The Mischievous Mommy

"Adrift"

THE MOON BEAR

 There were so many things I could see in Eve's original drawing but this time I knew exactly what had to be done. As she was drawing I had noticed her holding a tiny little bear figure, I slowly realized that she had been using it as a reference while she created her drawing. This was the first time she had ever done something like this and it blew me away, not only because of her new thought process but how quickly she was growing up. As it was beyond obvious that her drawing was about a bear, I knew I had to incorporate her ideas into the collaboration piece, which is exactly how "The Moon Bear" came to be.

 There is nothing quite like breaking out a new white canvas and just going wild. Having no plan or concept, you simply blast some music and let the paintbrush show you the way...

Don't over think it and just discover. Explore the way certain colors mix, patterns you can create with the brush or how the music can sway you into a new design.

Eve loves when we take the time to just relax and paint. Today I decided to break out some different objects to show her the variety of patterns you can come up with, it is a great way to add texture and hidden elements to your piece. You don't need to break the bank at an art store, simply look through your recycling bin or different household items and let the experimenting begin! (This is a great project to do with a young child who is learning there colors, shapes and textures, not to mention the importance of reusing recycled items)


This is Eve's brand new masterpiece of the day!

This is a great project to start off with if you have never painted or even as a refresher for the seasoned artist. Sometimes you have to give up your concepts or ideas and just let the paintbrush flow, you'll never know what magic you are capable of unless you try! 

This is one of the many ways Eve teaches me what it is to paint like a child again, with no inhibitions or structure to get in the way you are free to just feel it. 

I know it may sound a bit "hippie" but you truly have no idea how freeing it is until you try it! Personally, I find I tend to get caught up in what I imagine the final piece will look like and frustrated when it isn't turning out exactly how I would like. This exercise teaches me to go back to the basics and reinvent the way I look at art. Art is not something to be contained and manipulated but rather meant to draw out your inner creativity in a raw, explosive manner.

I know what I see in Eve's piece, but what do you see?
(I love how everyone has different views and imaginations, it is what makes each of us an artist whether we practice or not. )
Here is a little video of her working on the piece

“Children should be seen and not heard.”

This is what I was raised hearing, over and over and over.

I had heard it for so long that I had just accepted it’s meaning without questioning any other way, that is until I had Eve.

Perhaps it was a generational thing seeing how the only people who says it these days are those of my parent’s or grandparent’s age, and I can understand how it could be so. Nowadays, there is no problem with children being seen and not heard as they are usually glued to some sort of technology so hearing them is of no issue, you would be lucky to even see them! When a kid cries in public and all eyes turn it usually results to some parental pleading for serenity and negotiating some reward in exchange for quiet, not quite the perfect solution as it leads to an encore performance on your next outing. Children are quite sneaky, they know it works and how they can work it.

Being a server for quite some time I can tell you that an Ipad is now just tricks of the trade for parents desperate for a “normal” meal. I say “normal” because that entails your child sitting politely until everyone finishes, bill has been paid and they leave with a graceful thank you to the waiter.

Of course, “normal” never happens. As a parent you are lucky if your child eats even a nibble of that expensive kid’s meal you ordered for them and refrains from using the crayons as torpedo missiles with your server’s head as the target. Then, of course, there are those cursed salt and pepper shakers that at any other point in life are your friends, but with a child around? They are your worst enemy, your server’s too. Basically, you are lucky if your table doesn’t look like a nuclear bomb went off, you were able to enjoy at least two bites of your meal while it was still hot and the entire service team isn’t whispering about Table 12 (Yes, you are table 12 and yes, they are looking at you)
To avoid this we give them technology in exchange for a peaceful meal, fingers crossed. Do I judge? Definitely not as I am frequently one of those parents.


So what has it come down to? My generation was constantly told to be seen but not heard, which may have provided us with a polite and peaceful demeanor around company, however what was the side effect? Did we grow up thinking that our presence was only to be expressed on request? That our insight and thoughts were not important as we are simply shushed out of the room when we try to partake in adult conversation? (I consider myself VERY lucky as my parents carefully balanced this idea with an insane amount of nurturing and listening to their four children. As a pastor's kid I knew that the church congregation expected us to be perfect little role models of the very phrase, seen and not heard, which I think would have done some damage if not for my parents understanding the need for said balance.)

