Making Contemporary Art with Children of All Ages

My daughter loves to do art projects and I love to do art projects with her so I’m always looking for ways to help her make art that can be easily displayed and add to the eclectic charm of our home. We’ve been doing a lot of painting lately and she just loves making hand prints, which is where I got the inspiration for this sophisticated, Contemporary Black, White and Red hand print painting and the best thing about it is it’s a wonderful project for all ages!

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Your Laugh

The first time my daughter smiled it brought tears to my eyes. It was early morning and we were lying in bed, just learning each others faces enjoying those magic moments of complete consumption that can only occur between a mother and her child. “Mommy loves you!” I told her with great enthusiasm, and just as the words slipped from my lips she smiled, and that fire in my heart that ignited the first time I touched her grew and as tears ran down my face I felt the flames rise as her happiness stoked the love I held deep in my core.

A few months later we sat on the front porch, my SweetPea resting on my knees as she looked out at the world. A rampant wave of energy coursed through the air as our overgrown puppies began to wrestle their way through the parking lot. The stir of yellow and black fur caught her attention and she focused her gaze on the two thrashing dogs rolling across the dirt closely followed by our curmudgeonly old man of a dog indiscriminately barking his protest at the fun these youngins were continuing to have. And then it happened… She laughed, just a few short rich chuckles followed by a giant unabashed smile. Like someone took all the Love and Confidence in the word swirled it around and topped it with a healthy drizzle of Pure Joy and just a hint of magic. It was amazing, heart wrenchingly beautiful, and the most wonderful sound I have ever heard in my entire life.

Laughing came on slow. A little chuckle here and then nothing for weeks, and then during a diaper change or a play session with daddy we’d hear that little giggle again. At this point I was hooked. I was hooked on the joyous cadence that I knew could erupt from her tiny lips at any moment. I tried everything, but she never laughed at the same thing twice; it was always something new and exciting that would spark her next burst of joy…

… Until yesterday

We’d just arrived home from a long and grueling day in town, shuffling her in and out of her car seat as we went from store to store, SweetPea trying to nap the whole time only to be woken up at the next stop just as she nodded off, but as is almost always the case she was a good sport about it, and arrived home ready to be out of her car seat but happy. After the car was unloaded she sat in her dads arms on the front porch once again; the dogs running about playing and barking, and then it happened. She laughed, and it was as if her little heart overflowing with bliss unleashed its happiness upon the world and gushed exquisite pleasure as beat after beat continued to flow into the vibrant air surrounding her, and as she laughed the seconds strung into minutes and my heart was filled with love for this little person whom I’d made from my own flesh, and the happiness she was so freely sharing with all of us.

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Nature Simulated Skydiving

Nu’uanu Pali State Park O’ahu Hawaii

Creeping down the breezeway of the Old Pali Highway wind blows so strong it’s a wonder we were able to keep our feet, long powerful gusts strong enough to postpone the fear that you and the pavement will some day meet.

Pali Lookout

From the Koolau Mountain Range through the tropical forests to where the rocks turn to sand, the peaks of volcanic masses shaped by the earth stretch their stony fingers towards the heavens to shelter the land from the building pressures of the wind as it sweeps across the feral expanses of the fracturing ocean to throws its treacherous blows.

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