We call this "dangerous art."  It gets their attention.  

The rocks are hot (heated in the oven) and the crayons just ooze over the top, encasing the rock in a marbled rainbow shell.  The process is oh-so-satisfying in itself.  But the product is also delightful: a silky, swirled treasure stone.

We've created  a video tutorial for you to try this out at home with your young artists (or old artists--Our instructors love doing this one!).  Here's what you'll need:

• CRAYONS
  
• ROCKS 
  
• OVEN & HOT PADS (safety first!)
  
• WAX COATED PAPER PLATE OR ALUMINUM FOIL
  

After you've made your rocks, snap a picture of you with your little treasures so we get to see your creative products! #ArtistsInspireArtists  Tag us @orangeeaselart.com on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

We never get pictures of all of them before they leave us, but we're sharing what we have!

Interested in working with fiber?  This summer, we have classes in weaving, embroidery, shibori, and tshirt decoration/design. [See Summer Classes]

For older artist, the results are stunning and the design possibilities are endless.  For younger artists, the process of squirting out the shaving cream and dropping the color is great for fine motor development (not to mention, it's fun to play in the colored shaving cream when your done!).  

For a edible version, try whipped cream instead of shaving cream.  The colors aren't as bright, but it's safe for the really young artists to put in their mouths.

Step One: Squirt the shaving cream into the pie plate.  
You need complete coverage but it doesn't need to be deep.  We usually look for about half an inch.  You can use a spatula to spread it evenly around when your done squirting it out.

Afterward, you can drop in more color, swirl again, and repeat the printing process.  Or, you can just enjoy the shaving cream as a sensory play invitation.  

We recently use our shaving cream prints to make planets. We splatter painted a piece of black construction paper with white paint and then glued on the marbled planets. 

These printed papers are perfect for collages (think spring flowers, fall leaves, etc).  They also make a beautiful set of notecards!

I do. We do. You do. 

We think the "We do" step is really the most important (and the hardest) so this blog post is going to focused pretty heavily on that stage. We've outlined some tips below.  Be sure to watch our YouTube video too, where Miss Allison explains more about these three stages.

Our job as parents is to make little productive adults, right?  So, what can we teach?  Well, everything we know.  We need to  teach them everything that they'll need to be successful on their own.  All those life skills from tying their shoes to doing their own laundry to checking the tire pressure in their car tires.

There are many checklists floating around blogs and pinterests boards that can give you an idea of what kinds of tasks your children are ready to learn.  Do a google search.  Or just take our word for it, and check out this one from FamilyEducation.com

We generally believe that kids are much more capable than we give them credit for.  Given the proper TEACHING, they can be responsible for many jobs around the house.  

And teaching is what we do here. So, let us help you out.  

These are the steps.  There's no timeline for them.  There's no magic number of times you have to show them and do it with them before they "get it."  There's nothing that says that just because you've made it successfully to YOU DO that you don't have to revisit the WE DO stage when the bathroom cleaning gets a little lax.   

Just know that when your little ones (or big ones) are struggling with something that they SHOULD know how to do, it's time to go back to WE DO.

That means together.  Like side-by-side.  Fully supportive.  This is hard because whatever it is that you're trying to teach is going to take twice as long with someone else tagging along.  Gah.  It's going to be frustrating.  This is going to test your patience.  For you control freaks out there, this is going to test your ability to let go a little bit.  

The goal with WE DO is to teach them these new skills through cooperation not through coercion.  Everyone's experience will be better if your kiddos actually want learn it.  The pace of the learner matters.  

In no particular order, here's are best advice on WE DO.

Honestly, who really WANTS to do laundry?  We get it.  It's hard to make these chores attractive.  

If you've got a little one who has dug in their heels on something, pick a different battle.  Start with something they're interested in.  Go slow.  Especially if they haven't had many responsibilities leading up to this point.  

That WE DO stage might need to last a good long while.  

Hang in there, parents.  You're raising responsible adults and that's not an easy task.

Not everyone can make it over to the studio over Christmas Break so we brought some art ideas to you via Facebook Live.  All of these tutorials use the basic art supplies and stuff we figured most people have around the house. If you need a new activity to keep the kids occupied, check out our tutorials and let us know how they go!

We're at the Farmer's Market on select Saturdays throughout the summer offering free face painting to all the kids!  Stop by and see us!

Our grade school classes have been designing their own two-color screens for tshirt and bags and more!  Check out what our class looks like when they FINALLY get to print!

Something for your Monday Morning!  Join us each Monday at 10am for some art ideas that you can do at home as well as the inside scoop on what's going on in the studio!

If you try this at home, share your pictures with us by tagging us @OrangeEaselArt on Instagram or by posting to our facebook page.  
Local artists are invited to attend our Egg Decorating Workshop on Saturday March 26th.  Tie Dye will be one of SIX stations we'll have set up!  Click here to learn more.