The Mischievous Mommy: Eve's Creations

2016

Before Eve was born I would say that art was my hobby, but the minute she came into my life she transformed every single aspect of who I am. What used to be an enjoyable past time became a passion, she taught me from the get go what it means to pursue something just by witnessing her day to day passion for life and all it’s little things. Children see such beauty and unbiased viewpoints of our world that inspire their work to be true to who they are. They have been untouched by society's warped views and are in a raw form of artistry, not subject to "rules" or caught up in a particular style or box. They just create, without second guessing or fear of failure. There is such a brief time in our lives where this magic takes place before doubt seeps in and I am thrilled that Eve has held on for so long.

I was browsing through some old photos and decided to compile a timeline of her creativity and how she has grown as an artist. I believe it is incredibly important to allow children unstructured creative time with no one looking over their shoulder. Don't worry about the potential mess just let them have complete freedom, for it is NEVER the end product that will matter but the journey they take to get there. Those are the memories and lessons they will hold onto forever.

She does not second guess or question why she is doing it, she trusts her natural instincts and that is art in it’s truest form. Soon life will catch up to her, as will doubt and fear, but I plan on doing everything I can to keep that door shut for as long as possible.

If that means paint splatters on everything I own then so be it!

YOU do NOT have to be an "artist" to give your child the gift of time to create. All it means is a quick trip to a local art or dollar store and let them figure it out themselves. You don't need to have Pinterest tutorials lined up (although those can be amazing) or know about paints, techniques, nada. Just allow them access to supplies and sit back to watch the magic happen.

As long as the DESIRE to create is there

then you ARE an artist, no matter your age or talent.

2016

Live PASSIONATELY

April 30, 2016

birthday

The Cake Canvas

March 22, 2016

Collaborations with my Toddler

"The Cake Canvas"

When Eve and I first began collaborating with each other I never even imagined that our creations would attract world wide attention. Ever since our first collaborations went viral we have enjoyed finding many new ways to create together, whether through visual arts, music and even baking! The main reason we share our journey with social media is to hopefully inspire and show other families how easy and beneficial collaborating can be.

Collaborating on an artistic front can be quite intimidating for someone who considers themselves as "not an artist," which is why this collaborative project will be perfect for you and absolutely anyone else! Collaborating with a child is so incredibly important, not just for them but you as well. If art isn't your thing than I guarantee you will find your own unique way of sharing your passions and interests with the little ones in your life.

If you are a pro in the kitchen then go ahead and make that cake and fondant from scratch, but if you are like me then don't hesitate to take the shortcut and use the boxed cake mix. The best part is that your child can help you from the first step to the last, whether mixing, cracking eggs or frosting, there is very little that they won't be able to do.

You will need:

Cake mix + Ingredients
White Fondant
Edible Food Writers
Frosting
Cake pans
Rolling pin

I used 9 inch, circle cake pans and two boxes of cake mix to create a four layered cake. After letting each layer cool I leveled off the top in order to create a solid, even cake. Once my four cakes were layered to create one taller cake, I covered it completely with frosting so that the fondant would stick well. Smoothing out any bubbles and cutting off the excess it was then ready for Eve to begin decorating!

This cake was actually for Eve's 4th birthday party and I wanted to make sure that she was a part of the entire process. I remember being a little girl and my mom always allowed me to decorate my own birthday cakes, it was a memory that has stuck with me to this day. Of course, I wanted nothing more than to pass those memories down to my daughter and what made this collaborative project even more lovely was that my mother helped too! (Talk about a three generational collaborative project)

Eve went to town with drawing and when she was all done we added edible butterflies using our leftover frosting. Eve had seen a wedding cake with rainbow butterflies and insisted that her birthday cake this year have them as well.

This would be a great project to do for all occasions and something absolutely anyone of any age can do together. If you are feeling extra artsy you could dilute food coloring or buy edible food paint and actually paint your "cake canvas."

If you try this out we would love to see what you come up with, feel free to share your creations with us!

abstract

Eye Dropper Painting - Tutorial

March 06, 2016

artist

"Mr.Hare" - A Collaboration with my Toddler

November 11, 2015

A Collaboration with my Toddler

"Mr. Hare"

by Eve & Ruth Oosterman

It has been quite some time since I have been able to update this blog with a new collaboration, between adjusting to a new baby, a month of our entire household being sick to a number of other life events, it has been one busy year for us. That being said I am super excited for a quiet (fingers crossed) winter, filled with painting and creative experiences with Eve and maybe even our new little one, Theo.

Despite all the craziness these last few months, Eve and I have continued to create and paint with one another. We have roughly 10 collaborations on the go that I am slowly wrapping up, this being the latest one we have finished.

I was sketching out a hare when Eve decided she wanted to help me paint it. Since she has always been excited for me to collaborate with her work I understand the importance of letting her do the same to mine. Although I am her parent and she is my child, when it comes to creating I see us as equals and treat her as such. I hope by treating her as my artistic equal, to build up her concept of teamwork, sharing and to ensure her artistic confidence is never shaken and only increases.

