Art and Life.

As a parent, I find that long weekends are just that—long.  My kids have a tendency (like most kids I think) to fight with each other when they are at a loss for what else to do.   Don’t get me wrong—they love each other and all, but they fight over the stupidest things.  (The most infamous was last January, when they literally fought over the possession of a broken rubber band.  To this day, if it comes up, Samuel will still say “Well, it was mine.”)

But, every once in a while, they find an activity that they are happy doing together.  Sometimes it’s even quiet.  This weekend the miracle of sibling harmony came with art.  We had our dear friends Gabriela and Patrick (and their kids) over this weekend, and Patrick—a model of patience—spent time drawing with the kids.  The next day, they drew for quite a while on their own.

So, here’s a sampling of art hanging around my house right now.  Some of it will eventually get framed or saved in a calendar.  Most of it, however, is on little scraps of paper that we will enjoy for a while and then take it down or throw it away to make room for new stuff.

Yesterday before dinner, my kitchen table looked like this, and I’ve never been happier to see a mess.  Anya kept saying things like “We had a really good time drawing” or “We did a lot of pictures” whenever she looked at it. 

Of course, there was also artwork related to Thanksgiving, such as hand turkeys made on a paper table cloth (a now long-standing tradition):

There are Samuel’s drawings made from “how to draw” books.  Latest genre: monsters.

Art gifted to me and put on the fridge:

And, there is art to express emotion.  This is Anya’s specialty.  She drew these two pictures today—one drawn early this morning, before her Dad left for the airport, the other right after. 

I am not artistic, and I don’t know if my kids will be or not.  But their art is certainly memorable, and it’s one of my joys as their mother. 

What art gives you joy????