Give a Box of Fun: Five Subscription Kits for Kids
A round-up of arts-and-crafts subscription box services for kids.
Continue ReadingTag: art
Dinosaur Art: The World’s Greatest Paleoart Because Dinosaurs Never Stop Being Cool
Dinosaurs are amazing creatures made almost mythic because we can’t see them for real. This makes them the perfect creatures for a child’s fertile imagination. Dinosaur Art: The World’s Greatest Paleoart will appeal to these kids with beautiful illustrations that are equally engaging for older kids or adults.
Continue ReadingMix (Medium) Tape: Artist Creates Gorgeous Art From Cassette Tape
Artist Erika Iris has taken the defunct cassette tape and turned it into something jaw-droppingly beautiful. Her muses include The Beatles, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Hendrix, and Lenny Kravitz, among others.
Continue ReadingThe Existence of Mermaids… and Other City Art
My thoughts about mermaids and Norfolk’s mermaid art got me thinking about the numerous other cities in America that have used city symbols as a vehicle for artists to show their creativity. I’ve seen them in many of the cities I’ve visited, and I know there are many more. This website attempts to keep up with community art projects worldwide. This can be a great way to explore a city you’re visiting, particularly with kids: see if the city has a map or scavenger hunt of the sculptures.
Continue ReadingKinderBard: Music + Shakespeare + Kids = A Beautiful and Educational Project
I recently discovered a new Kickstarter project called KinderBard. They are putting words, music, and art together to introduce children to Shakespeare. Depending on what level at which you pledge, you can get a book, a CD, an iPad app, an eBook, and more.
Continue ReadingBid in a Charity Animation Art Auction, This Weekend!
The lovely wife of our friend, GeekLife‘s Bob Boyle, has put together a charity art auction including names that will be familiar to many of you. Art from My Little Pony, PowerPuff Girls, Spongebob, Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, Ren and Stimpy, Dilbert, even Phineas and Ferb. And… Mo Willems! The auction opens in Los Angeles, […]
Continue ReadingCongrats to Young Women Artists Part 2
Womanthology: Heroic — described in a post last week — is a compilation of graphic art by women. It can now be found at your local art, gaming, and book stores. It is an exciting time for all who are involved in the project, including Summer Hemingray, a 10-year-old artist. She contributed an illustration of […]
Continue ReadingArt, Sex and Beautiful Men
Relying on seductive art to draw in your audience is akin to a comedian swearing. It doesn’t take skill to get a reaction. There have been several recent posts GeekMom and elsewhere about the sexualization of women in comics. Although that’s nothing new, female geeks are finally getting fed up- realizing that being loyal and […]
Continue ReadingYou-Topia Contest
Sitting down to sketch or paint a place you love is one of the best ways of revisiting it. That’s because getting the images on paper forces you to re-imagine the sights and sounds, making it come alive more fully in your memory. The folks at They Draw & Travel know all about this […]
Continue ReadingSalty Yoda Art
I’m always stunned to watch these sped-up videos of people creating fascinating types of art. And when you throw Yoda into it, how can you not love this creation? Watch Bashir Sultani make our favorite 900-year-old green guy out of nothing but salt.
Continue ReadingGeeky Crafts at the Maker’s Fair
Every once in a blue moon I get in a crafty mood; I put my laptop aside and take out the paint, scissors and glue. Occasionally, I take my hand-made wares to a craft market, or in this case, a maker’s fair, and sell them to those who might appreciate them. This past weekend, I […]
Continue ReadingSTEM to STEAM: The Importance of Arts in Science
For this month’s Muse of Nerds, I quickly grabbed onto the STEM to STEAM movement (adding ‘arts’ to the technical.) Creativity is the foundation for advancement in all fields. The arts — writing, music, art, theater and dance — paired with science, technology, engineering and math, foster a relationship between both sides of the brain […]
Continue ReadingFantastic Mr. Fox: An Interactive Puppetry Experience You Can Really Get Into!
When I saw the advertisements around my humble town of Shreveport, Louisiana for a production of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, I thought to myself, “Oh, a puppet show. That’s nice; another way to enjoy the story, besides just watching the movie.” After actually experiencing it a few days ago with my husband and 11-year-old […]
Continue ReadingLearning Through Legos: S.T.E.M. and Back Again
Legos are internationally cherished small plastic interlocking building blocks and minifigures that can be taken apart and used to build other objects. Over the years, Lego has expanded its creations to include products like gears and pulleys and even electronic parts for constructing programmable robots. As a result, there are popular Lego robotics leagues and […]
Continue ReadingMal’s Gun from Firefly – Made out of Paper!
As a Browncoat, I am amazed by the amount of creativity that my fellow Browncoats seem to possess. I’ve done a few things like re-create Kaylee’s Layer Cake dress from the Firefly episode, Shindig. Along with painting parasols that match the one that Kaylee has in the pilot. But my feeble attempts look really poor when you consider that […]
Continue ReadingThe GeekDad’s Guide to Weekend Fun, Put to the Test
GeekMoms are no stranger to the GeekDad books. Most recently, Ken Denmead’s book The Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun: Cool Hacks, Cutting-Edge Games, and More Awesome Projects for the Whole Family was put to the test in our house. GeekMom Julia has already reviewed the book. So I am offering the outcomes – success […]
Continue ReadingMath in Short: Visual Multiplication
Part of the reason I was never a brilliant math student had to do with the chasm of difference between how I was taught math and how I understood it. Art has always been ‘my thing’ so in spite of all my math teachers’ best efforts to learn by the book, I inevitably accessed the […]
Continue ReadingJames Hance’s Firefly and Muppets Mashup
James Hance is an artist who is known for putting a geeky spin on childhood classics. And his latest product has combined two of my favorite things: Firefly and the Muppets. He has recreated the characters from Firefly as Muppets. Kermit, of course, is Mal, Fozzy is Jayne, Miss Piggy is Inara, Wembly from Fraggle […]
Continue ReadingA Long Time Ago, on a Campsite Far, Far Away…
The approach of Memorial Day finds me waxing poetic about the joys of camping. After leaving the hills and valleys of England behind and finding myself in the foothills of Maine, a place that is home to mosquitoes, black bears and other such lovely treats, I find myself married to someone who camps… in a […]
Continue ReadingChange the Subject – I Dare You!
Many of our daily conversations are dominated by some combination of these four topics: Our homes, our partners, our children, and our appearance. This is particularly true for women, as social pressures drive us to focus on these things above all else. However, habit can become stifling, and it’s probably not healthy to fulfill any […]
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