When a Visit Became a Journey…

My niece came for a weeklong visit armed with washable paint balls, spray guns, spray paint, and a smile. She brightly announced “We are going to make art!” I was thrilled. She then found two felt masks – Superman and Wonder Woman – that we were to wear as we ‘painted’. She said, “Let’s take a journey.” Hmmmm. What have I gotten myself into?

Our priority was fun. The first attempt involved throwing paint balls at a large piece of craft paper, but they bounced without breaking or tore right through the paper. So we loaded two guns and sprayed the paper (and each other). The paper was soaked. So was my niece.

For attempt two, we scratched the paper and went with muslin and the spray guns. We called on our inner Jackson Pollock and sprayed the fabric with a splatter of green and purple paint. Unfortunately, the washable paint does a poor job of drying, which is a good thing for clothing, but a bad thing for finished artworks. We ended up with a sticky finish, which limited what we could do from there.

We then took to the craft room and make sure everyone knew we were creating art by imprinting ART on the canvas.  A bit of acrylic paint on the edges of sponge letters left a negative space imprint.  We knew when to call it victory and left it at that.

As my niece points out: What does the saying “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey” mean? The saying’s goal is to get people to stop focusing on an ideal outcome so that each moment can be enjoyed without anxiety. So, when it comes to art, the process of ‘making’ the art should be enjoyed! We certainly did not produce Monet’s “Water Lillies,” but we had a hell of a lot of fun! Remember, aim for the fridge…it’s the best way to bring smiles into art.

This project was a blast (pun intended) and, best of all, I got to do it with someone I love with all my heART!