Fall into the Exciting World of Art

The breeze is crisp, leaves are acquiring beautiful new hues and a spooky feeling lingers in the air. Autumn is upon us! The chilling weather means more time spent inside. For children, this can be especially frustrating. With lots of energy to expend and limited outlets to do so, both children and parents can easily become distressed.

Don’t fret! There is an elusive, yet obvious, solution. A solution that is both fun and beneficial. That solution is... art!

Art is not only exciting, it’s also very engaging. Depending on the activity, young ones can recruit multiple senses (or even all of them) to accomplish their vision. This supports creativity and encourages learning. Art can promote motor skills through detailed drawing, careful cutting and precise painting — all of which require tactful coordination. Art can give children something to be proud of, something that they brought to life.

Art can be found around every corner in the world’s largest children’s museum. Kids bend over backwards when they come close to the colossal 43-foot glass tower. The famous Dale Chihuly Fireworks of Glass installation is definitely a conversation starter! Ask the kiddos how they think the piece was made or what it represents.

Discover how art changed the lives of 18 Black Indiana-based artists with the new display titled Stories from Our Community: The Art of Protest. The display highlights how art evokes emotion and action within the Black Lives Matter Movement, while giving a glimpse into the artists’ lives. This explains to children how art can be more than just recreation but a form of self-expression and a medium of communication. For a more hands-on experience, kids can attend an art workshop held right in the museum. Visiting Artist Deonna Craig leads workshops focused on the natural world as a source of artistic inspiration. Children will have a blast learning about various minerals as they create their own gemstone artwork to take home. The smiles will be abundant as the kids have fun learning that art rocks. Not a fan of rocks? Visiting Artist Koda Witsken leads an art workshop that focuses on animal color-based defense systems. Amazement is guaranteed as kids learn how animals use color to ward off predators in the wild.

The fall art fun doesn’t have to stop once the museum visit is over. Make beautiful paper leaves at home. All you need are paper, scissors, coloring utensils and some imagination. Simply draw an outline of any kind of leaf on the paper. Then, carefully cut along the lines to free the leaf. Lastly, color and have fun with it. Voila, a beautiful, fridge-worthy leaf!

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Fielding a Family

Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner opens up about family life and moving to the Midwest.

DeForest Buckner moved to the Hoosier state from the Bay Area of Northern California after the Indianapolis Colts acquired the veteran defensive tackle in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers in 2020. One might imagine such a move could pose unexpected new challenges, but Buckner takes the culture shock in stride. “Indiana has definitely gotten to feel like home,” he says. “After we bought our house, the neighbors came over the first day we moved in, and some people came over with gift baskets and things like that. We were kind of in shock because we weren’t used to that.”

The Hoosier hospitality, he says, has been a big help in allowing him and his young family to adjust. “We didn’t have any family or friends when we first got here,” Buckner says. “And [the help from neighbors] definitely has been heartwarming for us.” But for his very young son, a major perk of living in the Circle City has been the proximity to family-friendly sites like the Indianapolis Zoo.

“He loves seeing all the animals,” Buckner says. “My wife recently took him to The Children’s Museum. Now that he’s really running around and everything, he’s been doing those different activities. She sent me a bunch of pictures a couple days ago of them there, and he’s been really enjoying it.”

And for the parents? “Obviously there are a lot of great steakhouses out here, so when the wife and I get a chance to really go out and have our own free time, we usually go to a nice steak dinner or something like that,” he says.

Having a balance of work responsibilities and being a new dad has come about mostly due to the support of his wife, Buckner says. “My wife is amazing. We’ve got another one [our son] to think about, which is fine with me, but she really gives me the time I need to focus on ball and to really provide for our family. That’s why I appreciate her so much.”

However, when the pandemic was at its zenith, Buckner, like many of us, found himself able to spend more time with family. “It seems weird, but the pandemic actually helped me get to be around more because meetings had become virtual,” he says. “OTAs being cancelled last year helped me because I was able to stay home for the first three months of my son’s life. I was there to help my wife in the middle of the night when he was crying or to change his diapers. Gaining that connection early on was very crucial for me as a father.”

Adjusting to Indiana winters has been another story. “My son loves being outside. So, it has been a challenge in the winter when it gets cold and it’s snowing,” Buckner says. “My wife would bundle him up and take him out in snow jackets and stuff. I mean, he gets out there, and his face is all red and he’s freezing. So, we really couldn’t take him outside a lot.”

Otherwise, moving to Indiana has been a nice change of scenery for the Buckners. “It’s a beautiful place to raise a family instead of being in the middle of everything in the Bay Area like we were,” Buckner says. “There is a lot more space for us to venture off to.”