This next generation we no longer tell children to be seen but not heard, we don’t even need to since technology simply distracts them from interacting with us.

Both solutions have negative outcomes. Yes I agree that children should be well behaved and polite to those around them, but not by repeating a phrase that takes away their independence. It leaves the sense of a child’s worth being diminished, giving the idea their parents lack confidence in them to behave properly, so therefore they should remain unheard. Then there is the technology which doesn’t even provide an opportunity for the child to learn any different. They are simply distracted from learning proper social skills, that are only acquired through making mistakes, and being lovingly molded into polite young human beings.

So where does that leave us? At a table with screaming children? Definitely not. But if you suck it up, put the technology and catchphrases away and guide them through social experiences, by teaching them what is acceptable and not.... well, I guarantee the outcome is worth it.

Although I must warn you there is a transition period of letting those cringe worthy, public meltdowns happen without any negotiating or rewarding bad behavior in exchange for quiet. Oh and did I mention not giving in to passing them the phone to play with?

Sounds tough I know, but if you put this crazy method to practice I can guarantee you will start to see changes. They will be small at first but if nurtured and guided, your children will not only learn how to behave properly in public without using some form of a crutch, but you will discover something too! You will discover that your children have SO much to say and some of it is truly remarkable!

By letting your children learn how to cope and soothe themselves appropriately in social settings you are giving them priceless tools to success. In exchange they will give you endless moments to treasure and laugh about. The way children see our world is so exceptionally beautiful that there is a reason they say children are a gift. Definitely not a gift to be seen and not heard but celebrated instead! Their quirky ways of seeing things in a different light, one that we could never discover on our own, will open our minds to the fresh air of LIFE. It will put a pause button on our hurried lives so we may enjoy the little things in life, the things that only children can see and share.

So this holiday season please bear with those that say children should be seen and not heard, they don’t know any better and this is your opportunity to show them otherwise. Be wary about just handing off your technology to your children for not only is it preventing them from making REAL life memories but sharing the joy that they naturally have.

Children truly have SO much to teach us. In order to experience their magical lessons we have to unlearn what we grew up with, and in the same breath decide not to delve into this generation’s crutch of technology. This may very well be one of the most difficult times to raise a child as “normal” as possible, but the end result will be forever lasting. Not only in their lives, because what you choose to do NOW will impact the way they raise their children and so on and so on.

The transition period is definitely difficult. By no means do I suggest letting your child run wild with no discipline or guidance, that completely negates what I have suggested. It is only through careful nurturing and guidance you can show your child firsthand how to behave in social settings. Keeping in mind you are their role model, you cannot hold them to high standards if you yourself are not abiding by them. Put your phone away, turn the TV off and listen to what they have to say, show respect to those around you and teach them to respect their elders and authority.

And please, don’t treat children as little humans that should only be seen and not heard. That is an insult to them and a true shame, just imagine what you could learn from these vessels of innocence and brilliance.


After chasing and roaring at the pigeons in the park for a good 15 minutes they all flew away at Eve's dismay. Once they returned to a nearby roof Eve decided she absolutely must join them in their flight.
Leaving me in the tough position of telling a toddler they cannot fly. If there was ever a moment I could make a wish come true this would be it, I wish I could have given her those wings.

This is one of the reasons I firmly believe the phrase "Children must be seen and not heard," is such a shame. Just imagine all these priceless moments that would be missed...


NOTE: This isn't some crazy post where I suggest banning your child from technology forever suggesting you are permanently damaging them otherwise, definitely not. It is all about balance, a healthy balance. If you ever see me out eating with Eve I will probably be handing her my phone to play with, but only after our meal is complete and she has behaved appropriately. Do we have our bad days where I hide in the bathroom eating chocolate using the Ipad to distract her? Most definitely.  That photo at the top of this post is of one of Eve's epic grocery store meltdowns during our transition period.

