July-August 1998 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

Have your kids already exhausted their repertoire of summer crafts projects? If so, you might want to hustle them over to a hat-making workshop, for children ages 5 to 8, at Cover to Cover bookstore on Sunday, July 11.

The workshop, which runs from noon to 2 p.m., will be led by Roberta Gould, author of Making Cool Crafts & Awesome Art!: A Kids' Treasure Trove of Fabulous Fun.

An East Bay art teacher with lots of enthusiasm, Gould will show everybody how to make and decorate newspaper sun hats. "These are not the folded kind that most people are familiar with," she says. "These hats are big and floppy, and can be wonderfully silly."

In her book, Gould gives the "how-to's" for more than a hundred inexpensive arts and crafts activities, many using recycled materials. She also slips in cooking and building tips, plus some traditional folk songs and rounds that can be sung along with the fun. Geared for kids 6 to 14, Making Cool Crafts (Williamson Publishing, $12.95) often draws connections to other cultures. For instance, Gould suggests that her readers "make friendship bracelets, like people do in Mexico, Guatemala, Japan, and all over the world."

She explains that "writing Making Cool Crafts was sort of like writing a biography. I drew on my life experiences." Those experiences included traveling throughout Europe and Asia, teaching cultural education at the Alaska State Museum, and living on a "holler" in the mountains of eastern Kentucky.

The mother of three sons, ages 22, 19, and 16, Gould began teaching art to grade-schoolers when she realized she missed doing crafts with younger children.

At the Cover to Cover workshop, she'll be happy to answer questions from moms and dads on how to set up kid-friendly work environments and keep their children's artistic juices flowing. "I love to talk to parents about how to do projects with their kids."

The staff at the bookstore is also looking forward to the event. "I think the hats are a great project to do in our limited space, and if the weather permits, we'll go outside in front of the store," says events coordinator Tracy Wynne.

The workshop is free, and reservations are not required. Cover to Cover Booksellers is located at 3910 24th St. (near Sanchez). Phone: 282-8080.

Now don't forget to bring your copy of the Voice! (Actually, all materials will be supplied.)