A couple of great teachers are offering up their expertise over at Vitrum Studio. Catharine Newell and Richard Parrish each have very interesting classes scheduled. This was mentioned over at Bullseye’s forum, which is a great place for good general glass information. Catharine will be teaching a class in March called “Drawing from Experience” which is a four day class that explores the various ways to draw on glass. Sounds so cool. I’d love to take that or even have her teach it at my studio. Richard will teach two workshops, “Color Theory in Glass: Fear No Color” and his new advanced color workshop, “Color in Kiln-glass: Further Explorations & Applications,” in April. That too sounds awesome. Richard just got done teaching the color classes in Alaska at Half Moon Creek Gallery. Check out all of the links I’ve listed to get all the information you need regarding these classes and the other classes at Vitrum, Bullseye and even Half Moon if you find yourself in Alaska…
Have you read?
Book Review: The Festival of Lights
As if Diwali weren’t colorful and fun enough, The Festival of Lights: A Lift-the-flap Diwali Celebration by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Darshika Varm, makes it even more fun to read about with flaps and things to lift and pull to see more information or details in the illustrations.
The book is a story about a family getting ready for Diwali and what happens on the different days of the five-day celebration. There’s cleaning, shopping, crafting, food preparation and getting the home altar ready for the big day.
It covers decorating the outside of the house with rangoli, diyas and lanterns, buying sweets to share with family and friends, the sights and scents of the mandir (home temple), getting dressed up in new fancy clothes, the story of Diwali and celebrations with relatives.
Flaps (there are more than 140 in all) give you vocabulary words for different foods and definitions, as well as fun things like what’s inside the shopping basket or where the cat is hanging out. They also help illuminate the story of Diwali, which is the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram defeated the demon Ravana to save his wife, Sita.
This pretty and colorful book helps kids understand what Diwali is and how it is celebrated, regardless of whether they practice it at home. This would be a nice book to keep in a classroom (it’s rated for kids ages 3-7) or to have at home to teach kids about Diwali even if it’s not something you celebrate. Where I live there are a lot of people from India so we are probably exposed to Diwali more than some other regions of America, but it’s a nice holiday to know about wherever you live.
Combine with the book Diwali and check out some fun lantern crafts and printables for kids to round out your experience.
About the book: 24 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail prices $22.99.