Our Valentine's Party last weekend was lots of fun!   We had fun decorating cookies and making Valentine’s cards, and several other arts and crafts projects. I also taught some of the kids how to make duct tape roses and origami hearts.  It was awesome to see the people who came get to know one another. ​

​A few months ago, I posted some of the art I created, using watercolor pencils and pastels I got for Christmas.  Since then, I have experiemtned with many styles, and got lots of practice during my fundraising art-a-thon.  Recently, I have enjoyed drawing anime and My Little Pony.  Follow me on Deviant Art and Instagram. 

Last Sunday, I spent the whole day doing art to raise money for Saving Kids' Sight.  I loved coming up with ideas, and putting them to paper, for a great cause.  The Art-A-Thon was so successful that I continued to draw through the week, adding some whimsical subjects as well.  Over $900 has been raised, which is awesome! ​

I got some great art supplies for Christmas, and have since been experimenting with different subjects and styles.
Here are some of my recent pictures, using water-color pastels:

I joined the Girls In Tech after-school class this semester, and had lots of fun creating this Google Doodle.
The theme is "What makes me…ME". 

In my spare time, I love to draw and to create fun things. My three favorite creative activities at home are duct tape art, origami, and fashion design.  When I take a break from my homework, I am usually doing one of these projects.
Duct tape art is so versatile. I have made folders for school, wallets and purses for my friends, and now I am making duct tape roses. Here is a duct tape rose that I made recently. 

I put a rose on top of a pen and then covered the pen with green duct tape, and gave it as a gift.  I put another rose on top of a straw and covered it with green duct tape, to make a stem.  A smaller red rose was the perfect addition to a black hairband. ​

ere is a picture of one of the roses in the front yard of the gingerbread house I decorated last week. ​

Duct tape is amazing and can be used for so many things.  I bring some with me whenever I'm going for a long car drive, or when I'm meeting up with friends who also love crafts.  We made a very tall tower of duct tape rolls at the library a few weeks ago. ​

I love making art out of clay, so I jumped at the opportunity to go to a summer pottery camp. Clay allows my creativity to run wild.  Given a lump of bland, uninteresting clay, I can turn it into a dazzling serving plate, a favorite cup, a miniature pool scene complete with deck chairs and a cool shade-filled cave, or a useful rain gauge for my yard.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the name of this camp, “It’s a muddy world”.  To be honest, it sounded a little gross to me at first.  I was wondering if I’d get to make anything interesting at all.  I needn’t have worried, because I ended up learning about the pottery of ancient cultures around the world, and creating works using ancient techniques, while adding my own personal flair

he second country was Japan and I made a lantern.  Our teacher had cut out four rectangles and a square out of a light grey clay. I  cut designs into the rectangular pieces, with the needle tool.   Real ancient Japanese lanterns had Kanji characters, but I just did a pattern of diamonds on two of the faces, and left the other two faces blank.  Some kids did more elaborate designs, like bamboo or a panda.  Using the square piece as a base, I scored and slipped the four rectangular design pieces around it, to make the lantern.  ​

Our final project was an Egyptian piece.  We had the option to make either a scarab beetle or a candy dish. I chose to make a candy dish. We used a large square stamp with cutting edges to cut out a square from a 1/4” slab, and peeled off the edges.  Then I chose patterned stamps, including a snowflake and one with stars and crescent moons, and pressed them around the edges of the square.  The next part of the process was very interesting.  I took a large sponge, put my flat plate on it, and got a large solid square stamp. I pushed this stamp gently in the middle of my flat plate, and then released it. The dish had formed, with a patterned rim.  This candy dish is my favorite of the three projects.
The last day of camp was spent painting my creations, and chatting to my new friends. I accidentally broke two of the rays on the edge of my sun mask, when I was preparing to paint it.  I painted the broken pieces like the rest of the rays and was planning to glue them back on after the works were fired.  However, when I went to pick up my finished  projects, the broken pieces weren’t there.
I really want to find an after-school pottery class that fits my schedule this coming school year, and I am willing to give up some other activities if needed.