Betsy Streeter, Drooly Dog

You've reached Betsy's old site...

2011-05-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

Betsy's work is now at

BetsyStreeter.com

and

DroolyDog.org

come visit!

Drooly Dog Gallery: Katharina's Cat/Dog Show!

2011-04-29T10:00:00.001-07:00

Katharina wants us to know there is a Cat and Dog show coming up.

Wow Katharina, this is going to be a very fast show, since it looks like they only have one minute to get it all done! Perhaps they will run around really fast like they do in that dog show they have on TV. Have you seen it?

Actually, I kind of wonder whether this is a show put on BY the cat and dog, like they are the two anchors on a news program. Perhaps they will give a report on the state of things for cats and dogs today.

Thanks for sending this! And everyone else, join the Drooly Dog Gallery of Kids' Art! For more on the Gallery, you can check out this page or see us on Facebook!

Drooly Studio: For Gosh Sake, Make Puppets.

2011-04-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Something happens to people when they make puppets. The start to talk in funny voices and accents and things. All this personality comes pouring out.

So I am here to say: Make puppets. Use a sock, or get some elaborate instructions if you are the elaborate type. But it is well worth it.

Lest I fail to offer you any sort of valuable information on HOW to make puppets, here is a list of materials that I recommend. How you put them together is up to you.

1. Fabri-Tak. This is amazing and weird stuff. Not only does it stick together all your puppet parts in a permanent fashion, but as it dries it can be rolled into little goo balls and played with.

2. Socks. Oh, you can sew your puppets if you are the sort to do that. But socks are great and naturally funny for some reason.

3. Googly eyes. This is in fact all you need to make something into a puppet. Googly eyes plus Fabri-Tak plus anything equals a character. Period.

4. Yarn, foamies, extra fabric, wire, pipe cleaners, glitter, beads, whatever. Grass. Cardboard. String. Doesn't matter. This is your big chance to use up random supplies.

That's it. Make puppets. They are this magic personality-releasing device.

Drooly Dog Gallery: Super Modern Battle Scene by Thomas

2011-04-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

This painting is from Thomas, who lives in New York. Last time I saw Thomas, well.... I actually never saw Thomas, he was just a baby bump. But now he's out and painting amazing things. Go Thomas!

His mom says, "It is a cat looking with his mouth open at a Star Wars kind of walker. It is firing its guns and it is in a war. It has one huge gun that is firing."

I just love scenes like this because it is like everything is moving. Even the colors. I could definitely see adding sound effects to this painting.

Also, the way this is painted, reminds me of an artist named Willem de Kooning. Have your parents look up de Kooning with you, and see how he painted. He used a lot of shapes and lines to show things that look like they are moving, too. The way you posed the legs also makes it seem to move.

The cat looks like it is pretty upset about the walker. The walker looks very threatening, like it is just going to stomp over everything in its path. It does not look like there is very much you can do to stop it, especially with those big legs stomping along.

Thanks for sending this Thomas! If you have friends in your class who like to make art, have them send something - I have a guess that there are a couple of other creative kids living with you, too!

Everyone else, send art to Drooly Dog, we are talking about art from all over the world and showing kids how powerful their art really is. Send it to bigdog@droolydog.org, with DROOLY DOG in the subject. Include the artist's first name, age, and location. I'm looking forward to getting something from you! (Oh, and join us on Facebook, too!)

Drawing School: How to Draw a Horse

2011-04-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

Horses can be confounding to draw. Here are simple tips on how to make your next drawing of a horse really look like a horse and not just an all-purpose four-legged animal.

This is for kids, for grownups, for kids with grownups, grownups with kids... enjoy!

For more drawing lessons, check out the Drooly Dog Drawing School Page! Tons of ideas and more all the time. Next up:

Tail Wag: How to Know that YOU. Are a Drooly Dog.

2011-04-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Drooly Dogs Rock. Rock!! Here's how to know you are one.

Do you know young people who like to make art? Have you made something cool with your favorite young people? Send a picture! You can learn more about how I post work by young artists and write to them about it on this page, or join us on Facebook. Drooly Dogs unite!

Tail Wag: Inspiration from the Drooly Artists.

2011-04-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

A little piece of inspiration for you, from some of the artists of Drooly Dog.

Know a young artist? Or a few, or a bunch? Send some of their work over.

Talking to young artists about their work is an important part of the creative process. Artists put their thoughts out into the world, and everyone else gets a chance to see it.

