Lately I have been thinking a lot about art and wanting to be more intentional in cultivating the love of art I see budding in my six year old daughter, Mercy.
Last weekend my daughters (ages 6 and 4) climbed up on either side of me on the living room couch and we poured over several children's art books together. We adore our local library and never seem to run out of good finds.
The first one we devoured was Barbara Leham's Museum Trip. I love it. There are no words. The story is told entirely through pictures. I love how easily you can "read" the story through the pictures. We talked through each of the pages. We joined a boy as he went on a field trip with his class to an art museum, gets separated from his class, has an incredible imaginative adventure through a series of mazes and eventually finds his way back to his classmate. I love how they beautifully and simply depict how one can get lost within the artwork. Both my four and six year old enjoyed it.
Suddenly it seemed immediately necessary to DO art, so we did. All three of us spread out at the table. For me it had been too long. The last five years I have been doing all my artwork on my faithful MAC. I love to create digitally. It's how my right and left sides of my brain (which seem equally strong) play nicely with each other. But sometimes you need to touch the messiness of paints and brushes when that love of color is young. I loved hearing the girls chatter about what color they wanted to use next and what did I think of their painting.
May your week ahead have a little messy art in it!