Ian Beck's crosshatching technique

Illustrator Ian Beck from London, "Shaking the Dreamland Tree" page (from the book of rhymes Ride a Cock-Horse):

In his work, I love the cross-hatching technique. On this page, both the imagination and craft were good-- it's great. Look how he shows the light falling on the tree.

How to make a long-lasting magnetic fishing game with wooden fishing rod

When I was a child our church had these great family fairs where you could "fish" for prizes using a stick with string, tied to a magnet. The fishes had magnets on them too, and were numbered. When you got one, that determined your prize, often old passed down toys which were THE BEST if you are a child. Any material plush toy or object is fascinating and wonderful. When the Kohanga Reo Troy was involved with had a stall at a fair to raise money and needed to think of a few games, I right away knew I wanted to create this game. Then the coordinator bought cheap fishing rods at a $2 shops which only lasted literally 5 minutes, which is very wasteful for the environment. Here are some instructions for how to make long-lasting toy fishing rods that have magnets on the end for picking up toy fishes.

materials

--a dowel rod from the hardware store (or broomstick from a broken broom)

--a piece of sandpaper

--a box of "eye screws" (these are neat, see step 3 for image)

--matches

--cord or string

--a set of chair tips from a hardware store plus round magnets that will fit inside

OR a horseshoe magnet (I found one closed off by a piece of metal across the two ends)

--plastic fishes from a $2 store

MAKE THE FISHING ROD

1. Saw the dowel rod or broomstick into pieces about a half metre long (50 cm).

2. Sand off any rough cut ends of the sticks with rough sandpaper so they won't give anyone a splinter.

3. Hand screw in an eye screw (photo left), which is basically a screw with a loop on the end of the stick, so you can tie a string to the stick. (Or if you have a drill you can drill a hole to pull string through.)

4. I used some black lovely cord from the hardware store that they cut for me from a bit reel, it was nylon (plastic based). After I cut a length a bit longer than the stick and tied it to the loop, I used a lit match to melt the end so it wouldn't fray.

5. If you want to use my original chair tip method, buy chair tips from a hardware store and round magnets that can fit snugly inside. Then cut a small hole in the bottom of the chair tip, and thread the cord through hole (see image below). Glue a round magnet into the cavity of the chair tip overtop the knot, which also seals the knot.

Warning: You can also use horse-shoe magnets sealed off at the end with a piece of metal because some children, if left too long to their own devices, will definitely attempt to pilfer the magnet out of the chair tip...

FISH

You can hand-screw in the eye screws into plastic fishes, and then the magnet on the end of the rod will pick them up-- glue gun around the base of the screw to seal water out OR we have found it's actually really fun to use laundry pegs (the kind with a metal spring) as fish! See how many you can get at once, have them take their catches over to the couch to make it more challenging-- more use of the imagination is better anyways.

Kids really love playing with the fishing rod.

At the Edge of the World-- documentary (2009)

I just saw At the Edge of the World, a documentary about the Sea Shepherd's fight against Japanese whaling. It was as gripping as any show on a dangerous activity. Truly the good guys against the *insert rude word here*. In modern times, the pirates are good, and the people about their offical business in the sea are evil. Every season thousands of whales are killed (will get their stat.) People from all over the world of every background risk their lives to stop/bring attention to whale poaching-- which was banned from the world in 1986. Way to go Japan NOT.

I was just really disappointed that the Japanese would do that. I know it's part of Asian culture that one can take in the power of the animal by eating it/using its essence, but in this case they are destroying that special thing and taking it from the earth. (And apparently their flesh is very polluted now due to human impact anyways.)

Must watch it! It's really good.
 

For those of us who aren't going to jump on the boat and risk ourselves from our families, fear not, we can donate. I am definitely going to as soon as my family can handle the diversion of resources. http://www.seashepherd.org/ 
 

More about commercial whaling and the poor state of whale populations: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/whaling/

Update October 2012 - since this post I bought my son a tshirt from their organization to support them, and will be going to an Auckland fundraiser (expensive) event soon, to support the cause of protecting whales.   (It just makes me sick that people are still killing them!)

Craft Advice

1. Relaxing music is best. Not as you would think, intense music. I listen to classical music, folk music most of the time. ANYTHING CALM. Let your spirit be calm, not excited.

2. Believe in yourself. Not too much, and not too little. The craftsman's edge is the humbleness, and critical eye, but also you have to believe in magic. Always be aware of how you are feeling-- know your nature-- curb yourself if necessary, urge yourself if necessary! Make a leap.