Please forward this post to anyone you know who is a parent, or an art teacher, or knows some cool young people who like to make things.

And remember - this isn't a contest! In fact, often the littlest project made one afternoon after school can turn out to be incredibly interesting. We'll talk about how the artwork compares to different styles, and point to paintings, animations and more that can offer even more inspiration.

Email art to bigdog@droolydog.org, with DROOLY DOG in the subject line!

Opening email is like Christmas when someone sends work!

Drooly Dog is Evolving!

2011-04-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

You'll be noticing some New Tricks at Drooly Dog this week. Here's a bit about them:

Introducing the Drooly Dog Drawing School!

Drawing is the basis of all visual arts. It is also an impulse that goes back to the cave folks. Drawing is a great source of joy. So, the Drooly Dog Drawing School is all about getting your pencil moving, and giving you that extra nudge to draw with your favorite young people. There will be free drawing lessons, animations, videos, and the like, along with coloring pages, and downloadable books. Rock!!

Tail Wags

These will be bits of inspiration that I gather in my travels - quotes, wonderful artists and their work, and anything else YOU send that gets people thinking about art and makes the world a little bigger and more creative. (I suspect there will be a lot more video going on... just a hunch.)

Dog Run

These will be projects of any sort, with tips and instructions on how to get started. With a major emphasis on Reusing and Recycling. AND, the Junk Mail Derby, in which I take whatever came in my junk mail on a given day and make something out of it.

And of Course, the Drooly Dog Gallery of Kids' Art! (Check it out on Flickr!)

Send something by your favorite young artist for the Gallery! It is looking terrific. Each posting comes with a note from me to the artist. I often give them more artists and things to look at as well, inspired by what they've made. Send it to bigdogATdroolydog.org today!

Drooly Dog Gallery: Ahmad's Entertaining Drawing

2011-04-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ahmad is 8, and has sent us another drawing from Johannesburg, South Africa.

He says: "I drew this picture on a time when I was getting VERY VERY BORED!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I drew this to cheer me up."

I told Ahmad, I draw a lot when I get bored, too. Actually, that is sometimes when I get my best ideas because my brain is not all tied up with other things.

I really like the giant flowers on either side of this drawing. Your sister included something similar in her drawing, so now I am wondering if you both live in a place where there are enormous flowers like these!

Also I am curious about what might be contained in that big trailer. Have you decided?

Thank you Ahmad for sending this! It will brighten anyone's day.

Join the Drooly Dog Gallery of Kids' Art! I post their art here and write to them about it. We're having a conversation about art that wraps around the whole world. You can learn more at this page, or join us on Facebook. See you there!

You Don't Have to be Jack Lemmon.....

2011-04-22T10:00:00.001-07:00

... to make a huge difference in a young person's life.

Okay it might help, but listen to what Kevin Spacey has to say about the arts, and about how an experienced person said just a few words to him that changed his life.

And, you could argue that Mr. Spacey then went on to change a whole lot of other people's lives through his own acting and advocacy. So there you go.

The Jack Lemmon story is about 4 minutes in. But before you watch, I just want to tell you:

You don't have to be a Jack Lemmon to make this kind of difference. When YOU draw with a young person, spend the time, talk to them about their art, you are playing that role. When I write notes to kids on this site and post their artwork, I am recreating a little bit of that here. That's the point. Art is putting something out into the world, and as grownups we can change a life by seeing it, appreciating it, reacting to it.

Enjoy this video...

DroolyDog.org helps young people and their grownups develop their unique voices through the arts.

Kids' Art - Lovina's Easter Drawing from Sweden

2011-04-21T10:00:00.001-07:00

Lovina is 5 and sends this drawing from Sweden.

Lovina this drawing will make people smile and think about Easter for sure. To me, it looks like the little chick is singing a song, because of the way its beak is pointing. It might be singing, "Ooooo, I'm out of the egg, happy Easter!" or something like that. I really like the expression that the chick has.

The egg there looks like it might have another chick inside it, since it does not look like it has been broken yet. Maybe this is a friend or a brother or sister? Have you had a chance to hold a baby chick after it hatches out of the egg? They are little balls of fuzz, just like you show here. Your drawing makes me think that you have seen chicks yourself!

Thank you for sending this Lovina! I hope you will make some more drawings and share them with us.

