AN ARTSY GAME OF MUSICAL CHAIRS: MUSES GO BACK TO THEIR ROOTS

The Muses and I got to talking this week -- about how we've sorta drifted away from our original intent, and how much we miss all that. You see, when we first came together, we were part of another, larger group. It only met about once a month, but when we did get together, we always did something arty and fun. Somehow that segued into weekly gab fests at the coffee shop, with attendance being sporadic at best. I think we were reminded of all that we miss when I started talking about my play-date with H.S. Debbie last week, and my upcoming sleep-away art camp in October. Anywho, it got me to thinkin'... thinking that maybe I should organize something similar for the Muses, and try to get the ball rolling again. Who knows? If it turned out to be uber fun, maybe I could even convince each Muse to sign up for a different month, and be in charge of arranging other arty events for us all! But what could I do to make it extra fun?

At first I thought about teaching them all to carve stamps! But then I remembered that I only have one carving tool.

Same problem with teaching them to do monoprints with my Gelli plate. I knew they'd get too bored, waiting for it to be their turn.

Then I thought about just piling all my art supplies out in the middle of the table, and letting them have a free-for-all. But, sometimes, having too many choices is just as bad as too few. You end up getting overwhelmed, and don't know where to start. Know what I mean?

And then it came to me -- the memory of pre-schools and kindergartens that were set up with play stations, or "discovery" stations. What if I were to set up four or five different stations, each with a different kind of equipment, and basic instructions for how to use it? You sit down at once of the stations, and play with the equipment and supplies for about 45 minutes. When the timer goes off, you stop what you are doing, autograph your piece, hang it on the clothesline to dry, then move on to the next station. By Jove! That just might work!