brady | Serious Creatures Blog

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Easter Story Starter

by brady on April 10th, 2020

Stuck at home? Needing to keep the kids busy somehow and desperately trying to figure out how that can involve you less while also being somehow good for them?

We’ve got you covered! Between the avalanche of new drawing tutorials we’ve been releasing and the imagination-igniting drawing-starters we’ve linked below, your kids will be inspired and motivated to create new drawings and stories. From their imaginations!

Videos are about 30 minutes long and full of fun, zany commentary to keep kids interested. I mean, which one of us doesn’t want 30 minutes of breathing space these days? (And don’t forget to subscribe to see new videos which are being released several times a week!)

This week we’ve got a fun “How to Draw Easter Eggs” tutorial for kids, complete with “Story Starters,” our innovative partial-drawings where kids can use their newly acquired skills to fill in the-rest-of-the-story. (Some kids just need a little help getting started, amirite?)

Click the links here or at the bottom of this post to download your Easter Story Starters.

These tutorials are perfect quarantine kid activities, homeschool art classes, and any-morning focused fun. Some recent favorites include How to Draw Baby Yoda and How to Draw Sharks.

There are also pre-curated playlists. Start one of those and when interest is peaked in one video, there’s a companion video that’s an easy next step!

Links to Starters!

Here are our free Easter “Story Starters” for your kids’ imagination to go wild. Download four pages of “egg-cellent” starters and let your creativity out for some fresh air!

The One Where We Move to Beirut

by brady on September 25th, 2014

It isn’t everyday that your life changes, but for us, Saturday is one of those of days. In two days we board a plane for Beirut (Lebanon) to work with a home for abused and abandoned children called Home of Hope.

Home of Hope accepts kids from all backgrounds and provides basic needs like food and shelter. But, as the majority of kids are ineligible for government services like schools and medical care, they also aim to provide education, medical care, legal help, and counseling.

Some of the kids are Palestinian or Syrian refugees, others are Lebanese-born. They arrive in the home because they have been picked up off the street or have been taken from a very abusive situation (think beatings that leave scars on young faces or parents selling their children for their organs and you’re on the right track). Their stories are myriad and all very sad.

But we’re so excited to serve in this new capacity. One of the reasons we started Serious Creatures was so that we could have a flexible life that would allow for doing more good with the numbered days we’ve been given. And in a few days, that hope becomes a reality! Thank you so much for helping make it all a reality by being a part of what we do here at Serious Creatures!

(And if we happen to grow a bit quieter over the next few weeks, you’ll know why. Ditto for if you begin seeing photos of airplanes and foreign shenanigans.)

Want to hear more? Here’s a post with a bit more of our story, and here’s an article about Syrian refugees that has a bit in it about the Home we’ll be working with.

We’ll also be sharing bits and pieces over time elsewhere on the web like my personal Instagram account and Amber’s blog and Instagram account. Should you find us there, don’t forget to say hello!

See you soon from the other side!

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A Giveaway …and a Freebie!

by brady on September 15th, 2014

**This giveaway is now over. Be sure to catch the next freebie/giveaway by subscribing to our shop newsletter!**

In celebration of the arrival of our “Candy Thieves” set of Mini Art Notes, and to congratulate you for surviving the first weeks of school… we’re having a giveaway!

Several winners will each get two sets (your choice) of our printable Mini Art Notes.

Enter to win by sharing a picture (on Instagram or Facebook) of a Serious Creatures Mini Art Note in use out in the wild. Use it as a lunch box note, a #thoughtdrop, or however your imagination carries you.

Don’t have a set of our printables? You’re in luck! Through this Friday (September 19), our brand new Candy Thieves Mini Art Notes are available for exactly free. Just follow the download instructions at the end of the post.

You can enter in either Facebook, Instagram or BOTH for more chances to win.

To Enter on Instagram:

Take a picture of one of our Mini Art Notes in use. Then tag @seriouscreatures and #SCfallgiveaway.

**if your Instagram profile is set to private, we won’t be able to see your entries, but you can still play on Facebook ***

To Enter on Facebook:

Post your photo in the comments section of the Giveaway post (it’s pinned at the top of our page).

That’s it!

Winners will be chosen from Facebook and Instagram on Saturday Sept 20th according to a highly scientific selection process that includes the use of dice, randomizers, and random superlatives. Which is to say, whimsical nonsense.