Everyone else, send kids' art to Drooly Dog! Just first name, age, location, and art - to bigdogATdroolydog.org. Or come see us on Facebook! Work by young artists makes people smile, and the chance to talk about it here lets kids know their creative voices matter. Join us!

Sketchbooks from All Reused Materials! How Green!

2011-04-20T10:00:00.001-07:00

Don't want to mess up that brand new sketchbook you got? Here's your solution!

You get junk mail, right? And paper bags sometimes? And maybe you eat cereal?

Well if you do these things, and you've got a hole punch and some string or wire or whatever, you are in the sketchbook business.

Here are two different types of sketchbooks, for example.

The big one was made out of a cereal box and a paper bag. The cover is a piece of the cereal box, with the printed part on the inside. That one I stapled.

The small ones are also from a paper bag. I took a long strip, folded it like an accordion, punched two holes in the side with the non-fold edges, and added string. Insta-book.

You can get more special about it too, if you want. For this next one, I added some beads. I also used a cereal box here, you can see the happy cereal-eating lady peeking out of the inside back cover.

And, it comes with a nice reminder to eat breakfast. This is part of the fun of using random packaging. You never know what great things you might be able to cut out and use.

Again, the pages are made from a paper shopping bag that I had. I just cut the pages to slightly smaller than the cover and punched some holes.

These are made entirely from random paper products that come into your life. And a bit of string or other fabulous details. By making sketchbooks or notepads out of reused materials, you can be a lot less precious about it and get busy putting something in them. Glue in your favorite stuff out of a magazine, or tell a story, or give it to a friend. When you use it up, make another one.

My daughter took one and customized it with some newsprint and a sticker on the front:

Then she added even more stuff on the back,

And even a picture of "milk and cookies" on the inside.

Next, it will be time to draw in them! Look out. We've got sketchbooks and we're not afraid to use em!

Ai Weiwei and the Power of Art

2011-04-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

I use the phrase a lot, "Art is Power."

Here is an example of what I mean.

Ai Weiwei is China's most famous contemporary artist, and co-designer of the "bird's nest" coliseum that we all marveled at during the Beijing Olympics.

He was also detained by the Chinese government on April 3 as he attempted to board a plane for Hong Kong.

He has been beaten, he has had his studio demolished. He still does not know by whom.

Here is a hypnotic video about the making of one of Mr. Ai's exhibitions, for the Tate, called "Sunflower Seeds." It's a little long, but worth it. Notice that the process of making the seeds is a part of the art, the way he employs a whole town of people to make them, the way there are so many of them but each is unique.

Take a look at the pages about this exhibition on the Tate's site, especially Mr. Ai's quotes about it found here.

Ai Weiwei gets in a lot of trouble in China for expressing his views, and for his work. As an artist, he expresses ideas that cannot be expressed on such a scale in any other way.

Art is Power. It enables us to speak, and to create ideas, on a level not possible otherwise.

Within each of us is a voice. Whether or not we are a practicing artist, art gives all of us a way to hear that voice more clearly.

Something this powerful, that affects this many people, should be something that all of our young people see, and try, and understand as they grow up.

Kids' Art - Kate's Drawing of Miku!

2011-04-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Kate is 10, and is from Romulus, Michigan, USA.

Her mom tells me that her drawing is of "Hatsune Miku, a Vocaloid Singer (#01.) from Japan. (She is a (Scientist Created) touchable hologram- that sings and performs on stage with a real band alone and with other singers who have #'s also.)"

And, I might add, she is very cool-looking.

Kate, this looks like a drawing in the Manga style, which is a style of drawing that is used to create Japanese animations. I love the detail that you have put into her outfit, with the tie and boots and her excellent blue hair. She looks as if she is going to start dancing.

I also notice that you put a lot of thought into the outlines of this character, she has very strong shapes just like a cartoon or animation. Animators do the outlines first, and then there is a whole separate group of people who color them in. This is so that they can get the character to move correctly, before they go to the trouble of adding the colors.

I wonder if this is your favorite, or if you have more than one that you like to draw!

Thanks for sending this Kate, I know a lot of kids love Manga and this will get them interested!

Everyone else, send kids' art to Drooly Dog! We are drawing our way around the world. Join us! Learn more at this page or join us on Facebook. See you there!

Kids' Art - Rainey's Beautiful Tree

2011-04-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Rainey is 8, and from West Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

Rainey this is such a striking tree! It is a very strong shape, and the colors are complimentary, meaning that the orange red is opposite to the blue purple on a color wheel. Have your parents show you a color wheel so you can see what I mean. The oranges will be on one side, and the blues directly across on the other side.

