I've known I would be an artist since I transformed my third-grade "career bear" into a traditional french painter (barret and all:)) Fast forward and for the past two and a half years, kid art commissions have been filling my studio with memories and paint on the floors. But the idea really started six years ago. I was teaching infants through Pre-K art, so naturally, I did my fair share of painting and sensory play with our daughter. Here's the thing: I am frugal and hate wasting materials. I also don’t really want to store 20 paper creations a week in a box to rarely be seen again. So, I stole a piece of construction insulation foam from the basement and continuously used it as a paint mat or massive canvas. She could scratch, crawl, walk, and paint all over it, as often as she wanted. Any child I’ve taught knows I love layers. I tried to use the same piece of paper for at least two classes because it’s important to have multistep, sequencing, and problem-solving lessons that stretch beyond one 30-45 class. And I just love the layers and dimension this would create.
That same piece of insulation foam has traveled all over our house and is still worked on periodically. I have both our kids' infant prints, crawling marks, early writing, and colorful expressions in one evolving piece. It's currently hanging in our garage above the kids' "workshop", but I move it around whenever a space needs some happiness. And that is where the kid art commission came from!
Two and a half years ago, I opened my studio doors to create with kids towards their own kid art commission. It’s been so inspiring! My goal is to encourage and inspire the kids to keep creating and believe in their abilities. I want them to know how unique they are. Watching a child during a kid commission restores my faith in humanity, honestly. The parents are beaming with pride, the kids are in a creative flow, confident, and genuinely happy. I love witnessing the sibling dynamics and all the personalities. It’s amazing.Â
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