Foo Fest is almost a week away. Leading up to the event you can watch history in the making on the rear exterior wall of the Pell Chafee building in downtown Providence. AS220 has commissioned the largest Shepard Fairey mural in the world to be completed in time for the festival. Make a point to walk down Aborn Street — you may see Johann Bjurman, the Rhode Island muralist and fine artist in process. Limited edition prints are for sale.

We had so much fun last year. We’ll be back again playing, making fairy houses, listening to music and more at one of the coolest happenings this summer.  Are you going? I’d love to see you there. I have two 4-packs of ticket wrist-bands to give away this week. Each wrist-band allows one person entry into the festival on August 14th between 1 PM to 1AM.

Want to win?

Here’s how: Tell me your favorite beach and/or post-beach snack place in the comments below.

I will randomly select two winners from all submitted entries.Contest ends on Thursday, August 12, 2010 at Noon. Winner will be notified on Friday.

AS220’s FOO FEST is an all ages summer celebration of Rhode Island’s vibrant arts community with plenty of fun for families. Empire Street will be fenced off and transformed into a lively party with dancing, eating, interactive art installations, homemade games, and two dozen acts ranging from national headliners to up-and-coming local bands.

AS220’s FOO FEST 2010 Sponsors: BIG TIME Support From: Foo’s Official Media Partner – The Providence Phoenix, Rolling Rock, 95.5 WBRU, Providence the Creative Capital & Mayor David N. Cicilline. Major Support From: Bank of America, Bank RI, Citizens Bank, Kidoinfo. Significant Support From: Durkee Brown Viveiros & Werenfels Architects, Pinpoint Studio, MetLife, Pezzuco Construction Sokoloff & Associates.

Although school is out for most children, some PTOs and PTAs are already planning for next year. As many parents of school-age children know, these days we have to raise money for everything from pencil sharpeners to field trips. At my sons’ school, we are always looking for new ways to pay for it all.

Here is a clever idea: juice box art offers the opportunity to fund-raise all year long – through art.  Kids can create their own party invitations, stickers, and T-shirts or design a special gift for the grandparents, aunts, and uncles by sending in their artwork. What a creative way to raise funds for any nonprofit organization.

For details about how juice box art works, visit juiceboxart.com.

We are concerned with possibility, with opening windows on alternative realities, with moving through doorways into spaces some of us have never seen before. – Maxine Greene

In her book Variations on a Blue Guitar, renowned education scholar Maxine Greene describes the potential for possibility when a work of art is fully perceived and carefully attended to. Sometimes, she says, it seems as though when we fully attend to a work of art, it is as if the work of art places upon the viewer  “a demand that they change, look with new eyes, hear with new ears, become something they have not been before.”

What a thrilling prospect! But perhaps also a bit overwhelming. In fact, teaching young children to appreciate art can seem like a downright daunting task. Luckily, it’s easier than it seems. Looking at art with children can provide opportunities to promote language development, problem-solving skills, creative thinking, and more. The reasons why are numerous, and the good news is that the reasons how are just as numerous. From tips and strategies on looking at art, to activities that engage all the senses and get creative juices flowing – there is something for every type of learner, at every age.

Let’s start with some simple tips for looking at art with your children, perhaps in a museum or artist’s book.

Guide them. Modeling your own enthusiasm for looking at art can serve as a big inspiration for getting your child excited. You don’t need to be an expert on what you are looking at; simply expressing your own enjoyment in engaging with art creates a fun atmosphere.

Let them guide you. Allow your children to choose the works you will explore and let their interests guide you.

Look and talk. Start by inviting your children to simply look quietly. Follow up with an open-ended question; one we like is, “What do you notice?” For younger children, have them name the shapes or colors they see.

Get up and move. When viewing artworks in the museum, have fun looking from a variety of different angles; get close (but not too close!), far away and move from right to left. Ask your child what s/he notices from the different positions.

Make connections. Identify with your child any themes that emerge as you look at multiple artworks, perhaps noticing artworks featuring people, nature, or animals.

Strike a pose. When looking at artworks that contain figures, notice what the body language and facial expressions show you. Invite your child to pose like the figures they see.

These are just a few simple ways to get started looking at art with children. Just relax and enjoy the time with your child and art–indeed you may look with new eyes, hear with new ears, and become something you have not been before.

Don’t forget: Every Sunday from 10am to 1pm is pay-what-you-wish at the RISD Museum!