Complimentary colors contrast with each other a lot, which makes this tree really stand out as a shape. Also, this makes the blue stand out as a shape of its own. This is called "negative space," or the shape of the space around the object.

Your painting and style remind me of a painter named Andre Derain. Have your parents look him up for you! I think you will be surprised. He paints a lot of trees also!

Thank you for sending this, Rainey! I really like looking at it. You have a strong sense of shapes and how to put a picture together. This is called composition.

Everyone else, send me kids' art for the Drooly Dog Drawing Project! I post their art here and write to them about it. Let's start a conversation about art that wraps around the whole world. You can learn more at this page, or join us on Facebook. See you there!

Pencil in Hand, Really Cool Stuff in Brain

2011-04-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

It's always been clear to me that when a kid draws, there's a whole lot of deep stuff going on inside their heads that is fired off by the movement of their hand. You can practically see the brain cells jumping around. It opens up a whole new world, almost like an alternative language.

But now, I have found that it goes even deeper than that, right into our ability to formulate ideas at all. It's fascinating.

Lately I've had reason to get involved in how handwriting affects the ability to think. The wrong grip on the pencil, the wrong muscles, too much reliance on using the eyes to form the letters, and it's like the whole thinking process gets gummed up.

Improve these things, and a torrent of ideas gets unblocked. It's amazing.

This article in the Wall Street Journal entitled, "How Handwriting Trains the Brain," talks about "the hand's unique relationship with the brain when it comes to composing thoughts and ideas." The act of making marks, and writing things that someone else is supposed to read, goes way way down into the roots of our intelligence and ability to think.

So now I have even more reason to jump up and down and say, everybody grab a pencil. That keyboard is convenient, but it's not accomplishing the same things as drawing and writing by hand do. Especially for young people. It's huge.

And when you've drawn something, send it to me for the Drooly Dog Drawing Project (on the Site/on Facebook). I can't wait to see what you come up with! Brain cells fire away!

Draw Faces Your Own Way!

2011-04-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've seen lots of "how to draw" books out there, this is a little different take on drawing that is all about finding your own way to draw things - and letting your own personality come through.....

Which is just what we're doing with Drooly Dog - letting out our Creative Beasts. So join us and send some art! Check us out on Facebook or come learn more about the project by clicking here. Enjoy!

Draw Faces Your Own Way

View more presentations from Betsy Streeter

Kids' Art - Alli's Glam Doll!

2011-04-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Alli is 9 and sent this from Texas:

Now that is a doll with attitude.

First of all, you have to appreciate the toes. Those are really something. And so tiny!

She's also posed in such a way that she could probably hold a microphone and do some serious singing, too. And her outfit is something that I bet a lot of people would like to have. I personally am a huge fan of green, and the belt is fabulous. And of course, the hair is all attitude - like she's a rocker, or just doesn't care what anyone thinks, she's got confidence and she's ready to walk down a runway or something.

I'm told that this is made from papier mache, so you had to be pretty patient waiting for it to dry I bet. Sometimes art has to be done in stages, so that your materials don't get each other wet or mix up together.

Thanks for sending this Alli!

And everyone else, send something for the Drooly Dog Drawing (and sculpture and papier mache and....) Project! You can learn more about the project on this page, or join us on Facebook. See you there!

School Mural Project: The Next Panel!

2011-04-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

We're on the third panel (out of 5) of the mural for the science building at my kids' school.

The first two panels are up, and they look just fantastic. And, they have withstood some serious amounts of rain here in Northern California.

Here you can see where the mural is being installed - there will be 5 panels altogether. Note also the variety of sports equipment that has been launched onto the roof of the science building....

And, here's a little closer view. We've gone from DNA to cell stomata, and cell stomata to oak leaves.

So, continuing our "powers of ten" concept, the next panel goes from oak leaves, on the inner panel, to oak trees, on the outer frame.

Here it is sketched out. The trick is to get the oak trees to "read" like oaks, which have this unique shape - especially since the mural is so bright, almost Matisse-like in character.

And here is the whole panel, sketched out. I used chalk to sketcha nd suggest the colors, and then a big fat Sharpie to put in the lines so it's like a giant coloring book.

Next up, kids with paintbrushes!! Wish our science teacher luck.

A Drooly Dog Gallery on Flickr!

2011-04-09T08:19:00.001-07:00

Drooly Dog Art, a set on Flickr.

