Dear You Art Project

Mail Art + Pen Friends = Dear You Art Project

6 years old

SpongeBob is like the sun :)

2016, 5 years old, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Mexico, United KingdomArlene TuckerComment

The children worked in pairs for this project. They really enjoyed the stickiness and the thought that the Mexican children would actually receive this art.

They love the SpongeBob films and noticed how he is a happy character and that yellow is a happy colour, like the sun. Doing him with tissue paper they thought was like his sponge body and using the transparent plastic was like under the water!!!

Best wishes,
Nina Evans

The 5 and 6 year olds in Class 1 from Sneinton C of E Primary School in Nottingham, UK are making and sharing art with the 5 and 6 year olds in Prepri C from Colegio San Patricio in Monterrey, Mexico.

The story gets even more exciting with the Monkeys!

2016, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, Mexico, Pre-SchoolArlene TuckerComment

We started off the session by telling each other stories about our characters, which we had made from the previous Dear You art workshop in Lights, Camera, Action!.  From then on, it was a smooth flow as to how to develop our ideas when creating our homes for the characters in Layers of Love.  We took each other on an imaginary adventure to discover what's on the inside and on the outside of our home.  As we scratching away the top layer the Monkeys realized that they could manipulate what they would like to reveal about the inside of the house.

Can you see which picture matches the artist's description?

K: I have an apple tree and pear tree and strawberries in my yard.
E: I have many strawberries in my backyard. There is a forest nearby.
VIO: My house is white. There is a forest and there are blueberries in the forest.
O: My house is brown and there are some trees around it.
VIG: It has many door and many flies.
N: My house is black. My room is so big.
L: It's white and super large.
J: It's long and it has a big room.
VE: It's white and big and beautiful!
A: It's white and almost big.
P: My house is big and the door is brown. The floor is brown because it's made of wood.
I: My house is a rainbow from the outside.
AA: I have a forest, terrace, trampoline, and black door in my house.
AL: I have a green house with a dark brown roof.
E: My house is red and black. There are trees around it.

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!

With love,
Arlene and the Monkeys

The 5-6 year old Monkeys from Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with the 5-6 year olds from Colegio Bosques de las Cumbres in Monterrey, Mexico.

From Inside to Outside, the layers are exposed

2016, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Dear You Workshop Leader, Finland, MexicoArlene TuckerComment

The artistic boys at Espoon kuvataidekoulu (Espoo's Visual Arts School) had fun creating the inside and outside of their character's home using scratch art technique.

When everybody came into the studio, on the tables were their characters they had sculpted out of clay and then painted.  They were so happily surprised to see how their figures changed when fired in the oven!  These were the characters they invented for the first project, Lights, Camera, Action! and have been continued into the following project, Layers of Love.

After some discussion about their characters we moved on to where they live.  Everybody had a unique response.  We first created what their home looks like on the inside.  The colors they chose also help convey the feeling of the place.  The artists were a bit wary of painting over the oil pastel drawings, but once they understood how scratch art technique worked, they got very involved with drawing the outside of their home.

Each one is unique and tells their own story!  We hope our friends in Mexico like these artworks!

With love,
Arlene

The 6 year old artists from Espoon kuvataidekoulu in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with Prepri A, the group of 6 year old artists from San Patricio Colegio in Monterrey, Mexico.

Big Bear Smiles from Colegio San Patricio

2016, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Mexico, SingaporeArlene TuckerComment

We read a story about a bear who didn't know why he was made so he asked several animals if they knew their mission. At the end, a girl found him and he realized that his mission was to make the girl happy. The kids chose their favorite character so we then made several animals.

Thanks for everything,
Susana Martinez

Susana Martinez's Prepri D class, aged 6 years old, from Colegio San Patricio in Monterrey, Mexico are making and sharing art with Vega Barathi's Pre-school class at Saraswathy Darma Muneeswaran Kindergarten (SDMKG) in Singapore.

Espoon kuvataidekoulu creates with their new friends!

2016, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, Mexico, Pre-School, TeachingArlene TuckerComment

The 6 year old artist at Espoon kuvataidekoulu were very excited to find out that they have friends in Mexico!  We looked on the map where Mexico is and when we looked at pictures we saw that it seems very hot and dry climate. We already have so many questions!

What language do you speak?
Is it fun in Mexico?
What about the houses and buildings in Monterrey? What are they like?

Our artworks continued from character drawings we have been creating.  We have characters that are self-portraits, from Pikachu, and from our imagination.

Thank you and we look forward to meeting you!

