Friday night

I managed to get dinner on early last night--Friday night--so we had time after we ate to do some art together. I'd been thinking about printmaking for a while, and had some unused rubber blocks in one of my drawers. Astrid drew her designs on the blocks in marker (the Pterodactyl is her design), and I carved them out; Elliot got to do his own carving (he did the flower). He was pleased about being able to wield the knives.

Astrid's hair is way shorter than it used to be, but it kept dipping dangerously close to the ink--not a catastrophe, of course, but Terry had just given her a bath the day before. It was one of those nights where I had enough energy to do some art or to give her a bath, but not both. She was confused about why her drawings disappeared when I carved into them, and about why a drawing couldn't be used the way it was, without carving it at all, but once she made her first print, she seemed to understand the concept a lot better.

While she was waiting for her turn to print (we have only one rubber brayer), Astrid made a great picture of a one chicken band. After she'd made several instruments (Terry's and my favorite is the drum kit), Elliot joined her and added some more instruments and a comb for the chicken's head.

After Astrid went to bed, Elliot and I spent another happy hour or so making potato prints and listening to a mix tape I made for Terry when we were first dating (in 1989, maybe?). I explained the courting ritual of the mix tape (which I'm guessing has been pre-empted by MP3 playlists, but I don't know for sure....I should ask my students, but I'm a bit embarrassed to).