girl child art

I have mentioned how talented Isabella is a few times lately but I don't know that I've shown off these awesome little mouse-printed min-pillows/ornaments that she made for everyone at Christmas-time. I gave her a brief lesson on linoblock carving and she went to work, creating the sweetest little mouse fellow. She drew directly onto the linoleum, carved out the pattern and then printed the image onto sagey green fabric with red acrylic paint. When dry, she also sewed and stuffed them. She is just so talented! If I saw these somewhere 'out in the world' I would assume that an adult artist had made them!

And then, of course, are these gorgeous handmade collage cards that she has been making. The one of the little girl is partially hand-drawn, which I love. Here is a picture of her whole card collection (so far) at the last show we participated in, wrapped in cellophane and marked. I have already posted it before but it definitely needs to be shown again:

Some of Isabella's most brilliant works are actually from the span of time when she was five to seven years old, in my opinion. She was in this amazing space of free expression where whatever was floating around in her imagination/subconscious/thoughts would come out onto paper and she'd spend hours in her room each morning drawing and then colouring with pencils the complex image. I was always floored when she presented her finished piece to me and I still marvel at the genious way in which a child's pure imagination soars. Now that she is older (ten and a half) things are much different, as they should be. Of course she is still amazingly talented but she is more aware of the world around her, the various 'cool' styles of clothing that the kids are wearing, pop-culture influence and music, etc... and yes, these have affected her childlike sense of creation. It does sadden me to watch it happen but I know that it is inevitable, and all part of the beautiful earthly process of growth. I know that she will find her way as she evolves as I did, and continue to do, and I really get quite excited (and teary in the way only a mother does) to see what else she creates as she walks through life, my talented, wonderful girl (: