weekly wonder

When tiny by design was launched in 2009, I was a new mom.  Everything was a complete wonder to me.  My daughter would do new things every day and I felt as if she were moving mountains.  What amazed me most was her ability to embrace the tiniest of events in a complete state of wonder.  She would stare at and be completely entranced by something as small and insignificant as a crumb on the floor.  (Not my floor of course...I would NEVER have crumbs on the floor {insert sarcasm}).  Of course, I had heard about this phenomenon from pretty much every parent who ever walked the planet....EVER.  "It's so fun to look at the world through your children's eyes" they would say with thier own look of wonder.  Well, I am happy to report that they were right.  It is WONDERful to be able to revisit life through the eyes of children.  Perhaps not always easy to slow down long enough to really take it in, but amazing when you do.

a priceless look of wonder on my daughter's face

Now, to digress even further...I revisit my 6th grade art class.  That's like a bizillion years ago, so the fact that I remember this moment so vividly is a miracle in and of itself.  My art teacher, Mrs. Swanson I believe (so sorry I can't remember her full name to give her proper credit...but recall that is was a bizillion years ago) told us "after this class, you will never look at the world the same".  She was right.  So profound was that moment for me as an artist that I credit it with my love of the very act of creating art and my decision to make a career out of it.  She was referring to so many concepts, but the ones that hit me with the force of a wind storm everyday are color and light.  I learned to look at the world and take in how objects are in relationship to each other, how light hits everything creating a natural variety in shades, how colors relate to one another, the list goes on and on and on and on....and brings me to today.

With my new venture as an artist of children's decor, it is vital to my very existence that I take the wonder that I see in children's eyes and I transfer it to a canvas, a wall or any piece that will be used to decorate their lives.  I am so lucky to be home with my kids everyday to bear witness to hundreds of moments of wonder every week.  This is where my latest idea for this blog comes into play...weekly wonder!  My goal each week is to take something that creates wonder in the eyes of a child and turn it into a painting.  Some of these may be small and simple and some may be more detailed and complex but they all will come from the heart....the heart of a child.

I embark on this journey with an event that occurred just yesterday.  There was nothing extraordinary about the day, just another backyard adventure spent running, jumping and swinging.  Out of the blue my daughter yells, "oh, my gosh!!!  momma, a ladybug and it's on the grass!"  Picture this in the voice of a sportscaster announcing the winner of the Stanley Cup or World Series...perhaps a little higher in pitch and certainly more sweet...but with this level of excitement.  Over a ladybug. Or maybe it was one of those annoying Japanese beetles, or whatever it is that infests our homes every summer...I don't know.  But, although adults have literally seen millions of these in a lifetime, my two year old daughter couldn't believe the "rare" find right in our own backyard.  She really was in wonder that this little creature was so perfectly poised on top of a single blade of grass.  It is this simple, yet electrifying, moment that I will use as a subject for my first weekly wonder.    I look forward to reporting back with the finished artwork and new moment of wonder to ponder next week.

In the meantime, may all our weeks be filled with wonder!