My little Liv loves to paint. Drawing too, but painting is always a bit more exciting.
It all started in December last year, a few days after Christmas. She was 9 months old then. I wanted to have our first painting experiment for some time already, but that day was like made for it. It was snowing all day long and we couldn’t get outside. So in the late afternoon/evening we were getting bored at home and that’s when I finally decided to try it out with her.
I put out big papers (actually 2 layers to protect the floor) on the floor. And made our own edible paints.
The recipe?
1 cup of flour
1 cup of water
food colouring
Liv had to try the paint with all her senses… Touch, of course. Taste.
Sound. Of the bowls, banging them together.
I usually mix the flour and water in a big bowl and divide it then into 3 smaller bowls, where I add the food colouring. I have found 3 bowls to be the ideal number so she has something to mix and choose from, but not to get too overwhelmed with too many choices.
After our first experiment I tried to put her into our bathtub to paint just right before bath-time in the evening. That way it would be easier to clean anything that gets painted on and also her. She was soooo dirty after the first time. :-) Had to paint with her whole body.
Ever since, she is painting in our bathtub.
Starting out pretty clean… to get all messy like this…
And she loves painting. She loved it from our first attempt. And nowadays she even knows where the painting-stuff is and she asks rather regularly to paint. And as a new addition, she loves to clean the bath tub herself after painting. :-)
I have a new appreciation for (post)modern art. I really do. Suddenly I find all kinds of perfection in wet paint running down, spluttered paint around… and such.
Liv Inspires 