We all have our moments, but as long as we are letting our children discover the world without a crutch and providing our loving attention as support, I think we'll all be OK in the end.

As artists, Eve and I are always growing and evolving so I was extremely excited to teach her one of my favorite tricks. You take a spray bottle filled with water and create a small puddle on your watercolor paper. Then you fill your paintbrush up with color and carefully dab into the puddle of water, it is truly magical to watch the color spread and determine it's own path. The next trick is getting as close as possible to blow the newly colored water whichever direction you would like. (Eve ended up using a straw to help her out as you can see in this video she had a difficult time getting a big enough breath.)



 

 With most of our collaborations, this one included, the concept is never known beforehand but developed throughout the process. It keeps us on our toes and pushes us to adapt to change as art is always evolving. I had no idea that this would turn into two little ballerinas but after Eve created these lovely colorful explosions using the technique above, I knew it couldn't be anything but tutu's.

This collaboration piece is almost complete and has a magical sisterly story, stay tuned for the video time lapse and the full story behind this piece!

Collaborative Word Art

 

 

Materials Used for this Project:

• Watercolor Paper (Mixed Media paper can also work)
• Paintbrushes
• Watercolors or Children's Finger Paint
• Masking Fluid
• A quote or pattern 
• Glitter (optional)
• Stencil (optional)
• White gel pen (optional)
  
  

  

  
  STEP ONE:
  Prepare all of your supplies and sketch out your pattern, picture or quote you plan to paint using the masking fluid. Make sure to take your time until you get it just right, there is no shame to be found in erasing! Try not to make the words or pattern too small as it can be difficult to paint the masking fluid in accurately without it blending into other words. We chose several different quotes that have meaning to Eve and I for this project, however I look forward to using the masking fluid to create pictures or patterns in the future. I used my own handwriting since I thought it would give a more personal touch, however you can always use a stencil or print out a design / quote.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  STEP TWO:
  
  Time for the magical Masking Fluid! 
  Take your time and use the Masking Fluid to trace your pencil marks, remember less is more in this case. Using too much can lead to it blending into other markings or taking too long to dry, just a little bit goes a long way. 
  Masking Fluid can be quite difficult to remove from your brush so choose one you don't mind potentially ruining. I find it helps if you dip the brush in water periodically throughout the project to get the excess masking fluid off. This will prevent it from building up on the brush making it easier to clean at the end, as well as a helping with cleaner lines. Once you are finished, immediately use soapy water to clean your brush so you have a chance of saving it. Waiting will only turn the masking fluid into a glue like state that hardens your brush to the point of no return.
  
  
  When you are all finished you can hold your paper up to the light and let the reflection show any missed spots. ( I didn't realize until after I had missed the inner part of the second "O" in the world "Color", whoops!)
  I recommend leaving it to dry thoroughly overnight or for at least a few hours before moving on to the next step.
  
  
  
  
  
  STEP THREE:
  
  

  

  
  

   Once it has completely dried you can hand it over to your partner in crime! 

  I let Eve go to town and she covered it up with gorgeous little hand prints and finger painting. Try to make sure the edges of the Masking Fluid are covered in paint, that way the pattern underneath will stand out when you remove the Masking Fluid.

  
  

  Let this dry completely. 

  
  

  

  
  

  STEP FOUR:
  
  For this step I find it best to use your clean fingertips since it will give you more control and you have a better sense of what you are doing. I know it is common to use an eraser but I am always afraid of it removing some paint along with the Masking Fluid. Eve LOVES this part just as much as I do and is always eager to help. The bright white pops out once you remove the Masking Fluid and you get to see your two creations combine into one collaborative piece!

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  STEP FIVE:
   (OPTIONAL)
  
  Once the Masking Fluid is removed and you are finished marveling at the creation you can go ahead with adding glitter or take this opportunity to "fix" any mistakes. During one of our projects I made the mistake of letting Eve use glitter glue BEFORE I had a chance to remove the Masking Fluid, meaning portions of the word art would never be revealed.

