Memoir Essay
A typical day with my daughter London is filled with imagination and creativity. Let’s take a look at an average Saturday. When London wakes we have breakfast together and I allow her to pick a movie to watch. Periodically during the movie I begin to gather art supplies so we can begin the craft of the day. She usually manages to watch the whole movie. If not that’s okay with me because I would rather spend our time creating a piece of art. If I have a specific project in mind I just guide her through it. But other times we go on a little field trip to the local dollar stores or for a walk on the beach depending on the weather of course. I believe London enjoys these treasure hunt’s as she calls them just as much as making her piece’s.
The process begins once we decide on what medium we are tackling. She mainly works with finger paint and acrylic paint. One instance she used different shaped sponges and finger paint to create a wonderful picture for her dad. London favored the star shape and red paint. She giggled when some of the blue paint overlapped the red making purple. I tried to explain how the primary colors mixed with each other develops the secondary colors. This concept gets lost in the explanation but I believe after a while my three year old will get it. She is still very young and has plenty of time to acquire the knowledge and ability of color theory. These tools will be more apparent to her as she learns more about Art and Design. Which I can see her gaining this information when most of the time she sees me doing assignment’s for school and my own work for myself. Plus she is always opting to get into it all.
Once we were done with the sponges and paint I attempt to motivate her to clean. This isn’t always successful but I have to try. I can’t see her making a mess and walking away from it. She can be difficult during cleanup but I per-sway her with music and new supplies. London tends to get excited about more things to make her design’s. Next we clean her up because as you know children especially small children make lots of messes. And she is no different.
It’s close to lunch and we plan out what we will consume. We eat and London starts to talk about a new idea for our afternoon session. And like you might have guessed she wants to paint. After a while I get tired of painting but it’s her favorite thing to do. She doesn’t get that love from me. I lean towards photography and Adobe software that imitates illustration and drawing. My tool of choice is the computer but she adores her brushes. So I encourage this because it’s true what they say, “practice makes perfect.”
So the afternoon has sneaked up on us and my kid is ready for another painting marathon. If I leave her to her own devices she is fine. London is very independent but I have to guide her in her artwork. I notice she flourishes when she is playing with her crafts. My participation helps her carryout the task and finalization of whatever she is doing at the moment. Which is very gratifying to accomplish something small or big with my daughter. The reaction I get is huge kisses and hugs and this mommy isn’t complaining. It’s exciting to see artwork through your child’s eyes. They’re so inventive. They see stuff in everything around them. The clouds become Dumbo flying or a dinosaur. Doll’s speak to each other and have teatime. Neverland is always around the bend. I consider pretending to be a great tool for anyone that wants to become creative adults. That’s what the majority of her evening consists of. She plays pretend or sings us songs. London is very theatrical bowing after every performance. It’s very exciting for her to express herself.
Initially we begin with painting and the afternoon is more painting with cutouts. London picks the shapes she wants and I prepare these for her. Showing her step by step, we make pretty much anything she can come up with. Last Saturday she made me a bunch of butterflies out of triangles, circles, and ovals. Those butterflies are very colorful and geometric. They’re hanging on my dining room wall where I showcase her favorite project’s. We have chosen a specific wall she can display her art. I see the pride in her face when it goes up or when someone inquires about them. These are the moment’s in my everyday life that are priceless. I hope art can be as therapeutic for her as it has been for me. I’ve been giving her opportunities to cultivate any artistic abilities she may possess. She is imaginative and feels satisfied at the end of each piece of work. Always presenting her craft as gifts to family and friends for this all I’m grateful.