One day, while my daughter was happily distracted in her own marker drawings, I decided to risk pulling out a new sketchbook I had special ordered. It had dark paper, and was perfect for adding highlights to. I had only drawn a little in it, and was anxious to try it again, but knowing our daughter’s love of art supplies, it meant that if I wasn’t sly enough, I might have to share. (Note: I’m all about kid’s crafts, but when it comes to my own art projects, I don’t like to share.) Since she was engrossed in her own project, I thought I might be able to pull it off.
Ahhh, I should’ve known better. No longer had I drawn my first face (I love drawing from old black & white movie stills) had she swooped over to me with an intense look. “OOOH! Is that a NEW sketchbook? Can I draw in that too, mama?” I have to admit, the girl knows good art supplies when she sees them. I muttered something about how it was my special book, how she had her own supplies and blah blah blah, but the appeal of new art supplies was too much for her to resist. In a very serious tone, she looked at me and said, “If you can’t share, we might have to take it away if you can’t share.”
Oh no she didn’t! Girlfriend was using my own mommy-words at me! Impressed, I agreed to comply. “I was going to draw a body on this lady’s face,” I said. “Well, I will do it,” she said very focused, and grabbed the pen. I had resigned myself to let that one go. To let her have the page, and then let it go. I would just draw on my own later, I decided. I love my daughter’s artwork, truly I do! But this was MY sketchbook, my inner kid complained.
Not surprisingly, I LOVED what she drew. I had drawn a woman’s face, and she had turned her into a dinosaur-woman. It was beautiful, it was carefree, and for as much as I don’t like to share, I LOVED what she had created. Flipping through my sketchbook, I found another doodle of a face I had not yet finished. She drew a body on it, too, and I was enthralled. It was such a beautiful combination of my style and hers. And she LOVED being a part of it. She never hesitated in her intent. She wasn’t tentative. She was insistent and confident that she would of course improve any illustration I might have done. …And the thing is, she DID.
Soon, she began flipping through my sketchbook, looking for more heads. “Do you have any heads for me today?” she would ask me each morning. So I began making a point at night to draw some faces for her (which was my pleasure–faces are my favorite part, anyway). She would then pick up a pen with great focus, and begin to draw. Later, I would add color and highlights, texture and painting, to make a complete piece. Sometimes she filled in the solid areas with colored markers, but I would always finish with acrylics later on my own.
Sometimes I would give her suggestions, like “maybe she could have a dragon body!” but usually she would ignore theses suggestions if it didn’t fit in with what she already had in mind. But since I am a grownup and a little bit (okay a lot) of a perfectionist, I sometimes would have a specific idea in mind as I doodled my heads. Maybe she could make this into a bug! I’d think happily to myself as I sketched, imagining the possibilities of what it could look like. So later, when she’d doodle some crazy shape that seemed to go in some surrealistic direction, or put a large circle around the creature and filled the WHOLE THING in with marker, part of my brain would think, What is she DOING?!? She’s just scribbling it all up! But I should know that in most instances, kids’ imaginations way outweigh a grownup’s, and it always ALWAYS looked better that what I had imagined. ALWAYS.
For example, the filled-in marker of the one above, she told me, was a chrysalis, for the caterpillar to transform into a butterfly. Of COURSE it is. I never would have thought of that. And that’s why kids make awesome artists.
Later, I would show her what I had done with our drawings–the painting and coloring. She seemed to critique them pretty harshly. “That’s silly, mama.” or “you put WATER behind her?” But for the most part, she enjoyed them. I enjoyed them. I LOVE them.
And from it all, here are the lessons I learned: to try not to be so rigid. Yes, some things (like my new sketchbook) are sacred, but if you let go of those chains, new and wonderful things can happen. Those things you hold so dear cannot change and grow and expand unless you loosen your grip on them a little. In sharing my artwork and allowing our daughter to be an equal in our collaborations, I helped solidify her confidence, which is way more precious than any doodle I could have done. In her mind, her contributions were as valid as mine (and in truth, they really were). Most importantly, I learned that if you have a preconceived notion of how something should be, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE DISAPPOINTED. Instead, just go with it, just ACCEPT it, because usually something even more wonderful will come out of it.
