Young Drawings

As an artist, i'd like to think i provide an atmosphere in which my daughter can feel free to create when she'd like to. Admittedly i am not great at organizing crafts ahead of time, but tend to go with the flow should a situation present itself. We have a cupboard full of crafty things, and there is always an easel nearby equipped with paper and paint (or chalk and a chalk board).

Until not so long ago, my three year old was painting mostly abstract pieces, and then it seemed like suddenly out of nowhere, images began to emerge. It all started with a picture of this horse she drew (in a moving car, no less) and handed over to me, much to my surprise.

!!!

Soon after this she drew a dinosaur on her chalkboard:

Really? Horses? Dinosaurs? If you ask me, these are not animals/images we have been seeing or talking about in our day to day lives. She doesn't attend day care either--so i'm not sure where it's all coming from. Obviously she has seen and stored information about what these creatures look like somewhere in her brain and they have now been spilled out on to paper/chalkboard. Amazing!

And suddenly, teeth have been appearing on her figure drawings.

and last but not least, an abstract piece she created for her brother's room (for when he arrives. yup, a brother!)

One for the Boy

This week i completed another commission--for a child's room. The youngest member of a large family for whom i've painted  before. It's nice to have repeat customers, i feel like my work is appreciated.

Strawberry Pickin'

This year we finally made it out strawberry picking at Boonstra Farms. They have got it going on there, i tell ya. A large acreage, organized tractor rides out to the fields, and there are cold drinks and ice cream available (and honey!) to purchase after you've watered their fields with your own sweat for your picking efforts. Not to mention a free petting farm, and playground for kids.

We picked a humid July morning for our adventure, and it was HOT! Heat obviously didn't keep pickers away though, as the parking lot was completely full.

None for the pail, all for the mouth.

After having picked 1 pail each and becoming drenched in sweat i decided it might have been a bit of a kooky idea for a 7 1/2 month pregnant woman to be out in the fields in the heat picking strawberries. Phew!

If for nothing else, picking fresh strawberries was worth it just for this:

Add some fresh whipped cream, and you are in heaven.

I think we'll make it a yearly tradition.