Art and Indian Dancing

The boys and I have regularly been taking art lessons this last half year. The boys are learning to work with shapes and lines. I have also been working with lines, shapes and shading. Most of my drawings have been still lifes. In total I have completed 4 drawings. I am amazed that I can do it, because I would never have thought it possible. The last two weeks I worked on a drawing in which I had to first form the drawing and begin shading it. I had almost completed the shading and was excited about completing the picture. Yesterday I arrived and my teacher wiped of the entire picture(!) that is in charcoal, and said, OK, you have this hour and a half to redo it! The base was still visible, and so I was able to use it as a guide. I didn't expect to be able to finish it, but below you see the finished version. The cube is off as I did not adjust it as well as I should have in the redrawing, but I am very happy about the shading as that was what the lesson for the picture was. I can't believe that I drew it!



Below is the picture before this one:



Besides Art yesterday I went to an Indian Festival celebration celebrating the ending of nine days of fasting. I was invited by Namejs' 2nd grade teacher from last year and attended with several friends. We were the only non-Indian people present - besides some Uzbeks. It was a wonderful experience where we were able to join in the Indian dancing. Each person was given two sticks and you danced around the circle. The idea is that you have the chance to meet people and these dances were especially meant for young Indians to meet potential partners. It was nice to be in an ethnic community feeling that really reminded me of being in the Latvian community in the west. The colors, music,food, and company made for a wonderful evening. Thanks to J!