You can now view, share, and comment on the wonderful Drooly Dog artwork on Flickr. This is a great way to see all of the artwork in one place, without having to dig through the blog for it!

I chose Flickr because it has an amazing community of artists on it. Try searching on different art forms - pencil, sketchbook, painting, whatever you want, and you'll find some really great work. Plus, of course, amazing photos of everything you can imagine.

I'll be posting artwork here as it appears on the site, along with my notes to the artists. Feel free to add your own comments and encouragements, kids and grownups alike!

Remember to send me artwork to include - any medium! Let's draw (paint, sculpt...) our way around the world.

Kids' Art - Rina's Night Scene!

2011-04-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

This took a lot of patience to draw all of those stars. Each and every one of them has the same number of points, and is colored in. And then, there's the teeny tiny glowing doorway. So it appears that whoever lives in this house, is still awake. I wonder what they are doing?

This reminds me of some houses that I have seen in Iowa and Missouri, that are way out in the middle of these big areas with rolling hills. Even though they are off by themselves, they look like a nice place to visit.

Thanks Rina for sending this!

Great Teachers, AGAIN Again.

2011-04-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Every, every, every time I hear about a great teacher who had an influence on someone, the story turns on one thing: That teacher saw something something unique about the student, and was willing to go out of his or her way to encourage it. (It's really interesting too how many of these stories involve the teacher "breaking the rules" to make something happen for the student, even in a small way.)

Here is yet another example, an article in the New York Times entitled, "What I Learned at School" by Marie Myung-Ok Lee.

There it is again! The author describes how she was different from the other students, and how her teacher made that a good thing. The teacher went outside the bounds of an assignment to encourage a student. Crazy! Crazy stuff!

Gave her permission, and then gave her encouragement.

Here's my version of the permission and encouragement story, called Let Out the Creative Beast. Maybe you had a teacher do this for you.

Let Out the Creative Beast

View more presentations from Betsy Streeter

Kids' Art - Ahmad's Art Might Get Up and Walk Around.

2011-04-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

Ahmad is 8, and sent this from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Something about this jacket makes me think it is going to get up and go somewhere. I think it might be the way the arms are positioned. It is kind of leaning on the wall there, waiting for something. But I really want to see it move!

It reminds me of stop-motion animations. Are you familiar with those? Stop motion animations are made by taking a picture, then moving your character, then taking another picture, and so on, and then showing all the pictures together very fast, like a flip book. When you do that, it looks like the character is actually moving. Wallace and Gromit were made using stop-motion animation with clay, also called "claymation."

Here is a little piece of animation that was made with paper:

Thank you Ahmad for sending this, it will be interesting to see if other people think that it might get up and move also!

And everyone else, send me artwork! The Drooly Dog Drawing Project is all about looking at, and talking about, kids' art. You can check us out on Facebook, or learn more about the project here. Thanks for reading!

Drooly Dog Video! Jump start your drawing.

2011-04-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

A quick way to get yourself drawing without sitting there asking that question, "What should I draw?" Enjoy!

And remember, if you or your favorite young artist draw something cool, send it to me at mailATbetsystreeter.com so I can post it here and write a note to you about it as part of the Drooly Dog Drawing Project!

Okay, on with the video:

The Drooly Dog Goes 3D with Ben's Sculpture!

2011-04-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's the first official Drooly Dog sculpture, by Ben.

Sometimes when something exciting happens, you just have to make some art about it.

In this case, the Giants had just won the World Series and Ben felt the need to commemorate the moment by building a tribute to the Giants' closer, Brian Wilson.

Ben, I am wondering how long it took you to make this! I understand that the blue scarf is "The Beard."

This is fascinating how you used so many different things to make the body parts. You had to think about what would stand up, and where the clothes would go, and how to give your sculpture legs. The boots are a great idea since they stand up on their own. I think all sculptors have to think about this all the time - how do I make something that is going to be what I want, and still stand up?

And the use of the track from the matchbox cars is a great idea since you can put it any way you want and it will still hold up. Those tracks are really useful aren't they?

Thanks to your mom for sending this - Ben you might start a whole movement of kids making sculptures!

And everyone else, send me art (paintings, drawings, sculptures, works in sand or dirt or whatever) by young artists! Here's more about the Drooly Dog Drawing (and Sculpture) Project, or join us on Facebook. Talking to kids about their art can change the world, and we're just getting started.