A Very Special Art Class

I would like to invite all of you to an art class with a very special teacher. I'm a great admirer of her work and grab every opportunity to enjoy her art. She's eccentric, exceptional, temperamental and extremely talented. There's gossip related to all charismatic artists, and you can hear the publicity talk about a certain rudeness or harshness - but we don't pay attention to such talk!
She's a real annoyance to art collectors, though, since her work for the most part is inestimable. But here is your chance to acquire a piece of art by her hand - for free!

Let me introduce to you an artist as bright and beautiful as her art: Queen Winter!

 This class is special since every piece of art will be an unique collaboration; you do the painting and she does the magic!

So lets get started! Here's what you'll need:

• Of uttermost importance: make sure before you start that the temperature outside is below the freezing-point!

• Watercolours ( I love Living Colours, based on plant dyes, but what you have is fine)

• Watercolour paint brush

• Watercolour paper

• Some sort of hardbord - I use masonite

• Masking tape

• A tub a bit bigger than the size of your paper. Or you can use a zink or bathtub - anything that can hold water.

Soak the paper in the tub for about 20 minutes. Carefully lift it out of the water and place it on the hardboard. Dap a bit with a clean towel if the paper is very wet.

 And now you let your creativity on the loose.

The trick is to end up with a slightly wet paper. Too much excess water will not dry up in the cold and your beautiful art may thaw once inside a warm house. Yet if the paper is too dry the Queen will have nothing to work her magic on. Hard to explain - you'll have to give it a try!

When you are satisfied with your work, fasten the paper to the hardboard with a piece of masking tape on each corner of the paper. Now place your art outside until dry.

Here we threw some Maldon sea salt crystals on the paper after painting and before placing outside. The paper was a bit on the wet side, but I think the effect is kind of peculiar.

You can click on the pictures for a better look at the crystals. If you have any questions please feel free to ask! I hope you will try this out, and if you do, please leave a comment or a link below!

Tutorial: How to plant dye (easter) eggs

You'll need:

· eggs - I don't blow them out, but you could do that if you want them to hang.
· alum (alun)
· paper towel
· aluminum foil
· dyestuff: I used logwood (blåtræ), cochineal (cochenille) and turmeric (gurkemeje). You can use other dye stuffs for dyeing wool/silk.
· leaves and flower petals
· a pot to dye in

THESE EGGS ARE NOT MEANT TO BE EATEN - SOLELY PLEASURE FOR THE EYES!!

 I think the pictures almost says it all, but here it goes:

· Tear aluminum foil to appropriate size for wrapping your eggs.
· Paper towel (double or triple layer) cut in approximately the same size. Moist the towel by sprinkling a bit of water on it. It doesn't need to be soaking wet.
· Sprinkle a pinch of alum on the moist paper towel. Use a tea spoon. Do not let small children handle alum - (it isn't poisonous, it's a salt extracted from clay, but anyway).

· place your leaves and flowers on the eggs. You can also draw on the eggs with a (colourless) bee wax crayon or similar - or wrap rubber bands around the eggs.

· Carefully wrap the eggs, first in the kitchen towel. And finish off with wrapping it all securely in the aluminum foil.
· Place the eggs in a pot, cover with water. If you use blown eggs, you'll need to press them down with a plate or a small pot lid.
· Bring the water to a simmer and let it simmer for several hours. (I think 6-7 hours will do, but the longer you boil them, the longer they'll last). Blown eggs can do with a couple of hours.
· Turn off the heat and let cool.
· Enjoy unwrapping the eggs. This is so much fun and definitely the best part of it all - according to my children.
· If necessary, carefully rinse the eggs in cold water.

They won't last forever (since they aren't blown out). That's how it's supposed to be. Next year we'll make new ones.

Please feel free to ask if you have any questions!