With love,
Arlene, Eliisa, and artists from Espoo Visual Arts School

The 6 year old artists from Espoon kuvataidekoulu in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with Prepri A, the group of 6 year old artists from San Patricio Colegio in Monterrey, Mexico.

Documenting our journey from Monterrey to the rest of the world!

2016, 4 years old, 5 years old, 6 years old, Dear You Workshop Leader, Mexico, TeachingArlene TuckerComment
Our artworks were shipped today!  I would like you to share with your students the whole experience so they can imagine what happens when you send an envelope to a far away land.  The project will also include "community workers".

Maria Elena Gonzalez, Preschool Principal at Colegio San Patricio in Monterrey, Mexico had the great idea to create a platform for her teachers to share the knowledge and extend the learning experience for their students.

The Nursery and Prep classes at Colegio San Patricio are making and sharing art with schools in Germany, UK, Finland, and Singapore.

The Monkeys and their new friends in Mexico

2016, 5 years old, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Dear You Workshop Leader, Finland, Mexico, Pre-SchoolArlene TuckerComment

Eyes wide open and with welcoming ears, the Monkeys were very excited to hear that their new Dear You friends are from Monterrey, Mexico! The 5 and 6 year olds from Your School and Colegio Bosques de las Cumbres will be making and sharing art!

The Monkeys had the great ideas to look in the geography book where Mexico was. They then figured out ALL the ways to get to our new friends from Finland. We could swim! Use a submarine! Fly a helicopter! Drive a boat!

After we had a good conversation about our favorite stories and the characters that live in the story we got to work! We first cut and organized our transparent silk paper and then collaged it onto sticky paper. This stickiness was at first a challenge, but the artists persevered and made beautiful artworks, as you can see!  We then tested our artworks against the light and then adding onto it with either more colored paper or markers.

The Monkeys like Butterfly, Ninja, Pokémon, Transformers, Chima Legos, Kung Fu Panda, Hedgehog stories. Do you recognize these stories? What stories do you like?

We can't wait to hear about your stories!

With love,
Arlene, Ben, Atefeh & The Monkeys

The 5-6 year old Monkeys from Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with the 5-6 year olds from Colegio Bosques de las Cumbres in Monterrey, Mexico.

What am I? Oh what could I be?

2016, 4 years old, 5 years old, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, Pre-School, USA, VietnamArlene TuckerComment

We first started the workshop by playing a riddle game.  This got our brains thinking about how can we tell things about an object without giving it away!  From there we went into the world of senses and on this adventure- it was all about taste!  We thought about what foods are local to Nordic countries and what foods are not.  It seems that most of Your School's artists love picking berries from the beautiful forests of Finland!  Can you guess what the Monkeys' and the Tigers' favorite foods are?

The Tigers are 4 year old artists at Your School in Espoo, Finland.  They are making and exchanging art with the Puppies, 4 year old artists at Just Kids School in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The Monkeys at Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with the Full Moons from Moonstone Preschool in Philadelphia, PA.

Patterns from South Africa!

2016, 4 years old, 5 years old, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, South AfricaArlene TuckerComment

All the children were introduced to the theme during circle time. My teachers explained to the children that our skin is made up of cells and that our finger prints are all different. The children were asked to describe what they can see on their skin and fingers. Some children mentioned that we have holes in our skin were the hair comes out, others mentioned that we have lines and creases on our hands and feet. We told the children that their hands and feet are unique and the children compared their hands with the person sitting next to them in the circle.

The teachers explained that we are going to decorate a mask using the patterns we see on our skin, hands and feet. The children decided to use ear buds, sponges and the back of paint brushes to try and make up the patterns. We used food colouring/dye for this exercise not paint.

On the back of each mask is the childrens name, date of birth and Pink for girls and Blue for boys.

Lots of fun was had by staff and the children – we cannot wait to start the next project. The parents have been informed about the initiative in our weekly newsletter and are very supportive of this fantastic idea.

Kind Regards,
Rebecca

The 3-6 year olds at Oakdale Montessori School in Cape Town, South Africa are making and sharing art with the Tigers, 4-5 year olds from Just Kids School in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Have you ever seen this before?!

2015, 5 years old, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, USAArlene TuckerComment

What a wonderful imagination all the Monkeys at Your School have!  From simple shapes, they all came up with vehicles that could glide, fly, drive over all kinds of terrain.

J made a magic creature that can take you anywhere you want to. You just have to hop in and write where you want to go and then pull.

M's vehicle has a chimney.  It's name is One Wheel and it can fly.

N's submarine can go upside down!

M thought a sea monster could be a fun new machine to ride.

