Dori DeCamillis

After over ten years of teaching kids at Red Dot I (Dori) am drawing - no pun intended - this adventure to a close. I have opened another adult class (Thursday afternoon, 12:30 to 2:30) for the continuing and growing popularity of my adult classes. I will miss being around the wisdom and unfettered creativity of little ones.

In Red Dot Kid Class the students were assigned to paint a plate of food that made them hungry. We painted acrylic-on-canvas pieces, and everyone got an A+ because they were definitely hungry. One of these paintings was done by me, as an example. You can guess which.

Eight year olds Grace and George did excellent renditions of home interiors in watercolor and ink in class. Above, Grace's finished piece. The photo Grace worked from. George's watercolor. The magazine ad he drew from.

My kid class completed their own handmade books made from random ripped paper pieces. They used the scrap handmade paper to create stories. They turned out so good I'm posting them over the next week. Today's book is by Bay. Helpful narration is included in case translation isn't obvious. A duck with a bag of money. Robber. Duck hands over money. To be continued... Back with opened bag of money and greedy laughter. Mighty Man to save the day. (According to the author: not supposed to be a bun, but a SuperMan hair flip.) Another punch with fist, by the duck this time.

For years my daughter, Annabelle, has been dressing up as her favorite characters from Japanese animation and web comics. The term for this pastime is Cosplay . I've posted some of her greatest hits. Here is a link to the a more complete collection, on Annabelle's Tumblr site . Her friend, Miranda Bates is her usual companion for photo shoots, Cons (conventions) and costume making.  The characters with orange horns are from the web comic, Homestuck . Don't ask me the names of all the characters.  I felt a little sleazy doing the photo shoot above, but she said this exemplified the personality of her character.  The things moms do.

Today is Miss Dori's Junk Drawing Day at Red Dot. My kid class gets to sketch old stuff I find when I clean out drawers and closets. (They don't relate to the stuff on an emotional level, so they tend to pay attention more and draw better.) Kamilla, Bay, Mia, Rivers, and Katie drew the subjects below and came up with the drawings that follow. Katie Bay Rivers Mia Kamilla

For the inaugural exhibit of the newly remodeled Hoover City Hall, Annabelle DeCamillis will have a solo show of her work, and a ceremony where she will be recognized by Mayor Gary Ivey. Next Monday, April 1 @ 5pm. She is just finishing this piece. 

Annabelle DeCamillis, my daughter, has been practicing belly dancing for almost two years and has posted a couple videos of her dancing on Youtube. The first was filmed in Ann Arbor, MI in an alley plastered with graffiti. Graffiti Belly Dance The second is a creative interpretation of one of her favorite web cartoons, Homestuck . My middle-age explanation of what Homestuck is about would be blasted by young fans, so just watch the video and enjoy.  Homestuck Belly Dance

A self portrait by my student Aznii, age 7.

So much happened last month there was no time to post. Here are some highlights.  Note that the unseasonably warn weather made everything bloom at once.  Annabelle was honored at the Hoover City Council meeting for one of her art awards. She placed first in painting at the State Superintendent's competition. We stuffed ourselves and got painted bright colors at the Festival of Colors at Taj India.  My paint didn't come off for three days. People thought I had a skin disease or that I'd had a rough facial.  My kid class had our annual sidewalk chalk day. We go through a whole lot of chalk. On our spring break trip, Annabelle and I stopped at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to see the spring bloom and the spectacular orchid house. More to come!