I really enjoyed my dinner tonight. Green beans, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, garlic and slivered almonds sauteed together and served over rice with Rosarita seasoned black beans and pot roast (leftovers, don't ask). But is that beauty?
I helped my daughter make a jellyfish out of paper plates and yarn. That was actually a great couple of hours. We found this amazing Paper Plate Crafts book at the library and the ideas in the book are right up my alley: cheap, relatively easy, and ideal for the "artistically challenged".
When it came time to paint the jellyfish, I had her pour a little bit of tempera paint on a plate, being careful not to let the different colors touch. Of course, the first thing she wanted to do was mix it up. I hesitated, not because I am anal about colors mixing, but because I know she can be. I went ahead and let her mix the colors, hoping she wouldn't mind the mess that would come of it.
She loved the unique shade she had created, so all was well. Then she decided to do another part of the jellyfish in a different style--stripes of vivid, separated primary colors. Now I was really sweating. I could see the blue running into the yellow before she noticed it. I held my breath and didn't say anything...
...and then it happened. The colors mixed as she was painting...
...and she was delighted!
She totally rolled with it. And I realized something. She wasn't painting a jellyfish. Not really. She wasn't going for some end result that she had planned in advance. She was simply painting for the feel of it. She loved feeling the paint under her brush, coating every varied surface of the paper plate. She loved watching the colors change before her eyes. She loved feeling that "exactly right" amount of resistance as she stroked with her brush.
It was all about the process, not the product.
Some days, it's about the product. I need to pay more attention to the cues in order to know which is which.
When it comes to projects like this, I am all about the finished product; and, not being very artistic myself, I am often totally frustrated and disappointed in what I come up with. It seldom matches the blueprint in my mind.
But my six year old beautifully reminded me today to be present in the process. The final product will carry within itself the story of successes, failures and lessons that the process brought about.
Are you a process person, or a product person?
I agree - the success Art Moment is when we Be and Let Be... I see the beauty in her concentration and anxiousness to see how it all ends. LOL - - Thanks for the picture!
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