What's Left of the Easter Egg Decoration

These shiny pink and yellow flowers were leftovers from an Easter egg decoration session. Hana figured you can stick them in a drawing too, including the little straw hat that is supposed to go on top of the egg.
She proudly decorated an entire basket with beautiful eggs, then went out on the balcony to play, keeping her eggs beside her, but what can I say.

We have a dog. And although he’s 14, deaf, blind, and limping, he’s not stupid.

So he ate her eggs, brightly painted shells and all.

I did not take any pictures beforehand, and didn’t have the nerve to take one afterwards as Hana was very upset with me for smiling at what the dog did.

Something

Love Notes

She writes love notes to her mom. This is a double sided paper. Drawings on the front, note on the back. When I tell her I love her, she replies “yeah, I know,” with a sigh. What a burden.

Write

The desire to write is growing stronger by the day. Just placing letters randomly does not satisfy her anymore; it has to have meaning. And so she copies from us.
This is inspired by the ‘pancakes for breakfast’ on the weekends.

Mothers Day

A burden on us, but see how eagerly they await their moms!

It is a burden on teachers, who have to come up with ever nicer events to surprise the mothers, prepare the kids and the classroom and rehearse over and obver again to ensure it does not end up in a chaotic mess, and a burden on mothers, who have to sit through these events smiling politely, eating sandwiches and cookies baked and prepared by 20 snotty kids, green bubbles blowing out of their noses.
The kids love it tough. Hana has been preparing me for some weeks now on what would she would be doing on Mothers Day. I would come to school, and she would serve me lunch that she had prepared herself.
And there she was,

complete with (self-made) cook’s hat, a (self-made) place mat with a protrait of me, a (self-made) menu, (self-made) flowers in a pot and self-made sandwiches.
T’was a good one.

This was the card the Arabic teacher prepared. A multi-media card, with a protrait of me.

Practicing her Signature

This artist is practicing her signature, for when she needs to sign her work.

Bad Boy

I found this particular drawing, made with pencil, in the garbage. I picked it out, but when I asked her about this drawing, she claimed it wasn’t her work. She refused to claim ownership.
“It’s Cecile’s,” meaning the housekeeper drew it.
I said I found that hard to believe.
“Okay, okay, I’ll be honest. It is me.”
She did not like the drawing, she said. “This is a bad boy.”

I like the bad boy. His porky nose, spiky hair, and most of all, his frown. The boy is frowning.

Recurrent Theme

I was cleaning today, and found these two under a pile of things. The house seems to be a recurrent theme; I’ve got quite a lot of these now. Maybe I should make a memory game out of this.

Blowing Bubbles

is also an art.

The Easel, Part II: Portrait

The housekeeper has had to sit for an hour for this one, she said.

"Don't move, Cecile," said Hana, everytime she tried to leave, "I'm not done yet".

The result is the one on the bottom left. The top left is not Hana's work, but the housekeeper's. The top right is someone else. No idea who. "Maybe her boyfriend," said Hana.

The Easel

Hana, being the 'serious' artist that she is, figured out a long time ago already that real artists have easels. When cousin O got one from Santa Claus, she had her mind set on an easel as well. She needed to get professional. I went around town, looked for a ‘child proof’ easel at a children’s price, but that was a Mission Impossible. A professional easel starts somewhere around the $80, so I figured I mighthave to keep her on a string until Christmas 2008.
This afternoon however, as I was running through town on my way to a music concert which featured Hana’s brother on the trombone, I ran across a beautiful easel, wrapped in saran wrap, for a mere 49,995 LBP, which is only $33. A steal. And thus I continued my way to the music concert – still running – with an easel under my arm.
Hana’s was elated of course, and got to work right away. It was only a short time before her bed time, but she still managed too crank out a piece.

Four Panel Piece

Hana likes to paint. She does not have any preferences as to what kind of paint it is (water colors, acrylic, gaucho etc), but currently all she wants to do is paint.
And she cannot be bothered by a mother who is constantly asking her ‘So what is this?”.
She replies “I don’t want to talk about it now.”

So her mom will have to give them names.

Teachers Day

Hana made this drawing, folded it up, and stuck it into her back pack. I wanted to make a picture of it before she left the house, but was almost not allowed to.

“This is not for you, it’s for Miss Hutchinson,” she said.
Then I remembered; it was Teachers Day.
This was the ‘Thank You’ note she got. Her first art feedback, so to speak.

Random Work

A number of pictures drawn before dinner, when her productiveness is at its peak.
“This is something about Lilo’s monsters, and these monsters have only hot fire.” ‘Hot is Fire’ she started singing after this one.
“That’s a fish. The fish wiggles and squiggles around. He is a girl fish, that’s why he’s got such pretty eyes. And he never gives up or sleeps.”
"That’s eeh, you know, homework.”

Leila's New Glasses

“That’s Leila and me and Leila’s new glasses. I made them for her. She can’t see very well so I made her glasses. She’s old.”

Hungry Helen

Hana is in no mood to explain her pictures. But this one she didn't mind talking about.

"This is me and a hearty lunch. Hearty lunch means she hopes to eat again.”

And she starts singing; “ Hungry Helen Hen, Hungry Helen Hen. Hungry Helen had a hearty lunch, she hopes to eat again.’ (on the tune of ‘The Farmer in the Dell’).

I am not sure if I got the words right, she may have copies something phonetically.

Sulley & Boo

Sometimes you see things only after a while. Hana made this picture one evening before dinner. I did not think much of it. It is a rudimentary depiction of an adult with a child. But when I asked who it was, she said "That’s Boo with the monster.” For those that know the movie Monsters Inc, this is Sulley with Boo.

And then, when I looked at it one the computer, while preparing it for her blog, I noticed the red pointed thing. Why would she stick that on the picture, I thought?
And then suddenly I remembered that exact scene in the movie. If you have seen the movie, you will remember the scene where Mike Wazowski surprises Sulley with the door of Bo. The door has been through the shredder, and he has glued every single piece of the door together again. Except for one piece, that he could not find.
And that is the piece that Sulley has kept on his clipboard. He glued it to the picture that Bo had drawnof them together.

I find that the strongest thing in this picture; that red splinter, which is supposed to be the splinter that will open Boo's door again.