As a child I adored reading. I loved the feel of the pages and the old library smell that came from a well read book. I cherished the opportunity to disappear for hours into a land where my imagination collided with the writer's to create a unique world so real I felt as if I lived it.

One of my favorite books as a young girl was the Borrowers, these tiny versions of human beings that lived in our homes, their existence unknown to us. Till this day I find myself imagining what it would be like from their perspective to be caught up in our world, it is those thoughts that have been the inspiration to several of my pieces.

One of those ideas has been stuck in my head for a long time now, but I have struggled to convert it from my chaotic brain onto paper. It is a piece I wanted to call "Wherever the Wind may take you" which would portray a small girl who desired to travel the whole world from start to finish. Being so small she had to think of creative ways to travel and one of them would be to climb up a Dandelion stalk and hitch a ride on one of it's seedlings. Not knowing where the wind may take you would be such a great adventure.

Now let's step away from this topic for just a quick second and jump over to mine and Eve's collaborations. I have written in length about how much my experience with her has been teaching me to grow as an artist. How she has taught me to paint from a child's perspective and learn to accept "mistakes" as part of the artistic process. And although I know this because I have experienced it firsthand  it didn't lessen the impact of surprise I felt when I visually saw the difference. I can be carefree with my own individual pieces but more often than not I tend to rely on structure. While this at times may be a positive thing it also leads me to remain in this box of safety and lines taped together with an unhealthy dose of second guessing.

I was blown away by how much Eve had truly influenced my art in a matter of months!



The other day I had set up two easels so we could work side by side with the purpose of creating individual paintings. I was hoping to give that whimsical idea another shot while Eve got to create some of her own work, of course that was wishful thinking. Before I was even able to set up her paint she sneakily delved into my watercolors and began working her magic on BOTH of our easels...

Sitting down I noticed what should have been a bright white sheet of paper had changed it's appearance thanks to Eve. I struggled with the desire to just grab a new paper and start fresh but decided to work with what she gave me. We continued on, each working individually until out of nowhere Eve's paintbrush came swinging in with purpose. My carefully planned painting now had been artfully added to in a manner of seconds and the entire bottom half now belonged to her.

What to do, what to do...

Collaborate I guess? And so we continued on side by side.

When we were all finished I looked my piece over and saw how organic and free it looked just from Eve adding her touch. Her strokes ended up influencing mine and ended up creating a piece that was SO far from my original, structured attempt.

I could continue on but I will just post the pictures down below, after the video, and let you see for yourself what I am attempting to convey. The first picture was an attempt I made at the beginning of this year that I never completely finished because I was unhappy with how basic it seemed. To me it didn't have any "oomph" or movement, it felt drab. The second photo is of my second attempt in which Eve came to my rescue and reminded me to move past the second guessing and just create. Now some may like the first one better, or the second, but I just love being able to see the impact of letting Eve teach me how to be open to creating all over again.

We may be responsible to raise and guide our children but if we also remember to take the time to listen to them we will discover such valuable insight. To allow them to show you the world through their eyes is a remarkable experience.

You never know how it may translate back into your life and the impact it will have.