The Artful Family is a monthly column from the RISD Museum of Art. Each month, Kidoinfo will help introduce art and creativity into your family life. To learn more about family programs at the RISD Museum, visit the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, located at 20 N. Main Street, Providence, RI.

I told you that I have four 4-packs of Foo Fest wrist bands to give away. It’s week #2 and I’m giving away another 4-pack this week. Each wrist-band allows one person entry into the festival on August 14th between 1 PM to 1AM. Want to win?

Here’s how: Tell me your child’s favorite playground in the comments below. I will randomly select one winner from all submitted entries. Contest ends on Friday, July 30, 2010 at Noon. Winner will be notified on Monday.

AS220’s FOO FEST is an all ages summer celebration of Rhode Island’s vibrant arts community with plenty of fun for families. Empire Street will be fenced off and transformed into a lively party with dancing, eating, interactive art installations, homemade games, and two dozen acts ranging from national headliners to up-and-coming local bands. (more…)

Wooly Fair, Providence’s own do-it-yourself art carnival, will rear its shaggy head on Saturday, July 31st at Monohasset Mill and the Steel Yard in Providence. Now in its sixth year, this vibrant spectacle that showcases the city’s creative community adds kid friendly acitivities to the mix.

Wooly Fair features a host of games, amusements, music, food, and interactive art exhibits. Each year, the carnival centers on a theme and the entire event is built from scratch by volunteers. “The Woolies” are Providence-area artists, writers, crafters, poets, designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs—art freaks and geeks. And wool attracts wool. Fairgoers are also artists, writers, crafters, poets, designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs. Last year, 500 people attended from across Rhode Island and from all over East Coast, from Maine to New York.

The Fair features a host of exciting performers and interactive installations with a Back to Nature theme from 1 p.m. ’til 1 a.m. The kid-friendly activities are between 1 p.m. until 8 p.m. After 8 p.m., plan to take the kids home to stay with a sitter and head back for the adult fun.

Here’s what’s happening during the day for the kiddos:

The planting of The Flower Tower. The Flower Tower is a 24′x24′ tiered pyramid that will be lined with over 100 container gardens. Attendees of Wooly Fair will be invited to plant the gardens, which will be distributed throughout Rhode Island after the event.

Fearless Mobile Mini Golf. The Woolies have custom-built mini golf courses and kids love them! We’ve brought them to Foo Fest and Maker Faire and they’ve been a hit with families.

Marvelous Marvin’s Circus Arts Workshop. Marvelous Marvin will be at Wooly Fair from 2-6pm teaching kids and adults how to juggle, stilt walk, twirl rings, and more.

Tricycle races. Kids and adults can partake in our 3rd annual tricycle rally. There will be a custom-built course for all to enjoy.

Details:
When: July 31, 2010 from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. Rain date is August 7, 2010. Family-friendly activities between 1 p.m and 8 p.m.
Where: Monohasset Mill, 532 Kinsley Avenue, Providence Rhode Island. Access to the Flower Tower at the Steel Yard will be through the Monohasset Mill fairground.
Cost: Tickets are $15 each at the door or $12 each through thewooled.com. Kiddos under 12 get in for free.

Saturday, August 14, 2010
1 PM – 1 AM
Empire Street, Providence
Tickets: $5 per person.

AS220 Foo Fest returns to downtown Providence on Saturday, August 14! Foo Fest is the family event of the year not to miss and reminds parents even though we may have children we can still take part in cool fun things happening in the city of Providence. This summer celebration of Rhode Island’s vibrant arts community will once again fence off and transform Empire Street into a lively party with dancing, eating, interactive art installations, homemade games, and two dozen acts ranging from national headliners to up-and-coming local bands.

Kidoinfo sponsored last year’s event when AS220 decided to make Foo Fest more accessible to families with young children by starting earlier in the day and including special programming. We had so much fun last year we are back again this year as a proud sponsor*.

Foo Fest will include musical ensembles and activities geared toward the younger crowd throughout the afternoon, including performances by two-time Grammy Award-winning children’s entertainer Bill Harley (pictured above), indie-folk sensation Erin McKeown, Providence’s own What Cheer Brigade (pictured below), a 2nd Foo Fest appearance from Joe’s Backyard Band and fun tidbits from this year’s emcee, Keith Munslow.

Fun games and creative entertainment will be open throughout the day for all ages’ amusement courtesy of The Providence Children’s Museum, The Rhode Island Museum of Science and Art, and Kidoinfo. We will be constructing a fairy village at the Kidoinfo table. Bring your kids and enjoy the fun!

