Pictographic Shopping List

Hana cannot read and write yet, much to her dismay. But she has circumvented the problem with this graphic shopping list.

The list features water ( a bottle with some water movement, ice tea (a water bottle with ice cubes), eggs (chicken with eggs, butter (buttercup with a B in it), cornflakes for her and her brother (A + H above box), chocolate paste (Nutella jar, go figure if you can find that one and tuna fish (fish).

I thought it was just a memory thing, and that she’d soon forget what each item meant. However, this shopping list was ‘written’ on August 18, and when I just asked (August 30) her if she could clarify the items for me, she could do so immediately.
I guess you could call this a pictographic shopping list.

Strawberry

Another thing Hana saw, and I didn't see it.
"Look Mom, this stone looks like a strawberry," she said when she picked up this stone from a beach in Yport.

I thought she meant the texture of the stone, but when she painted it, I saw the strawberry. Indeed, it does look like a strawberry.

What Is It?

At first I though it was an art work made with stones, depicting a heart. Alas, Hana's mom is at times a little too lyrical.

"No, it is a fireplace," Hana said impatiently, "Don't you see the stones around it? ANd in the middle you put the fire."

Yes, of course.

Pine Cone

Things you can do with a pine cone; turn it into a flower.

A Dr. Seuss Birds Nest

From grass, little pine cones and a branch Hana constructed a collection of 'birds nests'. It looks like one out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Field study

While in the field, Hana made aportrait of a friend. He's got a distinct 'Van Goghian' touch to him, I think. At least that is what Hana made of it. He's got his arms crossed, a detail she noticed, and solved in a Picasso manner.

Some other animals . . .

Hana spent her summer with; three donkeys, Filou, Balthazar and Lisette. Hana rode Filou for some 75 kilometers through France, and calls herself a 'donkey rider'.

Insects

Hana spent her summer outdoors, and encountered lots and lots of insects and other critters. Black bugs and green bugs and orange bugs, grasshoppers in all sizes, slime snails and slugs, butterflies, frogs and toads.

And so she wanted to make a 'study book' on the insects she encountered. It did not get much further than a green grasshopper and a type of cricket the French call 'cigalle'.

Since she cannot write yet, she dictated the text to her mom.

Woodwork

Hana has an opa (grandfather) who has this amazing toolshed. He’s got just about everything in the hardware field; screws, nuts, bolts and nails in every size, lenght and variety. Hana is an avid woodworker, specialized in the making of furniture. Her preferred activities are sawing and hammering. Opa also has an endless supply of little pieces of wood.

And here we have some examples.A wooden bench to sit on (approx. 7 cm high and 15 cm long) Front and back
And two sail boats

Hana

The front cover of Hana's Art Portfolio. Nice signature. Picasso couldn't have done a better job.

Dentist

The annual visit to the dentist inspired Hana to a drawing of a family of toothbrushes. Hana got a clean bill of health.

"You've got lovely teeth," said the dentist.

"Yeah, I know," she replied.

And as you can see, it's made 'ready-to-hang.'

More Art Work Coming from School

Today was the last day of school. I could fill - by now - all the walls of the entire house with her work. And we are not going to do that."This is a man with a truck, and every time he opens his truck, snow comes falling out. This was from a book."
"A tree that is growing nice and well."

"This is me."
And a chickenfoot. Don't know what inspired her on this one.

End of the year

It is the end of the year, and the teacher is obviously cleaning up. Hana is taking drawings home by the hundreds. It is coming home faster than I can document it, and so I organized them all together.

Cherry Picking

Not an art activity today, although picking cherries is an art in itself.

Celebration Day

Several times a year Hana’s teachers invite all the parents, so their children show them what they have learned so far.

Hana is here showing her woodwork project,
Her claying skills (she made a rabbit),
And her drawing on wood with Chinese ink. I remember we called it Ecoline in my days.

And these are her classmates's self-portraits.

In the art class, they had studied Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'. But in the exhibition, Hana's 'Starry Night' was missing. I asked the teacher where it was. "Oh," she replied, "A lady from the yearbook came and picked out a few for the yearbook. I guess she took Hana's."

Ah, well, here's one Mom who's keeping her fingers crossed. That would mean her first printed work.