Helping Kids Stay Creative

For an excellent list of sites to help kids stay creative, click over to My Life Scoop. There are a few GG faves & then some new-to-us.

Things are very busy here but we'll pick up the posting pace next week as we decamp to house-sit for Paris-bound friends.

ciao/GG/xo

(photograph by Jason Lee via My Modern Met)

Brain Pickings

Do you know about Brain Pickings? We highly recommend you subscribe to "interestingness curator" Maria Popova's daily feed or her weekly newsletter (delivered on Sundays) or follow her on Twitter.

Whatever your interests, Brain Pickings will make you think, pique your curiosity, & make you laugh. Every day. That Ms. Popova does this for free is stunning: she spends 450+ hours a month curating this site. She also writes for several publications including Wired UK, The Atlantic, & Design Observer. She accepts donations & we hope that her readers think of her this holiday season.

ciao-meow/GG Central

(Winnie & Piglet via Winniepedia)

Throw an Art Party

It's really hot. Everyone is cranky. It's expensive to take everyone to the movies one more time this month. What can you do? You can avert boredom with a bunch of art supplies. (Our favorite store is Utrecht. They're having a huge sale right now.) Whether fancy & many or a box of crayons & a few brushes...it doesn't matter. Be creative but don't stress out over it. Giulia is our muse, of course. If you're all good, we'll post our portraits of the redheaded one this autumn.

ciao-arty-meow/GGCM

PS: Remember these free coloring pages; also the online museum resources for inspiration.

(photographed and styled by Friedemann Hauss and Jana Pokorny for the Feb 2011 issue of Marie Claire Australia. Via automatism)

Write a Letter

Don't you love getting letters through the mail? It is one of the most personal and meaningful means of communication. Revive the art of letter writing—write a letter to a friend! Begin by creating your own personal stationery, here at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum's site. (The Activity Zone has many other fun ideas, too.) Do we have to remind you that, ahem, you probably owe some thank-you cards? (photograph by the ghost factory on flickr via The Benevolent Postcard Society)

Happy Third Day of Christmas!

ciao-meow/GG Holiday Central

Tate Kids Create - Colouring Book

More free coloring pages--this time from Tate Britain's Tate Kids. There's lots of craftiness on the large site but you might want to start with the outline of Emma, Lady Hamilton as Circe by George Romney. (image via here)

Enjoy!

ciao-meow/The Management

PS: Today is your last chance to vote in Shabby Apple's Dare to Design (a dress) Competition. Vote here.

The Art Zone - Make Your Own Art

Do you know about the National Gallery of Art's Art Zone (for kids of all ages)? You do? Oh. Why did you not tell us? It's an interactive site on which you, yes you, can make art. There is so much in fact, that why don't you just visit? Giulia's head is about to pop with excitement. (She's a very sensitive artiste.)

The NGAkids Still Life helps you create interactive art that mirrors the paintings of the old masters. Mix everyday objects and painted elements while experimenting with composition, scale, and perspective. This Art Zone activity is suitable for all ages. Young children can compose engaging interactive still lifes online while learning simple spatial and math concepts. More advanced artists can create complex compositions and then switch to the painting mode to add and manipulate textured 'brushstrokes" that give the art a more abstract quality. (from the NGA website, credits here)

We're off to create a masterpiece.

ciao-arty-meow/GG's editor

New York City Ballet Coloring Pages - Week's End

Who knew that one of our favorite ballet companies had a children's section on their website? You did? We salute you. We're behind the times, apparently. There are 36 thumbnails to click on. An outline of characters is downloaded with the ballet title, choreographers, & costume credits. Click print et voilà. You become the costume designer. GG's editor just tried it & it works perfectly. Have a great weekend.

ciao-meow/GG Central

(little ballerina feet by Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIFE; coloring book via NYCB website)