  
  

  

  In order to fix this I used a white gel pen over the letters that would be forever sealed from the glitter glue. A white gel pen can come in handy when fixing little details after everything has been removed. 

  

  
  

  
  

  There you have it! 

  An easy, lovely project to do by oneself or as a collaborative project. You can frame the pieces, give it as a gift or turn them into handmade cards / postcards to give to a loved one. I am SURE grandparents would be thrilled to receive a collaborative art piece between their own child and grandchild.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  In case you don't have any watercolors or aren't interested in investing into art supplies you won't use often, you can try this with children's finger paint and a thick card stock paper. I wanted to make sure it worked before I posted this so I tried it with Eve's finger paint and a mixed media paper, it came out pretty well! (see pictures below)

   Using your child's hand prints is a great way to include smaller babies or children that aren't able to paint yet. A great idea would be to write their age or number of months they are in Masking Fluid so that you can track their hand print size and age simultaneously.

  
  

  

  

  
  

  
  

  For Eve and I this is only the beginning of many more collaborative projects using Masking Fluid. While I am sure many of them will be given as gifts our first two created together will hold a very special spot on her bookshelf. The quote on the left is from the song "Hourglass" sung by Mindy Gledhill, a lullaby I sang to Eve when she was a baby. The one on the right is a quote that reminds me how blessed I am to be Eve's mother. 

  
  

  

  
  

  If you try this project out feel free to share your photos with me, I would love to see what you come up with!

"The Almighty Lion" is a watercolor painting that was created when I collaborated with my two year old daughter, Eve.

Most of our collaborations begin with Eve starting the piece and I will finish it with her at my side as she provides feedback, however I wanted to change things up. A while back we created "Mr. Blueberry Giraffe" which started off with one of my sketches and Eve used watercolors to fill it in. I really loved that way of collaborating with her and decided to try it again, but this time overlapping our painting and ideas.




"The Almighty Lion" began as a rough sketch I had done of a lion's face and mane then let Eve take over using watercolors and a spray bottle filled with water. Once she had decided she was done for the evening we let it dry and returned to it together the next day. It was such an amazing feeling of being able to paint simultaneously, it was if we were dance partners learning each others rhythm and flow. 

 Of course, Eve inevitably decided she had had her fill of painting for the day and that "cooking" muffins for me would be more entertaining. While she "cooked" I went ahead and added the final details. When I felt that it was complete I let Eve have the final say and she added the very last brushstroke and declared it complete! (She was eager to get her muffins out of the "oven" before they burned)


I hope you enjoy the piece and feel inspired to try collaborating with someone you know, whether child, friend or family! It truly makes my day when I receive an email with photos of your collaborative creations attached and I look forward to seeing what else you may all come up with!





As Eve and I continue on we are doing our best to document our collaborations. If you want to follow us here is a guide on how you can do so!

The Mischievous Mommy Blog: This blog follows our full journey whether it be hilarious parenting fails, collaborations, DIY projects or pranks that I pull, you can find it all here.

Facebook Fan Page: This is my Official Artist page I began a while back and has become a place for me to post different art works that I am working on. Although I do post our collaborations and some of Eve's personal work, it mainly focuses on my solo pieces.

Youtube: This is where you will find all of our collaboration, painting time lapses, add in a few of my own time lapses, pranks that I pull and that sums up my "Channel"

Instagram: Here you will find snapshots of our day to day shenanigans and first peeks at all of our pieces we are working on, whether together or solo.

Twitter: To be honest I am still trying to figure Twitter out, I mean I get it... but I don't really "get it." That being said we do tweet the odd thing out and you are welcome to follow us there.

Etsy: There is actually two different shops on Etsy, one for my personal work and the other is for our collaborative pieces. You can find mine HERE and "Eve's Imagination" HERE.

Pinterest: Although I do post artwork to Pinterest it mostly holds all of my future dreams, desires and DIY to do lists in one place.

