This wonderful egg art was done by my granddaughter, Natalie. She is really turning out to love art and because her grandfather on her father's side is an artist and so am I, she has a good chance of having the art "gene". And, funny thing too is that my middle name is Jene, pronounced "gene". This name was given to my mother by her father and not having finished school, he really didn't know how to spell. But, the name has now followed four generations of women: my mother, myself, my daughter, and Natalie.
We are having some rain today, actually LOTS of rain but it is giving all my seeds a really good soaking and they will burst forth as soon as the warm sunshine comes back. This is exactly what they need. I am getting excited though for all the colors to appear. Just like the egg in the picture there are Azaleas ready to show their pinks, reds and whites. There are Forget-Me-Nots ready with blue. The Lilac is just ready to burst! I go out occasionally and check the stems to see just when they will be popping. Oh how I love that color of the Lilac. I have a white one that gave me two (yes...only two) blooms last year so I am anxious to see if it will be splendid this year. I once heard that it takes about seven years after you transplant a Lilac to get a good blush of blooms. And, all those fruit trees! Peaches, grapes, apples, cherries! I can hardly wait. I hope that I can beat the birds this year. Last year a bear came into our yard and ate all the apples. I hope that doesn't happen again. It is scary to see a big bear in your yard unexpectedly. He even managed to come directly up on our deck and stare at me through the sliding glass door.
I'm sure there are really great photos of some incredible painted eggs out there on the web and probably a million different ways to paint, stain, and decorate them too. But, there is nothing that compares to the excitement that an almost-four-year-old gets when she makes (creates) her own work of art for the season.
I think that it is sad that the arts seem to be the first things that are cut out of the school's budgets when there is not enough money to go around. It is a well-known fact that art contributes to all others disciplines in more ways than one. What future artist might we be stunting by not offering the opportunity to create, to explore, to play? Not all children are lucky enough to have parents and grandparents who promote them or better yet: have the money in their own personal budget to buy the supplies required to make art at home. Expensive supplies are not always required but parents also have to have the desire to stimulate their children at home also. My Natalie is lucky to have parents who care deeply for her, as I do.
Here is a drawing of Natalie that I did for a self-published book I wrote and illustrated entitled: Natalie J. Bird---Imagination Way.
Natalie has inspired me in many different ways. She was always curious about her shadow so I decided one day to draw some images of her and write a story about her curiosity about her shadow. It is a very small book but it displays the imagination that she has. She is "my bird". She flies toward the sun and beyond! I am so lucky to have her in my life. We have a special bond. She makes the child in me come out. It's great when a person can learn a thing or two from a young child.
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