Being an artist and remaining true to your personal style is incredibly difficult when you can be met with criticism, which inevitably every artist will face. I truly hope that through collaborating with Eve and fostering her artistic style it only enhances her strength and confidence in her uniqueness. To find beauty in everything she does, for as long as she remains true to herself, then no other opinion should matter.

Eve and I painted in the hare as we sat across from each other, turns out painting upside down is not nearly as easy as it looks! With all of our watercolor paintings, Eve determines our color palette and I use a wet brush to spread out the colors she has already applied. This way her contribution to the collaboration becomes the foundation for the entire piece and the beautiful, magical world of her young mind becomes the inspiration and direction.

Once Eve decided she was finished painting, I let it try and returned to it later with white acrylic and black watercolor paints. Using those shades I added depth and definition, then I used a wet paintbrush to manipulate the dried watercolor paint to achieve the final piece.

I hope you enjoy "Mr.Hare." Eve and I talk about Mr. Blueberry Giraffe's adventures all the time so when she saw the finished painting she laughed and said Mr. Hare ate too many raspberries! Don't you just love a child's mind...

Stay tuned for our next collaborations and don't forget to watch the time lapse video for this piece.

2015

"Edge of the Earth" - A Collaboration with my Toddler

August 06, 2015

A Collaboration with my Toddler

"Edge of the Earth"

by Eve and Ruth Oosterman

It is has been quite some time since Eve and I collaborated using one of her Black Pen drawings so I thought I would give it try. These collaborations can be a little tricky since the pen marks immediately begin to bleed when water touches them. While it can allow for beautiful and spontaneous effects, it also creates a fine line between collaborating with her drawing and the ink bleeding into invisibility. It's a line I am still learning the dance to, I love collaborating with her and always want to make sure her work is represented, which is one of the reasons we began searching for new ways to collaborate.

This drawing had an amusing start seeing how Eve actually drew it with her toes!! My mom stayed with us for a week and she is notorious for her strangely talented toes... yes, I said toes. She pretty much has four hands, that is how capable she is at using them to do a variety of activities one would not normally do with their feet. Drawing and writing are two of said activities, which of course, absolutely fascinated Eve. It will come at no surprise that since my mom's visit, Eve has been trying to use her toes to do pretty much everything, including drawing this piece of art.

The longer I stared at this drawing the more I saw a ship begin to form. Something about it reminded me of a broken ship headed to the edge of a waterfall, perhaps even the edge of the earth.

Growing up one of my absolute favorite books to read was the Narnia series, I couldn't get enough of them. I had flashbacks to the adventures of Prince Caspian out at sea searching for the seven lost lords of Narnia in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." This adventure filled quest came to an end when their final task required them to sail to the edge of the earth and leave one crew member behind. They sailed through all sorts of enchantments and trickery in order to reach the edge where the water became so shallow the ship could go no further, and dear Reepicheep, the mouse, continued on alone.

That beloved story became the inspiration for this piece as I imagined Prince Caspian's mangled ship sailing out of a cloud of enchantment only to find themselves literally at the edge of the earth.

Don't forget to check out the Video Time Lapse down below to see how Eve used her toes!
http://youtu.be/2cUeCJbQTik

Buy a print: https://www.etsy.com/listing/243188595/edge-of-the-earth-toddler-collaboration?ref=shop_home_active_1

STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT HOW TO WIN A SIGNED PRINT OF THIS PIECE AS WELL AS AN ORIGINAL PAINTING BY EVE!

I'll be hosting a contest shortly where you can win the above and the way to enter will be to collaborate with a copy of Eve's original sketch!! I am so excited to see what unique pieces come to exist through the beauty of each individual's imagination matched with Eve's!!

2015

The Wily Fox - A Collaboration with my Toddler

May 20, 2015

THE WILY FOX

A painting collaboration with my toddler

"The Wily Fox" is one of the largest collaborations that Eve and I have created since we used acrylic on a 2 ft. x 4 ft. canvas. I had an incredible time watching Eve create this piece and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that 80% or more of this painting is all her doing.

The first half was created a few months ago and she decided to add more recently using a bright orange red, once this layer was completed I saw the Wily Fox just shouting at me. Every time I looked at her painting I could see the Fox's eye staring at me over his shoulder, a hat casually placed about to fall off and a bright abstract, colorful coat. Although I know I could have done more with this collaboration, I really wanted to leave as much of Eve's work as possible. The colors, shapes and vibrancy that exudes from her work is so unique and special to me that all I allowed myself to do was carefully add in some facial features, bushiness to the tail and add a bit more shape to the ears and coat.

Once I showed her the final piece she was so excited to see the Fox's eye and wouldn't stop talking about how we both painted it, of course she loves to mention how the tail was made from her adorable fall. (As you can see in the time lapse video)

Here is what the first layer looked like.