|
|
|
January 6, 2006 Art Lessons 
Lucky Frances got two art smocks and two sets of fingerpaints for Christmas--but no fingerpainting paper. I made a special trip to pick some up just before New Year's; I was determined that she get to use her new fingerpaints and the lovely table and chair set my parents made for her before we all went back to our routine. At first she wasn't sure what to make of the strange coloured blobs on her sheets of paper. We encouraged her to stick her fingers in it and smear it around, but she preferred the paintbrush which, as it turns out, is an easier word to say than understand, since the first thing she tried to do with it was brush her teeth. "No! Paintbrush is for PAINT. TOOTHBRUSH is for teeth." She crinkled her lips at the funny taste of the (non-toxic) paints and said, "Paintbrush for paints." She happily spent her first fingerpainting session smearing paints all over the paper with the paintbrush and imperiously demanding more: "Lellow! Lellow! I want blue!" By the next day, she was more comfortable with dipping her fingers in the icky stuff. Some of it she twirled around with her fingers. Some of it she smeared with a flat hand. Some of it she left in a big blobby clump. I could tell that she liked it, but I had no idea how much until the next day--our last day of vacation--before supper: "Lellow bucket!" she cried. "Fingerpainting! I want fingerpainting. I want paintbrush!" "After supper, sweetie," I said. "After supper. AFTER supper. No, not right now. After supper. We'll fingerpaint AFTER supper. Not yet. No, not yet. After supper. Soon, but not yet. After supper." After supper, we carefully put on her art smock, and she sat properly on her little seat. The paper was placed in front of her, with dobs of fingerpaint at well-spaced intervals. The paintbrush was right beside her. She spurned it, and spent the whole time playing with her hands. "I want lellow," she said. "I want blue! I want some red. Please."
Now she's a pro, spreading here, swirling there, keeping most of her colours separate, coating her hands and then making handprints all over the page--and she loves it. My happiest early art memories are of the fingerpaints, and I'm so glad to share this with her. Posted by Andrea at January 6, 2006 9:30 PM under Beanie Baby Brags EMAIL this entry (comments fields are below this section) Comments That's an awesome smock! (and kid) Posted by: JM at January 7, 2006 10:53 AM
A truer artiste I have never seen! Nice smock! Posted by: Laura and Aaron at January 7, 2006 4:06 PM
I love that she is posing like Elmo. Posted by: liz at January 7, 2006 7:37 PM
So cute. Baby Girl has the same smock and is obsessed with it. Elmo = Toddler Crack. We've had to curb the finger painting a bit, though, as a lot of paint was being consumed. Posted by: Jen at January 7, 2006 9:57 PM
Ah, the joys of fingerpainting! I remember those days so well! It took Offspring quite a while to master the whole joy that is fingerpainting, because she could not STAND for her hands to be dirty. Thank God she's grown out of that! :) I love to watch kids fingerpaint. They're so into it, and every picture is like a window into their world. Frances looks adorable. I love how you had to tell her "after dinner" seventy-five times. "I'm ready, Mummy! NOW!" Posted by: KLee at January 7, 2006 11:43 PM
Frances looks so grown up!! Just like a serious artist in training. Posted by: nancy at January 8, 2006 8:56 AM
She's smart, she's funny, and now she's a fabulous artist to boot? Watch out world, Frances is coming to take it over! Posted by: Running2Ks at January 9, 2006 12:40 AM
What a cute little artiste! Hey, we have that smock, too! Except, whenever we haul out the arts and crafts, not only is there newspaper all over the table, but all furniture within a six foot radius is draped in a tarp. Because painting and colouring is fun, but paint and markers as a projectile to attack your brother is more fun. (Sigh) Posted by: Danigirl at January 9, 2006 9:44 AM
That little girl gets cuter EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I cannot believe it. What a sweetheart! Posted by: halloweenlover at January 10, 2006 11:10 PM
Go Berserk |
Change is God (Octavia Butler, Parable Series) "What is an anarchist? One who, choosing, accepts the responsibility of choice." Ursula le Guin Email Frances! frances AT athenadreaming DOT org You can email her mother too (that's me):
The Best of Beanie Baby
Recent Entries
Categories Monthly Archives Annika Info
Earn Your Karmic Brownie Points The WHOYCBE Not So Secret Spoilers These links open in a new browser window. Random Writer's Quote How do I know what I think, until I see what I say? ~ E.M. Forster
My Burgeoning Media Empire (that's a joke)
Dwarfism Resources: Frances's Big List of Misdiagnoses and False Positives Prenatally:
Postnatally:
Blogs I'm Reading
Other Mom Sites: Green Family Library
The title of this blog was taken from the short story "The Language of Nna Mmoy" by Ursula le Guin in her collection, Changing Planes. I won't tell you why or how, because I want you to read the story and figure it out for yourself.
|
