Do Dinosaurs Paint?

Welcome back to another episode of Sarah’s Adventures in the Art Studio (SAAS). This post answers the age-old question: do dinosaurs paint? We will get to that in a minute.

But first, I’m interrupting myself to share some happy news: I’m starting a new position at work. I’ve worked at our preschool for the last two years, and I’ve enjoyed my duties as classroom aid and outdoor art studio teacher.

But about a month ago, I was asked to become the lead teacher of the 2-and 3-year-old combined classroom. I felt excited but also a little nervous. I want to do a wonderful job, but I will be learning as I go, which isn’t always comfortable for me. Can you relate? I have moments of anxiety, but I keep reminding myself that it’s okay not to know everything on day one. I care about doing a good job, and that is a solid foundation. So stay tuned—eventually I will resurface and update everyone about how it’s going.

Now back to the original topic: do dinosaurs paint? In my studio, the answer is yes.

We have plenty of dinosaurs in our outside play area, and one day, I noticed that some had open mouths. Hmmmm, what if I stuck a paintbrush into the mouth of the dinosaur? Then the dinosaurs could paint. It was a twist on our painting time outdoors and the kids had a good time. 

But let’s back up a few steps. This blog post was intended as an April post but here we are in August. Last school year was good, but so busy, and blog posts had to wait their turn. So, here are some highlights from the last eight months at preschool, including some cute moments from our preschool summer camp. It’s like a buffet: a little bit of everything. Some Valentines Day, some St. Patrick’s Day, some Easter and lots of messy fun. 

 

Big mess = big fun.

This is Rudi the Robot. I made him as a creature with four slides
(one down each arm and leg). One of my students, Caleb, said,
"Is that a robot?" And that's how Rudi the Robot came to be.

This summer I worked at our preschool's summer camp. Each

week had a different theme and our first week was all about 

pirates and mermaids.

At the end of the week was dress up day so I gathered various accessories and threw together this pirate outfit. I channeled Johnny Depp and played the “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme song while I dressed. Got to get into character, right? 

One kiddo asked about my tights, and I told him that pirates sometimes wear fishnet tights. He asked, “Do you catch fish with them?” So funny, but that’s how young kids’ brains work. Another kiddo asked if I was a real pirate, so I answered, “Yes!” He thought about it for a minute and then said, “No…You’re Ms. Sarah!” 

Arrgh!

Another week was dinosaur week and for our dress up day I made myself a triceratops head piece out of paper plates. I got the idea from one of our campers, who called me “Tri-Sarah-Tops.” Hmmm…I feel an idea brewing. When we were playing outdoors that day (obviously I still had my dinosaur head on), I saw people down the block looking in my direction. Only my shoulders and head were visible above our fence. I hope they knew the truth: that I am both a teacher and a real dinosaur (from the neck up).

Tri-Sarah-Tops

My students tried to hide from me. 

Balloons: all fun and games until they pop, scaring me every time.

The summer passed quickly, except when we were outdoors at camp. Yes, I’m in San Diego, and it’s much cooler here than in most places. But it was in the 80s, with humidity, which we are not used to here. Sweat dripped down my back and face, which is not as glamorous as it sounds. We sometimes sprayed the water hose into the air to create rain, which cooled us off. Of course, the kids loved it, and we tried to keep them cool with outdoor water table play. At home, I parked myself next to our portable fan, put my wearable fan around my neck and tried not to move.

Besides doing art with the preschoolers, I also have done some of my own paintings this year. I took myself plein air painting last week (for those who don’t know, this means bringing my easel to a location and painting on site). Sweat trickled down my back, but a merciful breeze found me. People stopped to say hi and to share details about the neighborhood, a maze of streets twisting in and out of a canyon, filled with trees and plants. I listened to the distant sound of the trash truck, the bird calls, and the rustle of leaves in the trees. It had been eight months since I’d last painted outdoors, although I’d drawn outdoors twice in that time. It felt like a gift to myself, making that time to do something that feeds my soul.

Here is my painting, entitled “Pink House.” It wasn’t my intended subject matter that day, but when I looked down a street, I saw a pink dot in the distance, and I had to check it out. There aren’t a lot of pink houses here, and it called to me. It has at least three floors, as it is built into the side of a canyon. It reminded me of another plein air adventure from two years ago—my painting of a house, only a mile away from this one. It seems I like to paint old houses, tucked into the trees. 

Pink House, 11 x 14", acrylic on canvas panel

Some of my other paintings from this year involved cityscapes or street scenes—moments from everyday life. I have done several paintings of bodegas, and one depicting the inside of a Japanese market. Anything with color and interesting angles and shapes. 

My drawing of NikiGator, a San Diego sculpture
by French artist Niki de Saint Phalle

Japanese Market, 11x14", acrylic on canvas panel.

Crashing Wave, 9x12", mixed media on paper.

Earlier this summer I made a sandcastle with one of my kids. A small castle--but it was on my summer list. Would it even feel like summer without a sandcastle? 

It’s fun to make temporary art. A sandcastle will not remain intact for long, but the act of creating something is always worth it. 

