My daughter shows a fond interest in art. She loves all things painting, coloring, molding, etc. I really wanted to nurture that interest, and so we’ve started a new mother-daughter tradition: canvas painting. The idea is: we each get a canvas, or share one, and paint art that conveys a message or theme we’ve been talking about. We’ll display our art in my daughter’s room as a reminder of the experience we shared, and will switch up the wall displays with each new art adventure we take :). Here is our first set of canvases:
The Theme/Message:
We chose to have a star theme. “Reach for the stars” is the first quote that came to my mind. “Reach for the stars” makes me think of someone who sets lofty goals, and then tries to achieve them. Something about that sounded materialistic though (not to say that it is in fact so). I wanted to communicate that she should reach high… but also, that she should be the source of something important as well. Just like a star is known for guiding those below, for it’s gentle glow and for striking inspiration, I wanted my daughter to have goals that reflected a focus on her humanity and qualities. So, we came up with “Don’t just reach for the stars. Be a star”. Here is how we set up our art:
Step #1: The Star
We cut out a star, and taped it on to the canvas.
Step #2: Divide the Canvas
I knew my daughter would just begin smearing paint everywhere, so I decided on dividing the canvas up, so she could go wild without creating a disaster.
We taped down a piece of construction paper on a diagonal.
Once the first side dries, repeat the process of taping the paper down on the other side. Your end result will look something like this:
Step #3: Peel off the star
Step #4 – Add Text
While my daughter worked away…. I (very amateurely) created my part of the set. Then, I added text to her canvas:
