Walking into an art supply store is kind of like walking into a candy store. You want to get everything!
At the beginning of the summer, my four kids had worked together to create a list of art projects they wanted to do and needed items. I then took them to the art supply store, with the list in hand. Our shopping trip would fill out the craft cabinet at home so they’d be ready to create.
Walking down the first aisle, it was obvious that following the list was going to be a problem. There are so many possibilities waiting on the shelves, for so many projects we hadn’t even thought of yet.
The aisle of painting canvases stopped me in my tracks. The blank white material was stretched over wooden frames in tons of sizes and thicknesses, looking fresh and ready to be used. My eight year old saw this. “Can we get these?” he asked, picking up several.
Canvases were not on the list. “What would you do with a canvas?” But I understood the appeal. I saw the possibilities. Like a new notebook that could be filled with smart and wonderful words strung together in ways you haven’t even thought of yet, an empty canvas is filled with the colorful potential of designs just waiting to be painted.
I added six of them to the cart.
The canvases became a “family night art project.” I selected six paint colors and set the ground rules: The colors could not be mixed into a crazy mess on the canvas and they had to have their handprint included into or onto their design.
I wanted the limited palette so that the canvases would coordinate together on the wall, regardless of what each person painted. I wanted the handprints because I thought it would be a fun way to tie the canvases together and as a way to remember the sizes of the kids as they are now. When they were done, I had everyone sign their canvas, so their own handwriting would be preserved, as well.
I now have our family art on the wall and everyone is happy with how they turned out. The collection is perfect.