Check Out This Creative Mother-Daughter Collaboration
Artist and mommy Ruth Oosteman takes her daughter’s scribbles a step further than the fridge door. For a few months now, Ruth has been collaborating with her toddler Eve by using her sketches to create mommy-daughter watercolor paintings.
Ruth lets Eve scribble away with a black felt pen and then she uses the her masterpiece as the start of her own work, kind of like coloring in the lines of a coloring book. This all started because Ruth was inspired by how her daughter’s inhibitions didn’t get in the way of her imagination.
Ruth tries to capture some of that childlike spontaneity when she starts painting. She said, “I try to work quickly and let imagination and play take root into the painting rather than taking it to seriously, this way I can encourage Eve’s contribution without making it too ‘grownup.'”
As you can see, the results are absolutely stunning. What looked like arbitrary marks turns into portraits and landscapes so vivid that it seems like this is what Eve was envisioning the whole time.
Recently, Ruth has switched up her project, making the sketches herself, and then letting her daughter paint inside (but mostly outside) the lines on top of them. No matter which way you go with it, this is not only a creative idea for a family collaboration, but it’s a special way to make art for your home that really comes from the heart.
You can buy Eve and Ruth’s prints on Etsy — all of the money goes to an especially good cause, Eve’s college fund!
Got any clever ideas for the kiddos’ art? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!
(h/t Laughing Squid images via The Mischievous Mommy)
