The Mischievous Mommy

My dear, oblivious finance was under the assumption that I would be too sick to prank him this year. Which means I absolutely had to.
My very reputation and his secret fear of me, that I have worked so hard to establish, depended on it.

That being said, I spared him from some of the more extreme pranks I wanted to pull and went with a few smaller, more subtle ones to take the edge off the day.

Although the support for mine and Eve's collaborations has been overwhelmingly supportive and kind there were a few ignorant comments (as there always will be) that made me chuckle. One of them was how I was stealing / destroying her artwork when I should be saving all of it, which as most parents know would be quite ridiculous.

As parents, you begin to realize just how much artwork a child can create... from doodles to masterpieces they do multiply quite quickly. That being said most parents will keep a box or two of this priceless art and probably won't end up keeping it all, otherwise they would end up being up to their necks in artwork by the time the child turns 18.

Now Eve having access to all of my art supplies, well let's just say she pumps out art in ways I only wish I could! Without having to second guess herself or her work every piece she makes is a symbol of her inhibition and creativity.

As she is getting close to turning 3, her attention span is growing and I am able to teach her different tricks and techniques with her fully listening. I have been loving her grow and learn right in front of my eyes as she picks it up quickly, going above and beyond, which ends up with her teaching me a thing or two.

One of these tricks is the use of salt on watercolors, which creates an awesome effect since the salt soaks up the water leaving little dots and patterns. It is a great lesson and activity for children giving them a sense of control and independence as they decide which colors to use and where to place the salt. If you include a spray bottle filled with water most children will delight in using a giant "water gun" to create art, I know Eve does!

When it comes to mine and Eve's collaborations and the idea that some people truly believed I was stealing her artwork for myself I had to find amusing. If only they knew how much artwork she produces!!  Every single collaborated piece we have created has been using art she has offered me giving me her full permission. (Trust me, if a toddler doesn't want to give you something they won't, especially their own creations.) Eve gets a kick out of our collaborations and is especially enjoying the more recent ones which has us painting simultaneously. If you have never tried it then I highly recommend creating a piece of art with someone else. It is a learning and bonding experience like none other and the outcome is completely unique, two imaginations intertwined into one piece.

For the paintings below we mostly used liquid watercolors and sprinkled salt (we used Kosher salt) over the wet paint. Once it has dried you can gently shake off the salt or leave it on if you like the texture.

If only I could create as much uninhibited art has my little girl can, here are 7 pieces Eve created in just one day, with the first four using the salt trick. Hope you enjoy them just as much as I do!