treehouses,  I ordered these two books from Amazon:

They are GREAT!  And extremely detailed.  They show how to build everything from a gang-plank to a hobbit house tree-fort.  The kids have been pouring over the books, dreaming of the perfect treehouse.  Each of them have designed their own perfect treehouse.








Here is Abby's first design:
















A pirate ship fort.  She found this page in one of our books and has requested this be built in our yard.  I think she loves all of the accessories.






















I had to break it to her that we weren't going to build this elaborate ship.  She wasn't disapointed for long.  She quickly came up with plan B.





















Here is a close up of Abby's plan B.  She asked me to write the explanations.  If you look closely, the design is a 2 story treehouse on the top of the tree/stump.  Again, quite elaborate!

Caleb also has some ideas.  Yesterday he took his sketch book outside so that he could get a closer look at the perfect tree.  Luckily, he is listening to our ideas about which tree we think would be best.  Here is Caleb's drawing:

Early this morning he added the descriptions.  This is actually pretty darn close to the idea we have in mind.  And of course, we need a pully with a bucket.  Every fort needs a pulley.











Here is the sketch from the book:


































And here is the tree we have selected:





























While taking pictures of the "perfect" tree, Abby found a new friend.  Maybe he can live in the treehouse.

Now that we have a plan, we just need to get supplies.  I am hoping to hit up the Habitat Re-Store over the next few months, looking for extra supplies.  We will add windows and trap doors once we have the structure in place.  And there has been a suggestion for a rope bridge to another tree.  Here is an example:



I REALLY hope we get this far.  I have my doubts...this is already getting pretty complicated!  I will post pics once construction begins!