SIDE NOTE: As an idea (mainly for myself) I decided to put just a few of our collaborative prints up for sale on a site called Society 6. I purchased one myself (the space beavers, called “Outer Face”) to see how they would turn out, and I’m pretty happy with it. We’ve done dozens and dozens of collaborative sketches, but I only put a few up as prints. I’m not sure what to do with the others. Maybe make a children’s book out of them? Make poems to go along? I’m not sure, but I love them with a very large portion of my heart, and they need a special place.
busy mockingbird 
I just found your post from a Pigeon Tweet–This is so AWESOME! I love the collaboration between you and your child, and the thoughtful insight you share–Yes, this would make a great children’s book, but most definitely keep drawing together–such an important way to connect and bond with your child. Thank you so much for sharing! I plan to share this story on my blog–hoping to bring more people to this story.
Amazing collaboration 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing the beautiful art That U and Ur daughter have creative. It really brightened my day .
This is the kind of picture book I would buy in a heartbeat!
I LOVE the space beavers!
These are wonderful…
Also love the Foxy Lady… ❤
Reblogged this on iamtryingtobefunny.
[…] Collaborating with a 4-year Old. […]
That’s absolutely the best blog post I’ve read in a long time. Artists need something like what you are doing with your daughter to keep their perspective fresh and their creativity flowing. Kudos!
Thank you for sharing and thank you for creating the perfect gift for my best friend. She’s expecting a little girl and after buying her too many cute clothes and pink accessories, I was looking for something special to give when her daughter is born.
One of your paintings accompanied by your story will be perfect. She creates beautiful paintings herself and I’m sure her daughter will one day want to go and help her mom too.
Love your creativity and your wonderful way of sharing.
Beto
[…] Collaborating with a 4-year-old (thanks, A). […]
LOVE THESE! Are you planning on doing prints with these for purchase??? I would love to be able to hang some of these. Thanks!
Yes, the prints are available at society6.com/micaangela. Thanks so much!
If I touched one mark on my daughters “art” she had a tantrum for three days and slammed doors and carried on like I murdered her teddy bear…but eventually, i figured out that if i asked or invited her to finish or touch-up my work and love it “more” b’cz she put HER smart artistic ‘sense’ in, she would be happy. I still didn’t touch her HER work…lol, wouldn’t dare (out of fear of reprisal!) ..but she sent me this blog about your collaboration (PRECIOUS!!!!) as a heartfelt belated APOLOGY for not sharing her work (maybe?) but also, for having encouraged our collaboration, even bringing materials and ideas into her world…like you have with your beloved daughter. So, with gratitude, I thank you from the depths of my full heart at reading this, for sharing your gift of love and tenderness & gorgeous creativity & joy/ laughter!!! You saved or saluted a mother & daughter relationship!! (We did end up collaborating on many wonderful crafty joint projects…many beautifully executed through the middle of the night (!!) ’til dawn, when, like an elf finishing/improving on a toy while one of us slept through, only to wake to discover the “finished” masterpiece –left near our sleeping head– in morning. An absolute CREATIVE masterpiece of pure GENIUS! — heaven & joy–like your finished pieces have been for you.:)
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I must say I loved this post! what a fantastic idea to collaborate with someone considerably younger. An idea for the other sketches could be greetings cards or postcards, I’m sure many of them would put a smile on people’s faces, and a poem might go along nicely to help spread that wonderful joy you’re already creating!
Fantastic Post!
Davie
These are amazing! My daughter loves to start drawings/paintings and then have me come in and add my touches (and vice versa). It’s great because she learns from watching and her passion and art have rekindled my creativity!
[…] …the results are fantastic. Read more about the mother-daughter collaborative process at the busy mockingbird. […]
one of perfect collaborating !