Although music and activities have been planned with families in mind these are not separate from everything else happening at Foo Fest. Families get to see, create and experience it all. Kids want to listen to music, make things and move around as much or more as the adults do. And we parents still want to feed our own creative needs. Foo Fest gets it.

In the evening, Foo Fest will get more mature with an impressive lineup of several of New England’s most popular bands including War Paint and Javelin, and national headliner ESG – the genre-defying, art-funk female ensemble from the South Bronx. We heard families last year say they wished they’d planned for an evening babysitter so they could drop the kiddos off at home and return for a date night out. Plan accordingly.

More cool stuff:

In honor of its 25^th anniversary, AS220 announces creation of the AS220 Free Culture Award – a national award bestowed every other year on an artist whose work has made a significant contribution to grassroots, participatory culture and freedom of artistic expression, and embodies AS220’s unjuried, uncensored mission and values. Contemporary artist, graphic designer and illustrator Shepard Fairey will be the inaugural recipient of the AS220 Free Culture Award at Foo Fest 2010.

Shepard is a Los Angeles-based contemporary artist and commercial graphic designer who emerged from Providence’s underground arts community in the 1990’s to become the most influential street artists in the world today.

To commemorate the occasion of AS220’s 25^th anniversary and celebrate Providence’s artist community, Shepard is being commissioned to install the largest Shep Fairey mural in the world on the side facade of Trinity Rep’s Pell Chafee Auditorium in downtown Providence. How cool is that? Shep is also producing an AS220 25^th Anniversary Limited Edition Print, for sale now at www.as220.org, and at Foo Fest.

In a ceremony preceding the headline music act at Foo Fest, AS220 Artistic Director Umberto Crenca will honor Shepard for his work and present him with the one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted Free Culture Award on the Foo Fest main stage.

More reasons to love this city.

AS220’s FOO FEST 2010 Sponsors:

BIG TIME Support From: Foo’s Official Media Partner – The Providence Phoenix, Rolling Rock, 95.5 WBRU, Providence the Creative Capital & Mayor David N. Cicilline. Major Support From: Bank of America, Bank RI, Citizens Bank, Kidoinfo. Significant Support From: Durkee Brown Viveiros & Werenfels Architects, Pinpoint Studio, MetLife, Pezzuco Construction Sokoloff & Associates.

Providence pools and water parks open today,  just in time to help beat the heat. All pools and water parks are open Monday to Saturday, 12:00 to 5:00 pm.

New 2010 citywide guidelines regarding the use of public water facilities. Read below the Providence Pools and Water Parks Guidelines. A list of city public water facilities and guideline details may be found on the Parks and Recreation department web site.

SWIM TEST REQUIREMENT
• On their first visit to a City pool, all swimmers (adults and children) must register as a pool guest and take a swim test in order for pool staff to assess swimming ability and the need for adult supervision. Swim tests will be administered all day on Tuesday, July 6th and Wednesday July 7th from 12pm to 5pm, and then every day throughout the summer from 11:30am to 12:00pm, prior to the daily opening of the pools.
• The swim test consists of swimming across the width of the pool without touching the bottom. Successful passing of the test is at the determination of the senior lifeguard.
• Once guests pass the swim test, they are not required to take a swim test for the rest of the season. Swim test status (swimmer, non-swimmer) will be recorded on the pool guest’s registration card.
• Each time guests visit the pool, they will be given color-coded wristbands that indicate their swim- test status:
• Green for swimmers • Red for non-swimmers • Orange for adult-guardians of non-swimmers. • All pool patrons must wear a color-coded band.
• Children who are at least 54 inches tall and who have passed the swim test will be allowed to swim in the pools without an accompanying adult.
• Children who are between 42 and 54 inches tall and all non-swimmers must be accompanied by an adult swimmer.
• Children who are under 42 inches tall may not use the pools, regardless of whether they are super- vised by an adult. These children are encouraged instead to visit one of the City’s nine water parks.

GENERAL ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
• All guests must sign in and provide current emergency contact information.
• Adult supervisors must also provide proof of age (18 years or older) in the form of a driver’s license or other photo identification.
• An adult may accompany no more than two children in the pool at a time.
• Appropriate attire is required to be admitted to the pool area. Appropriate attire includes bathing suit or shorts with a t-shirt.
• Persons with open wounds, rashes, nasal discharge, inflamed eyes or bandages are not allowed in pool.
• Persons who are disoriented or appear to be under the influence of alcohol, drugs or medication will not be admitted to the pool area.

