With Childlike Abandon

Have you ever watched a small child who has just been given some art supplies for the first time?  Maybe they got a water color set or some modeling clay.  Almost every child will immediately start making something.

They don't stop to ask themselves if they have any talent, if they can do it, will it be any good, or should they even try.  All they think is yay I get to make something!  They approach the new project without hesitation or trepidation.

When they are finished they proudly take their newly formed masterpiece and show it off for everyone to see.

When we grow up we tend to lose that carefree attitude about art.  We can over think it.  I did just that this week.  I went and bought the paper clay right away after I told you I was going to try it.

But I let it sit on my table a little too long.  The shiny package beckoning me and taunting me at the same time.  I began to wonder if I could make anything out of it.  Should I even try?  Or should I toss it into the drawer of things I think I want to try and talk myself out of due to fear of failure?

I was about to choose the latter when I thought about my first work of art when I was three years old.  I suddenly had a flash of how that felt.  I decided, what the heck I would try it.

Working with Paper Clay proved to be harder than I thought.  I hadn't sculpted anything in many years and it's not like Sculpy or Fimo at all.  But I made a couple of funny little hearts.

Sure they rather resemble something actually made by a small child. (They look a little better in person, they didn't photograph all that well.)  But after painting them and adding the crackle finish, I decided there was a certain appeal to them.  Maybe I hadn't failed so badly after all. 

I don't know what I am going to do with them.  But I do know two things...I am going to play with the paper clay a bit more and I am sure with a little practice I can improve.  The other thing I know now, is that when I want to try to something, I am not going to talk myself out of it.  Instead I am going to approach it with childlike abandon!

PS...I did make something new that turned out really cute tonight, but you won't get to see if for another month yet.  It's one of the pieces for the online Holiday Bear Show listed at the right.