The Making of a Masterpiece: Lessons from the Littlest

Last Christmas, my family drew names for gift giving so that each one of us had one person to "buy" for...we were limited to $40.

I drew my littlest niece.

Having purchased one of those fancy acrylic paint sets (with a coupon),  I had the main item of my gift.  Next, I bought a huge empty canvas (with another coupon) and "wrapped" it.  I printed out a goofy picture of my niece and dressed her in tie-dye shorts, Converse and an art smock with a painter's palette and a brush to hold. 

I also took an old stained white shirt of Jim's and made her a smock to wear like the one I put on her picture...

On the back was the invitation to come to my house...

To make a Masterpiece.  

We had our first date yesterday.

Since Masterpieces don't come easily, we warmed up by painting a few pictures on the paper that came in her kit. 

After an hour or so, we had a feel for the brushes and the paints and that's when the inspiration HIT!

A Unicorn!!!  A BIG One! It's magical and it's sparkly and it could have a rainbow tail, and it could be beautiful!  Oh!  And you have glitter?  OH!  We could add glitter!!!(clap clap, clap, jump, jump, jump)  There's was no stopping once the vision had taken hold.

She shopped for just the right unicorn on the web, printed out an outline of one onto a transparency, and then we borrowed an overhead projector from my neighbor across the street.

After tracing her design, she went right to work...

When it came time to paint on the gesso medium and apply the glitter...Katie, bar the door!

There can never be enough.  And if it gets all over you?  All the better. 

And if you can shower in it...well...

That's existential.

Utter peace settles over you as your transformation is certain...

And then...Euphoria hits.  You have the vision, coated in glitter, sparkling for all the world to see...

Bring it on!  

I have so much to learn from this kid. Which only became more evident when I sat down to write this post.  

Lessons from the Littlest

1.  Never pass up a chance to take a glitter shower.  Never.

2.  Abandon yourself completely to your art, even if it means you start looking like it.

3. Love what you do.  Love it so much that you look like it.

4.  Dare to be...

Different...

And others will follow.

5.   It's a Masterpiece.  It's You.  Sign it.

6.  Become expert at "TA-DA"!!

7.  Share your joy.

8.  Be Grateful.

I found this hidden underneath one of our paintings when I was cleaning up.  Icing on the cake of an already delicious day.

I should be the one saying thank you.

Thank you.