Several years ago I took my daughters, then ages 1 and 3, to the art supply store. I told them that they were going to create a masterpiece all on their own. They selected most of the supplies we purchased. We bought a variety of acrylic paints including all of our favorite colors, different sizes and types of brushes, and several large and small pieces of canvas. When we arrived home on that summer afternoon, the girls were so excited to get started. I stripped them down to their under clothing and laid down a large tarp on the garage floor. I laid out all of the art supplies we selected and poured all of the paint into separate cups so they were easily accessible.
The children, of course, wanted to start with the 4 x 6 foot canvas we purchased. And they wouldn’t settle for anything less than having all of the paint colors available to them for this first canvas. For nearly an hour, their creative minds soared as they used the different brushes, their hands, feet, and at times even their elbows to reach the center of the canvas. My daughters looked like mixed up rainbows from nearly head to toe. They and the canvas were covered in the colors of gold, silver, purple, bronze, white, and pink.
Once the canvas was dry and after three bubble baths to remove all of the acrylic paint from my children’s limbs, the three of us sat together and looked at the masterpiece. We each talked about what we saw and appreciated in the painting. My daughter’s eyes gleamed as they stared with pride and excitement at their masterpiece on this enormous canvas. They saw multicolored elephants, clouds, the sky, jewelry, a heard of horses, a thunderstorm and more. They were tickled with pride and couldn’t wait to do it all again.
Today their masterpiece hangs in our family room and since that day the girls have made five additional paintings, four that hang in our home and one that hangs in their Aunt’s dining room. They sign and date the back of each of their works of art. Framed and hanging, the paintings are priceless and bring back wonderful memories of special creative times we had. My daughters appreciate seeing their paintings hanging in our home and enjoy telling friends and family “I painted that!!”
Coaching Inquiries: How can I turn the volume up on my children’s creativity? What is the feeling of creative energy and how can it serve me? What inspires me? How can I turn my passion into a work of art?