W's vehicle is operated by a Snow Man. It can travel anywhere you want to- even on air, ground, and water!

N's camper van can fly because there is a motor.  There are symbols for the driver to push. E=engine. S=snola. G=gas. M=motor.

I think it's true when E says, "Nobody in the world has ever seen this vehicle before!  Because it's imaginary.  It has oval shaped wings and a lot of buttons."

The Monkeys always have loads of questions from their Moonstone friends in Philadelphia, USA.

How hot is it there?
Are they having fun?
What do they like to do?

"We all love receiving your artwork and we hope you like our things too!"

With love,
Arlene and The Monkeys

The 5-6 year old Monkeys from Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and exchanging art with the 5 year old Full Moons from Moonstone Preschool in Philadelphia, USA.
 

The Monkeys welcome you to their fun houses!

2015, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, USAArlene TuckerComment

The Monkeys from Your School in Espoo, Finland have made amazing homes for their new puppets created by the Full Moons from Moonstone Preschool in Philadelphia, USA.

We had so much fun creating side-by-side with our new friends. We thought what kind of house would they like? What things would make them happy to have in their bedroom? If they got hungry what food should we have for them in the house?

A said, "This is a candy house. It has candy-shaped roof. The whole house can walk!
J said, "This house has eyes and a mouth. It also has a balcony. Riley, the puppet, likes to ride a horse. He is a cowboy!"
S said, "There are some bouncy shoes inside because my friend like to bounce."
E said, "This house has a butterfly and a heart as a decoration. My friend likes the flowerpot on the table."
L said, "This house has five windows. It has a lot of ladders inside because my lazy guy likes to climb."
S said, "There are two lights, toys, ladders inside. It also has a slide."
P said, "It can explode in 3 seconds! It has eyes and it can walk."

Thanks Full Moons for your questions!  Please come visit Helsinki to see our yellow leaves. It's cold here, but we have a nice school to keep you warm.

We can't wait to see the homes you created for us!

With love,
Arlene & The Monkeys

The Monkeys have made great travel companions for their friends at Moonstone Preschool

2015, 5 years old, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, USAArlene TuckerComment

Ask the Monkeys for some travel advice and they will offer every kind of possibility! From buses to trains to rockets. This all came about when we were figuring out how our Imagine Me puppets are going to reach our new friends at Moonstone Preschool in Philadelphia, USA. Finland is quite a ways from there, but we are up for an adventure!

As we were creating our puppets we thought about what makes a good friend and here are some things the Monkeys said about their imaginative artworks. Meet Seek. Seek is a good friend because "he helps me when I need help," says J. N's puppet's name is Elsa. "She's a good friend because she's nice to me." I's Stella is "fun and playing with everybody. Listening to the teacher and doing everything herself." E called her friend Rosey. "Rosey is nice. She helps me get the way out." A's puppet Super Savior "saves me when I'm in danger!" M's puppet is a boat named Oh No. When I asked M why Oh No is a good friend, she said, "She makes me laugh." I think that's one of the most important characteristics a friend should have too!

Thanks for the lovely afternoon, Monkeys!

With love,
Arlene

The Monkeys (6 years old) from Your School in Espoo, Finland are making and sharing art with the Full Moons (5 years old) from Moonstone Preschool in Philadelphia, USA. 

Monkey Mania Manga

2015, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, IndiaArlene TuckerComment

The Monkeys have found their other calling as comic artists! 

From the looks of their character studies they have a great handle on how to convey emotions and feelings.  Lotta drew a story that will happen over the summertime.  Lotta's big sister will have a birthday party and she drew how the event will go.  Let's all go!  Olivia drew all the things she would like to do this summer such as swimming, going on an airplane (lentokone) and playing on the swings.  Lumina's character study turned into a perfect way to learn Finnish!

Our friends at Arivu School in India are on summer holiday now, but when they'll return to a package of comics from the Monkeys :).

Have a beautiful summer holiday, everybody!

The Lumileopards make "Light Colour Houses"

2015, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, AustriaArlene TuckerComment

Hello,

We are ready with our Sun Catchers!

Thanks for that idea again. You can guess that the kids were so inspired by the new idea.

We were discussing where light comes from and how. We made experimental research with different coloured papers and other different materials to see how light can get through! Also, we associated that with windows and as a result they wanted to make their own or one big "Light Colour Houses".

