Charlotte came back from a school trip to the Petone Settlers Museum on Wednesday and taught us something special that she had learned…
She had learned how the early settlers made brushes from Harakeke (flax), using a shell to gently scrape back the end of the flax. Charlotte taught Sophie and they spent an hour or so together finding suitable flax in the garden and making brushes.
Grandma in England has also been busy creating art using nature. She did this beautiful water-colour painting using sticks, not brushes:
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wow your mum is a wonderful artist!!!
and I might just have to try making one of those flax brushes too 🙂
Thanks Jen. She started a couple of year’s ago, when she retired from teaching. She’s really loving it and it’s great to see her enjoying something for ‘her’. She always gave 110% to everyone else and her family when I was growing up. She really deserves a wealth of ‘me’ time 🙂
And the brushes from flax are fabulous! Charlotte’s going to make a load of them to sell at the upcoming school car boot sale and donate the proceeds to the Red Cross to help the people in Japan.
Whow…using shells to make brushes from flax is a wonderful idea…well done Charlotte and Sophie using the idea to paint.I wonder what else we can find to paint with from Nature!!
I will share your idea with my art teacher…she will be most impressed.Happy painting darlings.
Don’t you just love it when kids come home bursting with creativity? I remember being so excited as a kid to discover stuff like that and share it with my parents. 🙂 Your mother is extremely talented…I would totally hang that in my house. Does she take commissions? 🙂