I just happend to see the article on yahoo about your art and your precious daughter! I was instantly enthralled by your amazing talents! I have dreamed for years about becoming an artist but never really was able to follow that dream…but alas!!! YOU HAVE GIVEN ME HOPE! and also something to share with My two little girls! They are 6 and 9! I immediately went to the Society6 website to purchase two of your lovely prints for my girls…as they are quite the inspiration not only to me but would also serve as a very ‘tangible’ reminder that there really are wonderful things in this world…to never stop creating…to dream…to love…to open your mind and your heart to all your possibilities!!!! I am a simple 36yr old housewife that never really even gets on the computer, much less take the time to write to someone I do not know to tell them how proud I am of them for being such an accidental inspiration! Words can be very cheap, but I assure you that no one could mean them more when i say to you, ‘Thank You, Mada’me!” I cannot tell you enough how very special this tiny little experience has been for me, and I use the word ‘experience’ because last night I was up til midnight just simply ‘soaking up’ the wonder and fantasy as I took my time relishing all the beautiful artwork on that sight! That is something I have not done in years! ‘was like finding myself all over again!’
Please know that I am forever a fan from now on! Take care Mon Ami!
[…] …the results are fantastic. Read more about the mother-daughter collaborative process at the busy mockingbird. […]
Loved this site! I am a retired art teacher and am always looking for something different to do with the grandsons or my students. My 8 year old grandson saw this and is gung ho on the project!…Am thinking on doing this with clay too!
Genius!
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Ps. I’m not a dude.
[…] …the results are fantastic. Read more about the mother-daughter collaborative process at the busy mockingbird. […]
Brilliant!!! I love it!!!
[…] Collaborating with a 4-year-old. An artist draws faces and allows her daughter to add the bodies, with interesting […]
[…] …the results are fantastic. Read more about the mother-daughter collaborative process at the busy mockingbird. […]
Wow! I *love* these!
[…] new level that is delightfully surreal. A lot of the credit goes to Hendricks’ daughter, who, according to her website, came up with the idea. Here’s what else she had to […]
[…] …the results are fantastic. Read more about the mother-daughter collaborative process at the busy mockingbird. […]
The art was really cool but the story was incredibly boring.
[…] om en kunstner som hadde fått den 4 år gamle ungen sin til å tegne over hennes kunstverk. Mockingbird er nettstedet for å lese artikkelen. Det er skikkelig fasinerende og stilig! Så dagens øvelse i […]
This is incredible! Makes me so excited for when my two are big enough to collaborate with me! My three year old spends most days drawing and always wants to help me paint! 😀 Great creations too! I could hang them all! 😀
this is wonderful! You are absolutely right about children and their art Maybe you could make a coffee table book so other people could share the wonderful views with you, maybe? thanks so much for sharing!
“Those things you hold so dear cannot change and grow and expand unless you loosen your grip on them a little.” This went into my book of quotes. So very, very true.
How old is your daughter can i ask?
I love your creations! 🙂
CUUUTE. Also, can you make a black girl, with not-straight hair? Not trying to start anything (REALLY I’M NOT). Just would like to see how it would turn out. Please? 🙂
YES! I have been trying to find good references of retro people of a variety of colors and ethnicities…since I work from movie stills, they usually only feature the classics. I DO need to find more of a variety, though! I sure will. Thanks!
Instead of movies, why not turn to music archives and have a look at old photos of Motown greats such as Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner etc etc…… PS LOVE your pictures
Children are so free, there is no way that we should ask them to color inside the lines!
How wonderful to see the way she sees things.
Soooo fantastic! I just love these! Definitely do a book or something. 😉
My little Liam, almost 2, wants to scribble anytime he sees the markers — once he’s skilled enough, I’ll have to try this with him (if I can get past sharing my sketchbooks!). 🙂 Good luck!
[…] more: This little girl collaborates with her mother on art… and the result is […]
Please, please put these into a book. I’d expect my 2 yr old to go insane with excitement trying to ‘explain’ the pictures to me. I can’t get enough of these! They are just awesome!
These are truly great. Both of you have a very bright future ahead of yourselves!
[…] Collaborating with a 4-year-old. […]