“At the heart of every mindful and loving family lie the seeds of endless creativity.”
- Amanda Blake Soule

At the RISD Museum of Art, we love to think about ways in which children and adults can share art together as a family. Art, for all its mystery and seeming complexity, is perfectly suited for all families who wish to learn together, create shared experiences and make meaningful connections with one another. Art can be made, discussed, experienced, explored, seen, heard, collected, and appreciated. The subjective nature of expression and perception permits diverse responses to be equally valued.

Picture this: a family gathers comfortably in front of a large painting in a museum gallery. A lively discussion develops as each member of the family shares what it is they notice about the work of art. Observations begin to focus in on the facial expressions of the figure in the painting. Each family member shares what they perceive in this carefully painted face, each observation received with attentive respect and consideration. The willingness of each family member to both share and listen can create a meaningful experience for everyone involved.

In Eliot Eisner’s book The Arts and the Creation of Mind – What the Arts Teach and How it Shows (2002), he explains “the arts help children learn to say what cannot be said.” That is, when we invite children to share what they notice about a work of art or how it makes them feel, they must search themselves for the “poetic capacities” to express their observations. Adults must participate in the same process when engaging with a work of art, and when we do so with our children we model an important developmental process.

“The Artful Family” is a monthly exploration in creating meaningful experiences with art for the whole family. We need not be artists to share art with our children, simply a willingness to engage, express, observe and reflect. From activities that bring out your inner explorer to looking at art through a new pair of eyes, and from moments of quiet reflection to liberated (and sometimes messy) expression, we hope you will enjoy this ongoing look at living artfully with your family.

The Artful Family is a monthly column from the RISD Museum of Art. Each month, Kidoinfo will help introduce art and creativity into your family life. To learn more about family programs at the RISD Museum, visit the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, located at 20 N. Main Street, Providence, RI.

I have been meaning to write about Providence’s Pinata Center for awhile. Now that Camilla Hawthorn of GoLocalProv has written this fabulous review I have more time to plan the party to go with one of these fabulous pinatas!

Today’s URBAN SCENE news from GoLocalProv:

All piñatas are not created equally.

That’s what you realize the moment you walk into Sussy DeLeon’s Piñata Center. Giant, brightly colored, and intricately detailed piñatas smile cheerily from the windows, the walls, and the ceilings. It’s every birthday boy and girl’s dream come true, and it makes you reconsider whether you really knew what a piñata was before you entered the shop.

A Savvy Mom

DeLeon was planning her son’s first birthday party when she realized that she couldn’t find the beautiful handmade piñatas of her native Guatemala in the United States. Unlike the mass-produced cardboard piñatas readily available here, Guatemalan piñatas are constructed from wire and newspaper and decorated with colorful tissue paper. They’re easier to break, so kids can actually get to the delicious innards without the intervention of a frustrated parent wielding a baseball bat.

Continue reading artilce on GoLocalProv.

Photo of Sussy DeLeon provided by GoLocalProv

The handmade parent is a series of interviews with parents who have an art/craft business or passion.  The series will explore how the artist/crafter manages their family and their creative passion while promoting their work.

The Handmade Parent – Maeve Donohue – Queen Maeve (fine art) and Nami Studios (commercial art + marketing).

Kidoinfo:  Briefly tell us about yourself, your family, and your art or craft.
Maeve:  I’m a Vietnamese Irish American visual artist and creative services professional living in Rhode Island.  A few years a go I sold my Yoga studio to make more time to dedicate to art, family, and my marketing business. I grew up and went to art school in Rhode Island (R

ISD), then bopped around Europe and the Caribbean for a long while, dabbling in languages, jewelry, puppets, tattoo and piercing, living in a tent on the beach, studying Yoga and painting murals and signs for the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Organization, getting back to my roots in Asia, and then moving back home to Rhode Island, where I ran into and married my childhood sweetheart.  We started a creative services studio (web, print, illustration, photography, marketing), got married in Las Vegas, and had a beautiful girl named Mirabel. My husband and I are also both fine artists and are currently collaborating on a series of paintings for a children’s book based on a story told by our 4 year old daughter. Life is good.

Kidoinfo:  When did you begin your art/craft?
Maeve:  I have been practicing art since I was very young and have explored many different styles and artistic mediums over the years.  A few years ago, I bought a professional model Epson printer that allows me to create fine art (giclee) prints with archival inks on museum quality paper.  I turned some of my illustrations into prints and started selling them on Etsy.

