the artist

How did Georgia O'Keeffe get her start? Perhaps her fame was made possible, at least in part, by her loving and encouraging parents? While we're certainly not putting any pressure on her, Eden's recent adventures into the world of art are fun to encourage.

She started showing interest in Ashley's pen a little over a month ago, so Ashley started Eden with a simple piece of colored paper and a crayon. During her "dot era" she primarily dotted the paper and drew in small strokes.

Then she advanced to the "corner era" whereby her drawing was concentrated in one corner of the paper, and her strokes became somewhat elongated and more intricate. Even when she would walk around the ottoman (ostensibly to get a different perspective), she would continue to draw in the same corner of the paper (which was taped down so it wasn't as if she was turning the paper as she traversed around the ottoman).

Then came the "tortured artist" era. At this point Eden had moved from crayons to using several different types of drawing apparati including sharpies. One particular day Ashley provided Eden with 3 different colored sharpies to choose from while she drew. Suddenly, Eden threw down one of the sharpies then started to cry. Then, as if in a mood of protest, she sat down and closed her eyes if Ashley gave her the wrong color. Ashley had to put the top on the top of the sharpie and tell Eden she could "do it all by herself." Then Eden would pick up drawing for a little while and throw the sharpie down again. She only really wanted dark purple. Perhaps, then, this was the "purple" era.

As you can see below, we have a good head start on her portfolio (and we're not kidding. There is a local magnet school for visual and performing arts that is supposed to be top notch. They require a portfolio for the application. What do you include in a portfolio for a little girl trying to enter kindergarten?)

The photo above is Ashley's favorite piece so far, and below is our new art gallery ...


We're quite certain there are many more phases to come as E continues to explore.