It’s a beautiful morning in Dayton, the sun is shining and I just finished chatting with my neighbor Brenda and her cuddly Akita Sophie (who just had ACL surgery, though she is not a soccer playing dog). Sophie is the kind of pooch I would love to snuggle up and take a nap with for an afternoon; she is a sweetheart. Being an Akita her aggressive tendencies sometimes emerge with other big dogs; this use to happen with my dear chocolate Lab Maxine. Max was so mellow that when Sophie got pushy Max just stood there looking puzzled! Both are (and were, as my sweet Max is no longer with us) loving and loyal canines.

Well, that digression is not the point of this morning’s post. Mostly I am delaying my pressing work of the morning, which is grading art history posts from one of my classes. Actually I want to relay the value of CREATIVE PLAY, because I hosted a workshop on Saturday at the Dayton Art Institute in conjunction with one of their current exhibitions: All Things Bright and Beautiful, the California Impressionists.

Eleven eager folks joined me for a full morning playing and creating with paper. First we strolled through the exhibition observing the vibrant paintings of Guy Rose, William Wendt, Edgar Payne, Granville Redmond, Anna Hills, John Gamble and many others, then we returned to the studio where I demonstrated my collage technique. Everyone went to work seeing what exciting things the paper would do. We had a wonderful morning! My students’ collages were colorful, textural, imaginative, individual, and wonderful! I encourage all of you to engage in some creative play!