3. Good enough. Don't be perfectionist, you won't be able to move on. Just do "good enough". You'll get in the flow then, and when you are in a higher flow, will go back and fix easily what you now can, naturally.

4. Listen, listen, all the time. Otherwise, what is the point? I often find myself knowing I should do one thing, and ignoring it for a minute-- but a minute later I change it, as I know I should listen.

5. All the time, you can work on your discipline and patience. If you are about to work, but have to do the dishes first, but feel impatient-- do the dishes! After all, that is how you will work.

It's worth it. After all, what could be better than being the universe's pencil?

How to cut out a Real Six-sided Snowflake (aka Stellar Dendrite)

Awhile ago I found some photos of real snowflakes on the web, and also remembered that kids activity people did with me where you fold and cut out snowflakes. But the one my mother knew of resulted in 8 sides, not the real six! I tried to figure it out mathematically, but we couldn't figure out a simple way.

I recently ran across this meteorology book with a really simple way to cut out a six-sided snowflake! You just use a compass (I used a mug) to make a circle, and then you fold it in half, then into a third (see image below) towards the middle. Then you fold it out and just cut out the inbetween spaces between the fold lines. (I think you fold it in half again to cut out the decoration along the edges to ensure greater symmetry.)



Credit: Meteorology by Graham Peacock, Wayland Publishers, East Sussex, England (1994). Credit: Snowflake Cut-out by Savannah Dale.

Here is another diagram that shows how snowflakes are formed that I found on the web, "Snowflake Morphology" (Translation: How snowflakes change.)



I don't know enough meteorology to understand it fully, but I get a gist from this diagram! They turn out different ways due to different conditions.

The amazing photo at the top of this blog was photographed by Kenneth Libbrecht, a professor of physics at California Institute of Technology. He photographs snowflakes in the field and in his lab. To see more snowflake photos, go to

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photos/photos.htm

You can also learn more about the snowflake types! The beautiful crystals we picture when we think of snowflakes are called stellar dendrites.

Tibetan Children's Colouring Book

A great find! Ok, I found it awhile ago, but I wasn't blogging then! (Or finishing any goal quickly, let alone sharing something in a simple, finite way. I ran across Eternal Creation awhile ago, clothing made by tailors in Dharamsala- the home of Tibetan refugees, and the Dalai Lama. I loved the Tibetan-western fusion clothing and amazing design, but couldn't afford the clothes. But I DID order something called a "Tibetan Children's Colouring Book. It really is the ornate drawings of monks, that your child can colour in. It's so special. Definitely something I love for my children to soak up.

Click here to order a "Tibetan Children  Colouring Book" from Eternal Creation.  If the link gets changed, it's at www.eternalcreation.com, then Gift Ideas , then Children's Books.

Oh, hey, something strange I forgot until I just ran across it! On the back of the book was a curious message, emploring the receiver.


No matter what is going on 
Never give up

Develop the heart
Too much energy in your country

Is spent developing the mind
Instead of the heart
Be compassionate
Work for peace
In your heart and in the world
Work for Peace
And I say again
Never give up
No matter what is going on around you
Never give up

- H.H. The Dalai Lama 

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Article on Dr. Seuss

I am fascinated by Dr. Seuss. He is a huge role model for me. I am most curious about his creative process. The Lorax is the work of a genius-- even if that genius did have to work at it.

Here is a quote from an article about him, from a December 1979 issue of Palm Springs Life when he was the age of 75:

(Found at http://www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/December-1979/Dr-Seuss-We-Love-Youse/

All his writing is painfully hard. In the trade he is classified in the bleeder category, agonizing over every syllable. He dodges the obvious question, "Which comes first, the drawing or the writing?" One seems to challenge the other. An obsk should look like an obsk, if not, to the guillotine. Apparently "Judge Seuss" makes the right decisions for the text and drawings are happily compatible.

"Each book takes about a year," he says. "I put my working drawings on my study wall, work on something else, and eventually as I pass by I detect what's wrong. But the best thing to do is to go to Africa."

He means it. He was stuck on The Lorax. His wife Audrey said, "Forget it. Let's go to Africa." They did. When he was sitting by a pool looking at a mountain about a quarter of a mile away, over the rise came a herd of elephants and, with spontaneous combustion, The Lorax fell into place.

"The only piece of paper I had at hand was a laundry list, but I used it to outline the book. The structure was there. It had nothing to do with the elephants as such. The scene just triggered the plot. The logjam was broken. I've tried to do it since but it hasn't worked. Perhaps the clue is complete relaxation to let the subconscious in."

He pooh-poohs the word "genius" when applied to him, saying, "If I were, I wouldn't have to work so darn hard."