This wonderful month of September has been like none other. I am extremely grateful and humbled for all that has happened this month, from the Buzzfeed article that opened the world up to mine and Eve's collaborations to Perez Hilton posting about us and then Ashton Kutcher sharing the link on his Facebook page.

Although I have tried my best to take it in stride I will shamelessly admit to teasing my Fiance that Ashton and I are CLEARLY text buddies now and busy planning future play dates for our kids.
Let's just say he wasn't to impressed with my antics.

THAT being said I want to take a moment to stress that the concept of parents and their children collaborating together has been around for quite some time. I am most definitely not the first nor the last that will do so and it is only due to chance that our collaborations went viral. If you look through the vast internet you will find many amazing collaborations between adults and children and I have posted some links at the bottom of this post of some duos to check out!

The first and foremost thing that I hope happens from our collaborations being shared is that it inspires parents from all around the world to try this with their kids.  

Which means it is time for.... *drum roll*...

I challenge YOU to go out and find someone to collaborate with. To make it even more meaningful try collaborating with your own child, niece, nephew, grand kid or another child that you are close with. By spending that quality time with them you are creating priceless memories not just for you but for them. Although the end result could be out of this world it is but a drop in the bucket compared to the connection you make on a personal level.


We are all born artists of one kind or another and it is a trait that can disappear as we get older and become pressured to fit in a type of box. We are told that we must trim and cut our lives to fit neatly into a short description when it should just be left blank and open to possibilities. By collaborating with your child you are teaching them how to hold onto those passions and reminding yourself how to do so. PLEASE don't ever say that you are not an artist, especially in front of your children. It only teaches them that there are limitations to creativity and imagination. I know it is so easy to doubt ourselves but remember you are their role model and superhero, they will do as you do.

Send me a before and after photo of a collaboration that you and a child created using whatever materials you would like. You could use paint, pencil, clay, leaves... you name it! Just as long as you both contribute to the piece then you can send it in, please don't forget to include your names and the title of the piece. I will then collect all the photos sent to me and combine them into a blog post where the top three winners will get a prize!
 Anyone can vote for their favorite collaboration by commenting on the blog post, which is how we will determine the winners!


First Prize: An ORIGINAL collaboration between Eve and I
Second Prize: Two 8 x 10 Art Prints of your choice
Third Prize: One 8 x 10 Art Print of your choice

Please send photos of your collaborations to ruthoosterman@hotmail.com OR post them to our facebook page at www.facebook.com/ruthoosterman

The DEADLINE to submit your photo will be at midnight on OCTOBER 11th, I will then post up all the entries onto this blog on October the 13th and the voting can begin. Voting will close on October 18th and the winner will be announced on October 20th! Good luck :)

As for Eve and I, this is only the beginning, I have no idea the direction we are going in and find a beauty in the unknown. However, I would LOVE if the result to us collaborating together encouraged even just ONE person to try this beautiful, bonding experience with a child.



I am going to share the materials we are currently using in our collaborations to help you get some ideas, feel free to use whatever materials suit both of you best.

These are our materials:
Dual Brush Pen by TomBow
Koh-I-Noor Watercolor Wheel Stack Pack
Watercolor Paper

The black pen Eve is currently using is a Dual Brush Pen by TomBow. We sort of stumbled on this discovery after I picked it up from a local art store (Curry's) and Eve ended up using it by accident. It is actually a water based pen that blends beautifully into watercolors or even just a wet paintbrush. I recently returned to the store and bought a variety of colors which we are now experimenting with in new collaborations, although Eve still likes the contrast of the black on the white paper best.

Here is the link to the pen company: http://tombowusa.com/dual-brush-pen-560.html
They have some great technique ideas in a video at the bottom of the page link.




For watercolors we are using these awesome discs, also found at Curry's, but I am sure they can be found elsewhere. They are called the Koh-I-Noor Watercolor Wheel Stack Pack, here is the link to them on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Koh-I-Noor-Watercolor-Wheel-Stack-Pack/dp/B0006OLQLC


But feel free to use any watercolors or tempra paint you have, brand really doesn't matter just as long as they are non toxic. They even sell non toxic acrylic paint at the dollar store!



When it is a watercolor collaboration we use watercolor paper so it doesn't bend or crumple when it gets wet.  If you are using acrylic or tempera try using a canvas, that way you can hang it straight up on the wall!













Here are just a fews links of some AMAZING adult and children artist duos.
Take a look and maybe you can find some inspiration from them for your piece!

ROXY & KIDS ART - Enjoy the beautiful series ROXY & KIDS´ART (Artworks created by Roxana Ené, Chris Silberer and happy crowds of kids, with water colors & ROXYGRAPHY).

Busy Mockingbird - Mica Angela Hendricks and her 4 year old daughter collaborate together to create amazing portraits! Mica will draw the heads and her daughter draws the bodies, later Mica adds color to the pieces.

Fred Giovannitti is a tattoo artist that colors in his daughter's drawings

The Monster Engine - Dave DeVries takes children's drawings of monsters and paints them into realistic paintings

If you ever have ANY questions about anything feel free to send me an email and I will do my best to answer them.

Happy creating!