Once An Artist, Always An Artist?

I work as a nanny on Mondays and Tuesdays.  I've been a nanny for 6 years now, and I've worked for numerous families in that time.  I always do art projects with the kids.  I certainly don't get paid extra to do so, and I don't even get much extra appreciation from the parents, if any.  But, the kids?  LOVE them.

At my current job, we are too busy on Mondays, but every Tuesday morning the little girl greets me with "Did you bring an art project?!"  I'm not sure she'd let me in the door without one.

When Heather, over at Simply Feather started talking about this Paint With Me project she has going on, I knew I could always fall back on my weekly art projects.  I didn't want to, though.  I wanted to create something for me.  Something I wanted to create.  See, years and years ago, I was a college student, majoring in Art.  Yep, that was me, running across the campus with charcoal and paint smeared on my clothes, my face, my hair, late for Spanish class because I got so engrossed in my art class.  Now, X years later, a husband, a kid, and adult responsibilities, I've lost that part of myself.  But, maybe, just maybe this Feather girl is going to bring a bit of it back.  What about you?  Are you missing that artistic part of yourself?  Why don't you join in?

We made crayon resists. If you've never tried it, first you color an entire white paper with crayons (start with a small sheet and put the color on thick). Nothing fancy, just blocks of color covering the page. Next you cover the entire paper in black tempera paint (again, a THICK layer of paint. The little girl didn't really listen when I said "Thick layer of paint" and I hate to harp on someone while they are in the process, so hers didn't really work). Once that dries completely, use a toothpick or chopstick to scratch through the paint, revealing the colors underneath. It's a tricky process, as the paint flakes off in ways you can't always control. Just go with the flow. Don't be upset if it looks a bit like a kid did it. This one is mine, not the little girl's! : ) (Maybe next week I'll do something for myself).