Blogworthy Art Projects

So... living in China yields some interesting fodder for blogging. Millie has recently had two assignments I thought people living outside of Asia might find as unique as I did.

First... a couple of weeks ago for Chinese Culture class Millie was asked to bring in a wine bottle for a project they've been working on. It turns out that for this assignment they are to design a wine bottle with a English and Chinese label. Millie created a product called Red Carpet Wine or Hong Se De Di Tan and used a pic of her favorite celebrity, Miley Cyrus dressed in red on a red carpet. (I thought it was appropriate for a wine label created by an minor to feature another underage person as a spokesperson for the vino!)

But, that, we just learned is the beginning. Millie came home this weekend and needed a cork, because what will fit the "Culture" criteria of this Chinese Culture project is making wine in the classroom! Yes, a group of 19 nine and 10-year-olds will be making grape moonshine under the direction of their Chinese culture teacher. TIC ... This is China.

Today when I was in for the pre-school After Noon Story time with Bea @ the big girls' school I saw the middle school art teacher and after chatting I told her I had a bone to pick with her. For her art assignment this week she wanted all the students to bring in a potato sized rock. What makes this blogworthy is that she had to clarify that she wanted a rock and not a hunk of concrete. Sadly, concrete is in greater supply in our host nation than good old fashioned rocks! Also, sadly, Millie didn't remember to find a rock over the weekend, so her kind father was out spelunking in our backyard this morning around 7 a.m. in search of the "potato rock. Fortunately for all of us, Bea has a penchant for collecting largish rocks on each of our trips to the beach. (It took me a while to figure out why our beach bag was so much heavier on the return trips from the beach, until I realized our Bea girl was slipping "potato size" rocks into the beach bag unbeknownst to mom!)Sean located one of Bea's rocks and we thought we were home free!

So... my bone to pick was that after great effort, and coming in with a specimen that was not concrete, the art teacher ruled that Millie's washed beach rock was too "pancakey" and we needed something more textured. So... since I'm pretty sure Millie didn't see to this again, I think you can guess where Sean or I will be tomorrow morning around 7 a.m.!