fine art...kindergarten style

Today was an interactive art show at Gage's school. The multi-purpose room was decked with a work of art from everyone in the school. Parents were invited for an hour to view the art and to help create a new work of art with their child. Gage's kindergarten class had made masks which were on display for all to see. Of course I left the camera at home in a rush to get everyone out this morning but the phone is decent back up. There were about 60 masks on the wall. Here are a few...



And this is Gage's. I thought it resembled him slightly although I'm not sure that was the direction...


When we first sat down in the auditorium we sat down with a lovely volunteer artist who was charged with teaching the children & their parents how to paint a rooster. She asked the kids to raise their hands if they'd seen their parent do art in the lat week. Gage turned to me (with his hand down) and said, "but I haven't?!" I wanted to remind him of the 20 Valentines that we just hand cut, glued & stickered...and of the easel in the garage with the perpetual wet paint...and of all the sequins & glitter that donned the floor this weekend...and of the small craft table tucked in the corner of his playroom where mom works on her zuzu girl products nearly every free moment she has (not many). But, I didn't.

I think he actually started to feel guilty so he raised his hand again when the artist asked why they don't see their parents doing art very often. His response that parents are too busy doing other things received a small laugh from the parental audience.

But what got the real laugh was Gage's commentary about the artist's rooster. She drew a very flamboyant comb on the top of the rooster and it was golden in color. Just as she finishes the last stroke Gage busts out with, "hey, that looks like me!". They were rolling in the aisles. Damn, I should have taken a picture of her rooster.

Then Gage and I got to paint our very own Rooster. Really, he painted and I supervised and cleaned up (what else is new). I think he did a stellar job, but of course I'm biased. Note the comb, waddle, feathers, eye, beak, tail, two legs & eight toes & mandatory use of negative space...


(ok, in hindsight it looks like there are only six toes. The other two must have become the legs!)