Tag: drawing

Snowflake Bentley

Posted on by Rachel Lonas


One of my favorite books I read with my girls when they were younger was Snowflake Bentley, a true story about the history of snowflake photography. In the late 1800’s Wilson Bentley was a Vermont farmer-scientist whose love for snow crystals started very young. His parents donated their savings to support his dreams to photograph snow! His book Snow Crystals is the “source text” for the modern day scientists who are continuing his enormous efforts in understanding the structure of snowflakes.

I brought Snowflake Bentley in today so the Maple Key girls could learn some natural history and more about drawing snow crystals.

We worked on how to draw basic snowflakes. I showed them how to form the 6 branches of a crystal by drawing 3 lines and then adding any oiLs (look at the shapes in the letters of oiLs — circles, straight lines, dots, angled lines, curved lines) to make a snowflakes.

I told them they could make them as simple or complex as they wanted. I told them that if they thought they were JUST doodling that they ought to compare what they were doing to real photos of snowflakes.

“Ice Queen” by Nathan Myhrvold Nathan Myhrvold / Modernist Cuisine Gallery, LLC

The oiLs pop out at you and the snowflake becomes less intimidating to draw because you see the shapes!

I hope that the next time we get even the least little bit of snow they will grab a black tray and a microscope and head outside to look at the flakes just a little bit closer.

Process over Product: Fashion Edition

Posted on by Rachel Lonas
My daughter’s version of me – sweats and T-shirt

For Christmas this year, our 10 year old asked for fashion stencils. She used up her fashion kit from 2 years ago and wanted some more variety in what she could create. If you could see the number of papers we have around our house of fashion women she has designed… She is like a girl on a mission.

Truth be told though, a lot of these creations end up in the trash (and that may be hard for some moms to hear!).

I know that notebooks are a great way to preserve drawings, but with her drawing habit Michaels would be taking all my money. She isn’t drawing all these fashion ladies for a portfolio, but rather finds it soothing to play with color/pattern/accessory combos. She is making choices about tops and bottoms. She is using her imagination for the details. She is representing all skin colors in her work.

She came home today saying she was going to join in with a classmate’s imaginary business team; he was going to hire her as fashion designer. She spoke with confidence about what she could bring to the organization. Letting the process do the work has been an easy way to empower her to make choices on paper and let that translate into her personal wardrobe as well!

There is definitely a time and place for having a finished project, but for so many creatives the way you get the product you ultimately want is by repetition of the process.

A friend of ours once told us about his’s son incessant banjo playing. He said he practiced so much and for so long that it nearly drove them crazy, but he went on to get a PhD and is a well-acclaimed artist and teacher.

However, the end result doesn’t have to be multiple higher education degrees. Many preschools already know the wisdom of process and don’t send home adult-led crafts each week. They trust that laying out self-directed learning opportunities for the little ones is enough to fuel their creativity.

The next time you’re frustrated by your child’s new obsession, put the lens of “process” on and see if your attitude toward their habit(s) changes.