Sometimes in our quest to appreciate beauty, we take for granted even the simplest treasures that can be found in our own back yard. I love being able to show others something that they have perhaps taken for granted and walked by too quickly to notice before. I hope that in sharing my work, it will help others to change their perspective and take the time to enjoy and savor the beauty around them in the most unfamiliar or surprising ways possible. ~ Angela Kelly
Snowzilla is bearing down upon us and it's almost too late to prepare. You've stocked up on bread and milk and milk and bread. You may know where you're going to head when the power goes out. My question is, “What are you going to do without electronic screens?” Before you head out for bread and milk, check to see if you have dish soap and corn syrup. Why? You might be able to whip up a batch of wicked bubble mix and make frozen bubbles. Temperature look promisingly low in the Carolinas for trying out frozen bubbles tomorrow night if the weather guessers are on their game.
If you have a very, very, very large backyard, say the size of six football fields, and lots of downtime, you might try making patterns in the snow. Try drawing one of these designs in your captain idea log. Then, imagine what it takes to create this in snow. For more inspiration, check out Simon Beck's snow art page on Facebook.
If the temperatures are too brutal for outdoor fun, try making paper snowflakes out of coffee filters. Hard core snowflake designers share folding and cutting techniques that begin with a perfect square. Followers of this blog who have experimented with paper sloyd know how to construct one! Erase the creases by tucking the snowflake between two pieces of wax paper and apply a warm iron. Star Wars fans may enjoy testing out these snowflake templates for a small fee, but instructions for two freebies are here. My Darth Vader turned out well, except that I failed to realize I needed a razor and don't feel like driving through the wintry mix to buy one. “Remember, there's no shame in busting out your protractor!"
Simon Beck's snow art inspired me to design some digital snow art. Feel free to print out the image and color it or download the image to play with in painting software.
In case, you haven't gotten enough math today, how about this hourly weather forecast graph for the Charleston area. Analyzing this will keep me busy for awhile!
In case, you haven't gotten enough math today, how about this hourly weather forecast graph for the Charleston area. Analyzing this will keep me busy for awhile!
snowflakeblocks.png |