One of my greatest creative influences is children’s art.  As one might expect, my own children’s art is particularly influential.  Although I find all children’s art inspiring.  I have been debating for weeks about how to share this in my blog.  Then one day last week both of my daughters created pieces I found so inspiring I am compelled to share them.

In the morning, I scolded my daughter Eowyn, age 6, for spilling a container full of Q-tips all over the bathroom floor.  I had her gather them into a Ziploc bag to use for art.  As soon as she finished collecting them she said she was going to make them into a horse or cat and went straight downstairs to get to work.  Her creation was a Q-tip horse on construction paper with watercolor.  I love everything about it!

Meanwhile, my older daughter Emma, age 11, spent most of the same day working with polymer clay.  She created a miniature electric guitar, complete with amplifier and microphone.  It is a good representation of her creative use of materials and intricate detail.  The image here was captured by laying the pieces on my scanner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Art and creativity has been an important part of my parenting.  I love finding and trying new media with my children, whether it’s water soluble oil pastels, tooling foil, paper quilling, or shrink art jewelry (the links are to some great finds).  It is a way to encourage their creativity and an integral part of my on-going artistic experimentation.  Whatever I find, with minimal explanation or demonstration they dive right in, where I hesitate in fear that I won’t be able to create what I desire.  I am beginning to realize that it is perhaps my way of living through my children.

My children’s art has also influenced my photography.  A few years ago I experimented with combining Emma’s drawings with my captured photographs.  In many of the images we explored mythical heroines.  The image below is titled Egyptian Goddess and is my favorite from that exploration.