Then of course there is my own Official Artist Website that holds my portfolio, CV, biography, media links and most recently my collaborations with Eve. (Basically all of the professional side without the shenanigans.)

O, Christmas Tree

 

To start this off I thought I would share a simple activity we did the other day in anticipation of the holiday season. What is fantastic about this, is that it encourages the child to create something out of nothing, providing them the opportunity to make choices about what THEY want. It is frustrating as a toddler when all of their choices seem to be already made for them that when you give them an opportunity to make choices they are ecstatic!O, and did I mention that it costs nothing? That's right, nothing. All you are doing is recycling old paper and catalogs instead of throwing them away! If your child really takes to this project you can do multiple, miniature ones and turn them into handmade Christmas cards.

 Supplies you will need:

• Large sheet of paper (depending on how big you want it to be)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Christmas catalogs or advertisements 
• Paint (optional)
• Paintbrushes (optional)

Wow.

I just want to start off by saying from the bottom of my heart thank you. Thank you to everyone who has supported Eve and I before all of this attention and to all those of recent as well. I am very humbled by all of this support and know that none of this would be possible without God providing me with this gift and giving me my most beloved treasure, Eve. Without Eve and her constant inspiration that motivates me to create and explore art outside of my comfort zone I would still be stuck in my cozy nook.

Eve is truly my muse.

I truly believe every single person is given a talent or gift that once sparked should be constantly flamed and encouraged, it is part of what makes you unique and fills you with passion for love, life and laughter.

I encourage each and every one of you to share your talents and knowledge with your own children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews. The end result may be special but the journey you share to get there will be magical and those memories will last forever.

I also wanted to grab this opportunity to give a little more insight into our collaborations.

Eve and I have spent hours on end drawing together and painting canvas after canvas. I loved being able to share my passion with her and love how excited she is to partake. I have been dreaming of the day that we could sit down and talk about what we could create together and the vision she sees, nothing is more amazing then a child’s innocent insistence that anything is possible. However, her being not even 2 and a half I felt that was at least a year or more away. With her limited vocabulary we have still been able to enjoy our time spent together and it slowly dawned on me that we had already been collaborating this whole time!

That thought was what was going through my head when I was going through her piles of drawings and the one, that is now “The Red Boat, caught my eye. I had been letting her use my black ink pen and realized that if I used watercolor I could use the shapes and darkness to create a painting that I would have NEVER been able to even think of on my own.  Without those shapes and markings of endless possibilities from a precious child’s point of view absolutely NONE of those paintings could or ever would exist. Eve has pushed me way past my comfort zone and I am very grateful for this, it is truly motivating and inspiring for me. When I do paint it is done as speed painting. They are all created in a short time frame so I can’t sit back and over analyze the process, I want to keep it simple and true. I am never trying to paint over her marks but blend them into mine to become a collaboration. Just as my painting forms I make sure to follow her outlines and leave some of her drawing visible keeping it a collaboration, it is a fine balance that I am continuing to learn from.

At this point our collaborations begin with her and when she is finished her drawing she passes it off to me so she can watch me paint. If there are any she wants to keep as is, I can assure you, she will not hand them over. I find myself choosing the ones that are the most challenging for me to expand on as this forces me to grow. She enjoys watching me paint them and often will suggest different colors to use. As these next few months go by I look forward to letting her take part even more by letting her finish my paintings and perhaps I do the drawing and she paints! This journey of ours has JUST begun and if I look through it from her perspective, our creativity and possibilities are truly endless.

If at any point Eve does not want to continue these collaborations I will happily let her move on to something else. Even though I am an artist I heartily accept she may not be, and when and if she moves on to something else I will support her 100%. I am already just so grateful to have shared this with her to this point.  All the profit we make from our collaborations will be going directly into her college fund, this way it can support whatever dream she ends up pursuing.

For all those with children in their lives I encourage you to try this with them, even if you don’t think you can draw you might just surprise yourself! It is an amazing and fun process and I encourage you to message me your creations and I will try to post them on this blog to share with others.

Thank you again for all of your support and kind words!

Eve and Ruth