Additionally, the first three people to enter the contest on each media channel AUTOMATICALLY win!!! So have fun, write a little note of love to someone, and invite your friends to play along.

(The Candy Thieves Printable is no longer free, but it’s still only $4. Find it here!)

Don’t forget to join our mailing list and not miss future fun, discounts, and giveaways!

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World Art Drop Day

by brady on September 3rd, 2014

Yesterday was World Art Drop Day, a day created to celebrate giving away free art with the added bonus of a little bit of a scavenger hunt.

This unique day began because an artist named Jake Parker went on a road trip across America with his family this summer, and to entertain himself he dropped off art along the way. He took pictures of where he hid the art and told people where they were on social media. People loved hunting his art, and he had so much fun he wanted others to join in.

In his words, “The world needs this right now. We need to feel a little more connection to each other and there’s nothing like the bond two random strangers can make through the act of creating and giving.”

I already love surprising people with art in unexpected places, so (unsurprisingly) I took to World Art Drop Day with abandon.

I grabbed 7 of my prints, wrapped them up tight, and wrote notes explaining why this art was laying around. Then I went around my hometown of Denton, Texas and dropped them in a few of my favorite places.

Here are their locations:

1) The Square

Denton has a wonderful downtown square so naturally I needed to hit up the historic courthouse.

2 & 3) Recycled Books

Then I went to my favorite book store and dropped two: one in the art section (for obvious reasons) and another in the Dr. Seuss section to pay homage to a great artist and encourager of imaginations.

4) Beth Marie’s

After that I grabbed a crazy green soda thing at Beth Marie’s Ice Cream Parlor. This place is well loved by everyone in Denton so it was a must. I hope the plastic wrap will protect against the sticky fingers!

5) Voertman’s

Then on to my favorite art supply store. Every time I come back to the US I go and wander around Voertman’s and look at stuff that I think I need to buy and bug the art guys there with all my questions.

6 & 7 ) Emily Fowler Library

My last stop was the library. I placed one piece in the art section because when I began drawing a few years ago those “how to draw” books were the beginning of my current art education.

I dropped the final piece in the Children’s section atop one of my current art teacher’s books. Will Terry hosts online art classes I have been taking over the past year which have helped my skills dramatically. So I wanted to pay respect to him and his help.

Hopefully someone finds these pieces of art and enjoys them as much as I enjoyed making and art dropping them.

What do you think of this? Did you encounter any World Art Drop Day pieces? I’d love to hear!

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Connecting with Kids Through Their Artwork

by brady on June 9th, 2014

Do you have a child who is constantly showing you their drawings? Most parents I know do.

And while it’s better than constantly nagging for another cookie, it grows tiresome, I know. Inevitably, we exclaim something in that forced-excitement voice (“oooo… I love it!”), and scurry them on their way. I mean, what else do you say?

But beyond desiring praise (which they do), I believe kids show us their artwork as a way to connect. They’ve created something, and they want to share it. More specifically, they want to share it with you.

And it’s super easy to use these interactions to connect with your child and discover what’s going on in their minds. With a little practice, the usual routine of, “Hey I drew something! Give me attention!” turns into insightful conversations that draw out what’s on your child’s mind.

There are many ways to do this, but why not keep it simple? I use only a single phrase:

“Tell me about…”

Seriously. Just one phrase. Here’s how to use it.

When you’re first shown a new drawing, try rolling out a, “Oh, you’ve been drawing. Tell me about it!” (And once you’ve used this a few times, you can drop the first part altogether.)

They’ll probably give you a few details, which will provide other things to ask about. Try something like, “Tell me about what’s going on with this over here…” Or if there is a part of the drawing they didn’t mention, ask about that, “Tell me about this blue part…”

Try it out. Depending on how naturally this comes to you (or doesn’t), it might feel a little clunky at first. Luckily, kids are quick to forget such things.

You’ll get to see beyond what’s on the page to what is going on in their minds. And it allows them to share their imagining with you (crazy stuff in there, right?). Just keep asking about all of the scribbles and the scrabbles, and see what they’ll tell you.

Besides getting to hear what they’re thinking about, you’re also getting to focus on your relationship and conversation more than on the drawing or their ability. Double win.

Of course you can’t go into every details every time. And some days are so crazy you just might pull down the cookie jar instead. But as you’re able, experiment with this phrase and see where it takes you. We’d love to hear how it goes!

Have other phrases or helps for connecting with kids over art? We’d love to hear them! What do you do?