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Friday, May 8, 2009

We Heart Art

I left our living room for only a few minutes. My mission was to quickly run to the bathroom and then resume coloring with my kids. I thought I had everything in my household under control. The kids were happily playing, the dishwasher and the laundry machines were running, things were relatively neat. I even managed to maintain some semblance of peace between Giancarlo and Lucia with the TV turned off.

My decision to leave the living room for only a few minutes is probably where I went wrong.

Upon my return, I discovered both of my kids proudly standing in front of what was once a white wall in our dining room. The entire wall was covered with crayon. I am still not sure how they managed to work so quickly or so thoroughly.

When Giancarlo saw the look on my face, he laughed, and yelled out, “Look, Mama, we made art for you.”

Art. Is it possible to define? To my three year old, the creation on our living room wall may very well be a work of art, something to be shared and admired, rather than scrubbed away immediately.

I have a suspicion that there are others like me out there in the world; Moms, Dads, aunts, uncles, or grandparents, who have budding little artists in their midst. Or, perhaps it is something else entirely, maybe you are the artist, creating and pursuing ideas of your own. Whatever the case may be, we want to see the artwork in your life.

Together with Domestically Challenged and I’m Living Proof that God Has a Sense of Humor, the Three Bay B Chicks will be hosting a week long Art Appreciation Week called “We Heart Art.” The purpose? To promote art and being creative with both your kids and as individuals.

We Heart Art begins today and ends next Friday, May 15. During this time, all three sites will not only feature posts about how to get your creative juices flowing, but we will also be hosting a carnival (via Mr. Linky) which will allow you to feature your artwork and/or your kid’s creations.

So get your posts ready! We will have two categories for entries: one for kids, ages 0-16, and a second for adults, ages 17 and older. The entries for the carnival can be anything creative. Some examples might include:

For kids: A drawing, painting, or sidewalk chalk creation, a video of themselves explaining a piece of artwork, singing, or playing a musical instrument, something they created in the kitchen, or an example of their writing, e.g., short story, poem, etc.

For adults: A drawing, painting, or a video, something you created on the computer or in the kitchen, an example of your writing, e.g., short story, poem, etc., a sample of your scrapbooking, or art that you created as a child.

Need more suggestions? Hop on over to these creative blogs. Ideas, tips, and insights are never in short supply: Tip Junkie, Today’s Creative Blog, Toddler Craft, and I Blame Mom.

Oh, and like any good carnival, we will be featuring tons of prizes, which we will reveal on Monday, May 11, along with more details regarding how you can get involved. Separate goodies will be awarded to both kids and adults.

We hope you will join us over the course of the coming week!
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35 comments:

Heather said...

Aww! How can we get upset with such excited little faces?!

Lara Neves said...

Ooh....my little artists and my own artistic side are very EXCITED!

Anonymous said...

he quickly told you, mom it's art for you! Pure genius if you ask me!

Jennifer said...

I just left a comment with Helene that I wish I could participate, but my son only makes art in his diaper... What a fabulous idea! I'm excited to see what all the kiddos have made!

Nadine said...

First, we REALLY need to see a photo of your wall!!!

Second Awesome idea! My latest post happens to be about Monkey painting and has a photo up of the result. What a coincidence!

jennykate77 said...

Very cool...the bloggy carnival that is. :) I know all about "wall art". My 5 year old did a whole mural on our wall depicting a Spongebob episode. It was great. I sure am thankful for those handy dandy Mr. Clean eraser pads.

I can't wait to see all the art work put on display. I'll try to join in too!

Have a fab Friday!

Unknown said...

Oooooo, we did art this week, for Mother's Day, come have a lookie, they turned out beautifully! I was fortunate, the paint stayed where it belonged.

Jen said...

I just remember when a friend of mine had a similar experience with her young twins while living in Paris. But, instead of crayons the medium was poop. They were able to crawl out of their cribs and decorate the walls. That would be something requiring immediate removal. Creativity is one thing, stinky walls quite another. Luckily for her, that phase passed quickly.

