Fishy Art

Noah isn't the only one drawing these days. We have a little "beach" area on the edge of the marsh a few blocks from our house. Camille is not usually a beach fan but she felt very comfortable here (probably the lack of significant waves) and she very quickly found a special black rock and an oyster shell which she used for drawing all over the sand. Reminded me of how primal drawing can be...those early cave drawings... no fancy supplies needed just imagination and a desire to create and leave one's mark. And speaking of art. We had an experience yesterday that made me mad. When we arrived here last week I was excited to discover a children's art studio around the corner. We stopped by one night and Noah asked to take a class. So yesterday was his first class. I hung around for a bit while they got started and found myself wanting to grab him and run out of the studio. The medium for the day was watercolor. But the teacher started the class by drawing a sea scene on each child's paper and then instructed them to trace over her lines with a black crayon before painting within the lines with the watercolors. Ugh. I am not a fan of coloring books, but especially not in an art "class"! Poor Noah was so nervous about putting the right colors in the right area because the teacher told him the seaweed should be green, the sand should be brown, etc. I couldn't keep my mouth shut and in a loud voice I told him there wasn't a right or wrong way to paint the scene. Luckily he listened to me, relaxed, and proceeded to paint a very detailed "camouflaged" fish. He had fun and he came home and added another layer to the painting with markers, but the experience left me feeling so sad that this is what an "art class" is for some people. I also felt ripped off...why did I pay money for that experience?! Here's the finished piece: