inspiring

This morning we rounded up the troops and headed to downtown Des Moines for the annual summer arts festival. Every year I wish we could linger longer and see more exhibits, but the children are still at that age where they need to keep moving ....... or find a drink ....... or someone to make them a balloon animal. This year the heat and humidity kept us from exploring more of the very talented artists. We did get a chance to participate in an interactive mural that will eventually make it's home at the Hy-Vee Hall or the Convention Center. We did this last year and it was so neat to do.

You walk into a tent and the volunteers hand you a 12x12 inch board and a small piece of paper with the design you are to recreate. A table full of oil pastels and other materials are available for you to sit and go to work. Once you hand in your tile, some other volunteers spray on a clear protective layer. The tiles are numbers on the back so the artist knows where to place the tiles on the huge display board.

Shhhhhhh. Artists at work.

This is a photo of what stage the project was in when we got there. I wish I had thought to put a person in the top photo to show the scale of the piece. Each tile you see up on the board is 1ft by 1ft. The picture of the completed project was on display in the tent so we could all see the intended final work.

What outdoor festival would be complete without a painted face? Here is Ellie with her Panda design.

Madison was up next, but the heat has started to get to her and she was feeling faint. The color had drained out of her lips and I quickly found a shady spot and some water. As for Ben, he was "scared" of doing it, but whined all the way home about not getting a chance to have HIS face painted. Ugh.

Maybe next year the heat won't be so bad. Maybe next year the humidity won't be as high. Maybe next year the kids will keep their hands off the artwork. Maybe next year Dave and I should just go without the kids. But what fun would that be?!