Rapunzel's beanstalk

© 2012 Nancy L. Ruder

Amendments regarding bubble printmaking

Bubble therapy participation should be limited to folks of any age who know the difference between blowing into a straw and drinking from a straw:

1. The same kid who regularly gets his head stuck in the sleeve of his art shirt went home from school with a
2. Blue tongue today because he didn't get the memo about how to use a drinking straw.
3. The art teacher tried to pinch his straw before the soap/paint mix got in his mouth, but her reflexes are slow.
4. Much as it is a bad manner, it is a very successful practice for this skill if your child blows the wrapper off the drinking straw everytime you go to McDonalds.
5. And then you can make a straw wrapper snake.
6. As a Learning Experience/Opportunity For Growth, getting a mouthful of soapy paint will quickly convince you not to do that again!

Bubble therapy should be closely monitored for folks of any age who can't tell if their straw is submerged in the soapy paint:

1. If you can't hold the straw down into the soapy paint in the hummus container you will get blue freckles.  Are you a blueberry muffin?
2. Make sure you aren't going to lose your damage deposit by accidentally redecorating the walls of your apartment!
3. Dad has redecorated several walls using his electric toothbrush.  In the move we lost his rechargeable toothbrush.  This is just as well.  Dad would turn it on at arm's length and spray minty fresh Colgate 360 degrees.

Coffee therapy is a highlight in Dad's life.  He only gets to drink coffee if I bring him a cup.  After his bad burn from spilled scalding hot coffee last fall his caregivers won't take that risk:

1. Dad's tremor makes it difficult to reach out and grasp the styrofoam cup, or to set it back on his wheely tray table.
2. Dad becomes a crazed addict whenever he gets a whiff of java.
3. Grabbing your coffee cup and trying to sip the hot liquid while lying flat on your back during a Depends change = BAD.

Basic checklist:

1. Sit up for coffee
2. Blow out for soap
3. Practice "opposites" work
4. In/out, hot/cold, sit/recline

© 2011 Nancy L. Ruder

Bad manners and bubble therapy

  For all those times your mom wouldn't let you blow bubbles in your milkshake or soda at a restaurant, there is bubble therapy.  The kids loved it.  I love the prints we are getting.

In a clean, shallow hummus container put 1/2 tsp. dishwashing soap.  Add liquid watercolors and a little bit of black ink.  Cover table well.  Take off your eyeglasses!  Wear a smock.  Use a drinking straw to blow bubbles in the soapy paint until you have a big dome of bubbles above the container rim.  Set paper on the bubbles to catch a print.
© 2011 Nancy L. Ruder

Snap, crackle, pop OR a belated April Fools

Arriving home from work last evening, I walked into my hallway and started sliding the closet door.

Pop-pop!
Pop-pop-pop-pop!
Pop-pop-pop!

It sounded like a string of Black Cats, so I leaped behind the bathroom door in case of flying explosives. The pops stopped.

I peered into the dark closet, but couldn't see anything unusual. When I slid the door a bit more, the popping resumed. What on earth!?!

Turns out my art teacher box of plastic bubble wrap had overflowed, and a big piece was caught in the track of the closet door. If you need an April Fools joke for next year, you might try it!



© 2008 Nancy L. Ruder