The kids said this about their task:

Leevi: "It was fun! Lovely colours!"
Rasmus S: "So hard to do..."
Veera:" It was nice thing to do!"
Miina: " It was lovely. but silk papers stuck on my fingers!!"
Andreas: " For me it was fun and easy.."
Rasmus V: " Stupid... boring.."
Miko: "I like it and light was so beautiful!"
Karl:"All was so nice and beautiful colours."
Sanni:"It was so fun choose colours, so nice!"
Mea: "Working together were the best!"
Eelis: "It was very hard to me, but still i like it!"
Helmi: "All colours were so beautiful!"
Teppo: "Hard to choose colours, but it was fun!"
Rebekka: "Fun task, also easy..."

We wish all of you a shining springtime!

Anne-Marie & Lumileopardit

And here we have the finished Light Colour Houses!  Our shared village for everybody to basque in the warm light!

First signs of Spring and much much more from the artists in Vantaa, Finland!

2015, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, Pre-School, AustriaArlene TuckerComment

Here are the Lumileopard's paintings from Vantaa, Finland.  You can see the first signs of spring through the viewfinders!  I wonder if their friends in Austria are also seeing the seasons change through their viewfinders.  Anne-Marie, the Lumileopard's teacher, has shared so much great information with us!  She says:

This Art task was so gorgeous and funny. Kids and adults were so excited about all working and screening.  At first I told the children about the new themes and we were discussing what all of that means and how we can do this work.  We then built our own viewfinder.

Next we made small groups and went out to search for good painting items and at same time we considered signs of spring. After that everyone painted their own watercolor landscape. 

Some kids found their views easily, some of them had to seek them out longer. That view what is in Picture, can exhibit small detail from nature, or house's wall etc. or it can be also bigger view from landscape or even imagination topic ! The finished works were delightful!
 


I wrote some notes about what the kids named their works:
Rebekka: Firs, red house, stones.
Teppo: Firs, red stable, watergrass.
Eetu: Space and ufos
Veera: Sky, sun
Anna: Spruce and flowers
Jimi T: House, Big Flat
Andreas: Car, house and human being
Rasmus S: Colour of the sky
Karl: Spring is coming
Jimi P: Venetian blind and bricks
Doina: Spruce, sun and dry leaves
Eelis: Rainbow and sun
Sandra: All kind of colours
Moonika: Birds, clouds, sun, grass and spruce
Helmi: House and grass
Miina: Nursery's playsquare on sunny day
Aapo: Octopus on the wall
Leevi: Bus on the road
Adam: Stones, man is walking, sun and blue clouds

Have a nice spring there and lot of more fun with art and kids!

B.W : Anne-Marie and Snowleopards from Vantaa

A room with many views

2015, 6 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, India, Pre-SchoolArlene TuckerComment

We were so excited to receive our first package from our new friends in India!  Aniish asked, "How can you draw that good?!"  Ella asked, "Do you like the Monkeys- the animal and us?"  Dante asked, "Is the boat in your painting going to Sweden?"

The Monkeys were discovering all special angles of their classroom with the help of their newly crafted viewfinders today.  The viewfinders also helped us build a better composition.

Have a look at their paintings and then see if you can find where they found it in their room.  It doesn't surprise me that there are a couple of watercolor paintings of fish and monkeys!  Can you see why?

Ystävänpäivä every day : )

2015, 6 years old, 7 years old, Dear You Art Workshops, Finland, Pre-School, AustriaArlene TuckerComment

Hello Dears,

In Finland Valentine's Day is Ystävänpäivä, which means Friend's Day :).  The artists at Päiväkoti Lystilä in Vantaa decided to make woolly socks as part of the string theme AND sing a song for their friends at Evangelischen Volksschule am Karlsplatz, Vienna.

Lumileopards think woolly socks are great because:
- here in Finnish winter we really need warm socks!
- and like warm socks, a good friend is important and really necessary to move on!
- every kid can easily make and have their own stylish design and be proud of that too!
- there are always two socks in a pair. We are stronger together as opposed to just one!

HAPPY VALENTINE's DAY <3 
Lumileopardit & A-M

And here is Anne-Marie Keckman's translation of the Woolly Sock Song:

MY FRIEND

MY FRIEND IS LIKE A WOOL SOCK, IT WARMS ME AT WINTER,
AND MY FRIEND IS LIKE A MELLOW FLOWER, MAKES ME A SMILE!
SO TAKE MY HAND AND FOLLOW ME TO THE STRAND, I WILL SHOW YOU HOW THE SUN GOES DOWN BEHIND THE TREES, PAINTING THE SKY RED.
I'M SO LITTLE AND NEED A GUIDE TO TEACH ME HOW TO MAKE THIS WORLD BETTER!
SOMEDAY, WHEN I AM GROWN UP I WISH THAT,
I NEVER STOP LEARNING!

You can try to sing it too! :D