This summer I also chipped away at a few DIY projects. They

involved lifting concrete blocks and brick, and I asked myself

why I do this in summer, when it’s hot. Longer daylight hours

for outdoor projects? I also enjoyed swimming, hanging with

my family, checking out dramatic sunsets and taking a few

naps. 

Gardening is another of my passions, and my flowers put on a good show this summer. 

Tradescantia Nanouk

Epiphyllum (Cactus Flower)

In case you thought my life is all flowers and sunsets,
here I am in my paint shirt, weeding in the heat.

Monarch and Milkweed

hybrid Hibiscus

The end of summer is always bittersweet for me—it’s not easy to return to a more rigid school schedule, and to accept the days becoming shorter. But it’s part of life, and I will try to be present in each season. Soon I will be welcoming new kiddos into our school, and I hope that they will feel happy and safe with me. We will practice taking turns, sharing, using our words (not our hands) to communicate. I know I will witness beautiful moments, like one from this summer, when a young three-year-old brought a crying friend his water bottle  to soothe him after a playground fall. These kids may be little, but they already have big hearts.

Please wish me luck for a good school year. I remember when I started teaching art nine years ago, and the challenges were daunting. I had to attempt to get thirty-eight kids to listen, while also encouraging them to express themselves, to let loose with their imaginations, while not letting so loose that their glue sticks became stuck to the ceiling (true story). I was overwhelmed--but I persisted and in time, I found my pace and style. I hope this new chapter will also be a good one, and I will try my best to be a patient, consistent, fun teacher this year. Stay tuned for updates.

Until we chat again, watch out for painting dinosaurs. And of course, keep shining brightly!

Backyard Magic

Like the earth itself, our backyard has evolved over the years.

The Jungle Age predated our arrival in 2003.

Our first kid arrived in 2004, beginning a ten year period known as The Broken Toy Age.

This overlapped with The Weed Age (which continues to this day).

By 2014, I finally had some time and energy for the yard, thus beginning The Great Gardening Age.

There were years—maybe a decade!—in which the yard was largely ignored and had to fend for itself. I had three little kids and 95% of my energy went toward keeping them alive. Any yard project that required more than twenty minutes at a time was penciled into the next decade.

But life is a little less hectic now that the kiddos are older, and gardening has become one of my favorite hobbies. On weekends you’ll find me covered in dirt, and I love it!

2003: the northeast corner of our yard before any changes.

A year ago I considered posting about our yard projects but I was concerned that the timing was wrong. I did not want the post to come off as insensitive or braggy, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. My friend M said that it might give people a boost to see something bright and colorful during a time when our spirits felt bleak. Still, I decided to wait, and I truly hope this piece comes across as cheerful and encouraging rather than as a brag fest.

Over the years, we enjoyed various aspects of our yard. We liked that the previous owners planted trees—they wanted this place to feel like home, rather than a temporary stop. The apricot tree was pretty and produced a handful of apricots (one year it yielded exactly one apricot, but why split hairs?). The overgrown tangle of trees and weeds provided nooks and crannies for our kids to explore when they were tiny. There were many hiding places for Easter eggs. It worked for us, so why change things? Plus, I was super busy with the kids and the yard was not an urgent matter. But at some point the kids grew and I could do a few “me” things, like working more in our yard. 

We added a few plants over the years, but the biggest change came in early 2018, when Hubby built a home office in our back yard. Hubby and I are both DIYers, and although I helped a little, he built it himself and did an amazing job. The color scheme and design matched our house, and soon I felt like it had always been there.

Winter 2018: Hubby's office is in the same corner that you see in the photo above.

Hubby's office, designed and built by my hubby, modest man who hates compliments. I think it's awesome.

I decided to build a garden wall, as the office met the patio in a way that seemed too abrupt. Plants would soften the transition. I discovered that I love building planters, which helped organize the yard. The geometry of the concrete block planters contrasted well against the organic shapes of the flowers and plants. 

The garden wall / planter I built below Hubby's office.

Once the office was in, I started looking at the yard differently. I wanted the yard to reflect us, rather than the previous owners. The apricot tree was dead, and needed to be removed. I took a long look at the yard and realized that I wanted to take out three other trees, too. Yet, I was racked with guilt because taking out four trees (even if one was dead) felt wrong to me. One tree was a dwarf orange, only waist tall, so it wasn’t like I was killing an ancient Sequoia tree. But still, I felt badly. Eventually I decided that it was okay for us to make our yard how we want it. Removing the trees opened up the yard a lot, and my ideas started flowing. (Side note: if you are a very stubborn person, you can cut down trees by yourself, refusing help from anyone else. You need a reciprocating saw, and it’s possible your hands will be unusable for two days afterward, too sore or cramped to do anything. But it can be done!)

The back fence after trees were gone, before I added planters.

The previous owners added a patio in sections and a raised brick planter at the back of the yard. “Planter” sounds small but this area is big—fourteen feet wide by thirty feet long, and it’s about a foot higher than the patio. Once I started removing trees, weeds and overgrowth, I found more brick walls that had been covered by leaves, weeds and dirt. It felt exciting—like stumbling upon ancient Mayan ruins!—well, maybe not super old or Mayan. But still, it was fun to unearth walls I’d never seen, and the walls gave me some direction for how to create other zones in the yard. 

