printmaking birthday party

I have been busy with birthday parties!  Three this month and another this weekend. I am always humbled that parents would entrust such a special day to me. It is always a treat to share in the excitement that comes along with a child's birthday.

This eight year old little girl wanted a birthday party that had something to do with nature.  I sent her mother a couple of project ideas for the child to pick from and she decided she wanted to do printmaking.

I would have loved to of taken the girls outside to collect their own leaves, but given the time constraints, collected a variety of different leaves from my yard.

 

We did A LOT of prints. Printmaking always feels like organized chaos and when you throw the energy of a birthday party into the mix, wow! Like on a roller coaster, you just kind of have to put your hands up in the air and enjoy the ride.  We did one print of just a positive and negative image of a leaf. I let the birthday girl choose the color and she picked gold. I think these came out lovely  with her color choice.

The girls also had the opportunity to create some multi-layered prints using a variety of colors. I love the abstract quality of these pieces. Here is a sampling of some of the things they created.  Needless to say, there were so many creations that I had to pick and choose or this post would of looked like "War and Peace".

birthday girl

How awesome is this above print done by the birthday girls' three year old sister?! I love that this project is something all ages can enjoy exploring with some stunning results.

Even with editing, there are so many beautiful ones I want to share with you. Isn't this side by side in color pretty?

I absolutely love the above composition the birthday girl came up with on this one. I love the color palette also.  It is quite interesting to see what happens to the inks the girls choose as they begin to combine the layers.

(once again, three year old's work!)

From the noise level and the amount of paper I went through during this party, I'm pretty confident saying the girls had a very good time.  I think the parents and I could of done with something a little stronger than apple juice at the end, but then isn't that always the case after you throw a child's party?

Happy Birthday Miss T!!!  Thank you for letting Kudzu be a part of your special day!!