Kidoinfo:  Is your art part of your business or do you hold another job in addition to your artistic work?
Maeve:   My fine art  is a separate business from my commercial art and creative services business.  I get to be creative in both jobs, which I like, but eventually, I would like find more time to dedicate to my fine art.

Kidoinfo:  When do you find time to make your art/craft?
Maeve: My personal art comes after family and work, so it’s often hard to find the time.  Now that my husband and I are collaborating on a specific project, I think it will help to keep me working some fine art more regularly.

Kidoinfo: What prompted you to choose your art medium?
Maeve: When I was at RISD, I started as a printmaking major, but became frustrated because I didn’t have the technical skills to do the type of prints I wanted to do, so I switched my major to illustration in order to become more practiced at drawing and painting.  I then focused on puppet animation as my main concentration.  It was only a few years ago that I started to explore printmaking again.

Kidoinfo:   What inspired you to become an artist?
Maeve: I don’t ever remember a time when I didn’t do art.  We have seven kids in my family and I was always referred to as ‘the artist’. When I was young, I used to look at the art books in my dad’s study.  I was especially drawn to Michelangelo.

Kidoinfo:   Where do you find your inspiration?
Maeve: I am strongly influenced by my asian heritage and perhaps more subtly by my pursuit of a peaceful, spiritual, and simple life.

Kidoinfo:  How do you promote your art?
Maeve: I have a website (queenmaeve.com), I post some images on my facebook page, and I have an etsy shop.  Honestly, I haven’t been able to spend much time promoting my art in the past few years.  I am always surprised when someone purchases my prints on-line.  Etsy is really amazing.  I ship prints all over the world.

Kidoinfo:  How has having a family impacted your work?
Maeve: Now that my daughter is a little older (4 years) it’s a little easier to find time.  Now she will draw on her own piece of paper instead of having to draw on the one I am drawing on.

Kidoinfo:  How do you work around your children?
Maeve: I do just that.  I work around my daughter.  She is usually right there when I am drawing.  She has an art table in our family room, where she can paint, draw, and craft whenever she wants to.  We have a chalkboard wall that she can always draw on, and every room in our little house has an area where we can draw or hang artwork that we are working on.  My husband has his painting studio in the basement and she will often sit with him and paint while he paints.

Kidoinfo:   What sparks your creativity?  How do you keep focused once in “the creative zone?”
Maeve: I am lucky to be married to an artist.  Both my family and my husband’s family are filled with visual and performing artists.  It makes it easier when everyone around you always wants to talk about art. My sister lives in New York City, so we go in often to see the galleries and museums.

Kidoinfo:  How do you find time to accomplish everything?
Maeve: I don’t.

Kidoinfo:  When do you make time for your art?
Maeve: What do you like to do in your “spare” time for just yourself (read, garden, travel, run, etc.)? We have a vegetable garden in our front yard.  Right now I’m really into running, reading books with my daughter, and hiking.

Kidoinfo:  Give us one random fact about yourself or your family – relevant or not.
Maeve: I am currently on the executive board for a non-profit organization, Parent Partners, that provides one-to-one mentoring for parents from lower incomes or recently immigrated. Experienced parents help new parents to define their dreams, set goals and create a road map to success.  The program is currently in Newport and we will be bringing it to the East Bay in the Fall.  The website will be launched this month: parentpartnersri.org.  Please visit the website and let us know if you would like to participate either through donations, ideas, mentoring or refer a family.

Kidoinfo:   How do you support the handmade community?  What are your favorite local handmade venues?
Maeve: I buy toys and dolls on Etsy.  Muse is a great jewelry store in Warren that has wonderful handmade jewelry from local artists.

Kidoinfo:  What was the last handmade item you made?
Maeve: Mirabel and I recently sewed a doll together and we had lots of fun with all sorts of easter crafts to give to family.

Kidoinfo:  Where can we find your art?
Maeve: My etsy store is mirabel.etsy.com you can find a link to my etsy store on my website queenmaeve.com.  There are some examples of my commercial illustration and photography on my website, namistudios.com.

__________________

Linda Cox Demers moved to Barrington from Chicago with her husband and her two boys, ages 13 and 8.   She runs her handbag and accessories business, à la mode, from home and has recently discovered a passion for blogging.  As an independent designer, Linda enjoys promoting local artists and the “buy handmade” movement. Visit Linda’s blog at www.alamodestuffblog.com