Who knew that a brick divider wall was hidden under robust weeds?

                                                                                                                                                                         

A few drawings to illustrate the changes made in our yard:

2019: trees are gone. Wall is found. Pool is deflated. Dirt is...dirt. Mama is tired.

2019--Building a planter against the back fence.

Planter wall, including some cuttings from friends.

In 2019 I made a peacock garden mosaic, and built two more concrete block planters. I also bought gray cement pavers to put in front of Hubby’s office, but I got distracted and they sat in a heap in the yard for months. 

Some of the pavers I painted.
Mixing and matching is marvelous and magnificent.

More pavers. Keeping it lively.

March 2020: the pavers are not finished but at least I started.

In 2020 I built one more planter, and finally got stern with myself about painting the pavers to install in front of Hubby’s office. I wanted an eclectic vibe, and I was inspired by blue and white Moroccan and Mexican tiles I saw online. I used inexpensive blue acrylic and I hand-painted designs onto the pavers. There are a few repeats but most are unique, and it’s a playful mix of traditional looks, modern spatter-painted pavers, and space age designs. I love to mix and match. The painted pavers may not endure for a hundred years, but eighteen months later they still look great. This paver “patio” goes with our blue accent color and provides pattern and whimsy.

During the stressful, isolated months from 2020 through 2021, gardening was a lifejacket for me. In the early months of COVID-19, I didn’t go into stores, so I wasn’t buying materials or plants. But container gardening allowed me to rearrange plants out back, and working in the dirt was soothing to my soul. Doing something that made our yard look good gave me a boost during the pandemic, when I felt helpless and anxious. 

2020

I used river rock from the front yard to fill in spaces.

Summer 2020.

 Lessons I’ve learned and want to share:

1.       When you are redesigning or refreshing a space, see if there are existing elements that work for you (like our brick planter). If so, use some of what is already there. This cuts down on cost, effort and time. Plus, it makes you think more creatively because you are mixing old with new, rather than using a blank slate, and you often you get a more interesting effect.

2.       It’s okay to make your space your own. If you decide to remove something, be it a wall or tree or whatever it is, you’re not a criminal! It’s your space and it should reflect you.

3.       Be patient and celebrate each finished stage, big or small. It’s tempting to want everything to look finished right away. Who doesn’t like immediate gratification? But when a project happens in stages, I appreciate each victory, thereby extending my satisfaction.

4.       Try your hand at DIY projects. They are gratifying because they have your stamp on them. Plus, you save money (sure, they take more time but think of this time as in investment).

 To be honest, our yard still looks a little like a construction site. It’s not finished and may never be, as I tend to rearrange things every few months. The old me would have wanted to share photos only after everything was finished and amazing. The new me knows that perfection does not exist and that the quest for it only pressures me. Sharing real photos, like our giant dirt pile, reminds us that no one’s yard or life is flawless. 

And so, to keep things relatable, here’s a list of what else was not pictured: weeds, occasional doggy doo, plant leaves with chomp holes from caterpillars, dog hair on the edge of the patio, more weeds, a gopher hole, supplies jumbled in the side yards, spider webs, bird poop on the planters, rotting premature persimmons that fell on the ground…and more weeds.

Years ago someone said something a bit snarky to me. A mutual friend described all the creative things I do and the other lady said, “Oh, well, I don’t have time for all that.” Her righteous tone implied that I spent time on meaningless stuff, whereas she was doing important things. I shook it off but years later, I almost feel a need to explain my life. Yes, I am lucky that I can spend time on my yard. Sure, it’s not essential, but it brings me joy. My family comes first. I love teaching. I do the chores that need doing. But in my leftover time, I love gardening. It calms me, and it provides beauty (and sometimes tomatoes). My yard looks different from how it used to because I put time in daily. These progress photos span years, so this is not an overnight makeover. 

Spring 2021

Especially in the early days of parenting, I didn’t understand that self care is vital. Gradually I learned that it is important to do something that feeds your soul. If it brings you peace and doesn’t hurt others, do it! Maybe it’s playing music. Maybe it’s going to ball games. For me, it’s reading and gardening. Find whatever it is that feeds your spirit.  

Summer 2021.

Now where was I? Yes, gardening. Anyway, if you love DIY (Do It Yourself) projects the way we do, or if you’re willing to try them to save on cost, you will be amazed at what you can do yourself. Some of my supplies (bricks and plant cuttings) I got for free online—one neighbor’s trash is another’s treasure, right? Making a place look great is not necessarily about spending a lot—it’s about using your imagination. Buy the smaller plant for a better price, and wait for it to grow. Patience will reward you. You need some time, a modest budget, supplies, and the interest in making it your own.

I hope this backyard refresh brightened your day, and I’ll see you again soon, here on the blog. School is starting up and before long I will have loads of student art to share. ‘Til then, I will be moving potted plants around, cursing at the weeds, occasionally finding a Hot Wheels car or Lego brick under layers of dirt, and watching Mother Earth work her magic…