Anonymous said...

Oh no! We haven't had that problem yet! I LOVE this idea! I can't wait to get some new project ideas.

Danyele Easterhaus said...

love love love love this idea!

Kathy B! said...

What a beautiful way to spotlight art and help weave it more fully into the fabric of our lives! We will absolutely be participating.

I just love coming to your site! I never know what goodies you'll have up your sleeve!

MBB Founder and Editor Denene Millner said...

Aw--FUN! We SO heart art here at my house... our entire kitchen wall is framed kid art, and we take art classes every chance we get. Can't wait to show some of it off!

Grand Pooba said...

What a cool idea! Hmmmm, not sure what I could do that would qualify as a work of art but I just might try! Just for you franfran!

So I'm assuming since you have such an appreciation for art that you left you children's mural on the wall right?

More Than Words said...

Oh my gosh..I remember those days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Either you'll have to paint over it, or invest in those Mr. Clean pads!!

I'm excited about the art carnival! Can I link old art posts????

Amy said...

I will have to link up for sure. I am going to find my post I had of my little one playing with chalk. Do you do this every day until the 15th? Or How does it work?

Randi Troxell said...

i love this story... its like though you know you should be mad... how can you be!!

Helene said...

I love how you started this...all our kids are so creative. Nothing limits them!!

You're already off to a great start, Francesca! This is gonna be so much fun!

peewee said...

Kristina says you asked HER to be in your little ART project. I can TOTALLY draw on the wall!

{frown}
{pout}

SE'LAH... said...

Looking forward to seeing all the art.

Children art has to be one of my favourites.

Jo said...

Awww, how sweet! They did it for you.
Great idea for some posts. My all time favorite kids art book?
Don't Move the Muffin Tins by Bev Bos. She rocks.

Kimmy said...

What a great idea!!!
Sorry I haven't been giving comment love. I've been so busy! I'll be better now :o)
Have a good weekend!!!

Heidi said...

I think the important questions are: Did you get it off and if so, with what? (oh, and did you take a photo of it first?)

Just SO said...

There is still a drawing of a little potato stick man on the wall of our family room in the basement. My son did it with permanent marker and our walls is highly textured. At least there is a smile on the little potato man's face.

Deb said...

I'm so glad mine haven't hit the drawing-on-walls phase. Sven would lose it.

I'm not one for the contests, but I'll see what I can do. Maybe we'll get out the clay this weekend...

Unknown said...

I stopped by to visit today...love your blog. I'm hoping to remember to stop by again on wednesday!

He & Me + 3 said...

How fun! We love art too!

Kimberly said...

OooOh, how fun! I heart art too! Nothing does art better than painting a mural on your son's wall and having him add to it with marker and crayon. Shrug. What could I say, I did it, he just wanted to take part in it too!

Looking forward to seeing what everybody's got, plus some new ideas! I'm very excited about this.

Lady of Perpetual Chaos said...

Yay! I'm so excited! I heart art too. Actually when I read the title to this post I was thinking to myself that maybe I should do a post about the sketching class I took over the winter. I "love" doing art projects with my kids, even though they're messy and sometimes frustrating. Yay! I'm giddy. ;o)

Stacy Uncorked said...

This is going to be so much fun! :)

Onna@toddlercraft said...

I love this idea- and think it's great to share and encourage our creative side!! I am excited to be a part of this!! Can't wait to see everyones art work!!

Heather said...

I really think they just wait all day long for the moment we may leave the room while they're holding a pen, pencil, crayon, marker, nail polish.....

Esther said...

Just put a big frame around it. Ta da, ART!

Kelly Deneen Raymond said...

Love this idea! Yayyy!!!!

Technodoll said...

Oh that story is priceless... LOL!

Ryan Ashley Scott said...

I'm laughing about your wall, but only because I KNOW you secretly loved it. ;)

What a fantastic carnival - art is something we NEED more of. Funny, Monsoon decided last night that he wanted to be "full of color" and turned the markers on himself. His arms were lovely.