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 
[…] https://busymockingbird.com/2013/08/27/collaborating-with-a-4-year-old/ […]
Reblogged this on Olive The Kid and commented:
Me and Mommy have to try this!!! We have done some drawings and paintings together before, but nothing as cool as these. I think we should get our own sketchbook and fill it up together.
[…] This was a great post on artistic collaboration with her 4-year-old from the busy mockingbird. […]
I, too, had to take a backseat and watch in amazement as my daughter stunned me with her ability to create completely outside the box. These are stunning. I am a children’s music specialist, clown and singer/songwriter. If you want, I could pick a couple of your favourites and write poetry/lyrics/songs to a couple. Just to see what we come up with. Your daughter can provide me with a bit of backstory on the drawing…just an idea! gorgeous, thank you so very much for sharing!!
I tend to bring out my special supplies once the boys are in bed…yes, I like them all to myself but do get a bit of a pang of guilt from this, but just a bit.
I cannot say how wonderful wonderful this post is! I love it and the work is so inspirational and full of life, a perfect combination of adult and child imagination. Thank you. And your work, your faces are incredible. Tell you sweet girl she is magnificent as well! 😉
haha this is awesome!
Love, Love, Love this post and the blog it introduced me to… so creative!
I’m trying to decide which beautiful print to order to remind myself to “Let Go and Let it Flow” with my 3-yr-old… a lesson I seem to have to learn over and over again.
Kids are amazing and such great teachers.
Thank you for sharing!
Love love your mother-daughter art!!
I think it deserves a book for sure, making books together!, or an iBook. But why not do a show? In Topanga the local co-op art gallery gives our kids 1 week a year and each class at our school helps the kids do art projects with this in mind, and it’s wonderful to see them walk into the gallery full of their creations! The works are sold at nominal prices (usually to the parents) and the revenue goes to the school, partly so we can make more art!
[…] (who shares her work via her blog busymockingbird) draws from old movie stills, so sometimes you’ll recognize a face face or two abstractly […]
Awesome collaboration. I wish I had been as smart as you 40 years ago when I found that my dear daughter was left-handed, right brained, could never get the hang of crawling, never could manage more than 4th grade reading, but would shine in higher math, music, and languages. She loved to draw stories, but I didn’t figure out how to foster that. Thanks for the inspiration. Blessings on all your endeavors, and your relationship with your neat daughter.
I haven’t read something so fabulous in such a long time!!! This makes me smile so hard my cheeks hurt! 😀
I am so glad I took the time to read this. What beautiful art and an even more beautiful story! 🙂
That‘s awesome! Kids always teach us something… your girl has talent just like you. Well done dad! Keep creating! greetings from argentina!
love it! so personal and sweet
This is fantastic, love the results and what a brilliant idea. Happy drawing to both of you 🙂
[…] Artist Mica Angela Hendricks terms up with her 4-year-old daughter for some portrait artwork, and the results are fantastic and surreal. […]
The prints I ordered came in today and they are absolutely beautiful!! I ordered 4 but I wanted all of them…I need more wall space. Also, thanks for the introduction to the Society6 website!
That’s awesome! would you be willing to message me a pic of it I could post on a future blog post once you get them situated?
I love this and I am so very glad you shared it. I am a quilt pattern designer and fiber artist and I have had this same experience with my son… but I was not as open to sharing… and I want to be. It was a very good lesson.
stunning what a drawing stimulates in a child’s mind. great stuff. 😉
Reblogged this on wordsbyannierose and commented:
Even if you don’t have time to read this, you should at least look at the illustrations. I have no words.
I can’t stop looking at your sketches. Your style is so incredible.
I’m very interested, why type of pens do you use?
Thank you so much! I draw in plain ol’ ballpoint pen. I go back later in Prismacolor or Sharpie markers, colored ballpoint pens, and acrylic paints.
I love your work!! It’s amazing!!! I’m inspired to finally do something with my own artwork. But I’m a simple housewife with no idea where to begin. I was thinking I wud try to join that sight where u sell your art but I don’t even know how to go about getting a copyright. Do u have any advice for me in that area? I most sincerely look forward to hearing back from you!! Thank u for your time!
Thank you so much, and I’m so glad to hear that our doodles have inspired you to create on your own! “Simple housewife;” don’t underestimate yourself! There’s something special about everyone. Copyright innately goes to the creator of artwork. Which are you talking about? Society6 just requires a high-res upload of your work. Etsy is a shop where artists sell their handmade crafts/art, and no specific copyright is required. So go create! Make something you love!
Thank u SOO much!! So you’re saying that I don’t really need to go pay and apply for a copyright for my artwork? Like get some official paperwork or something? Lol.
Well I’m no attorney, but copyright is always implied for the creator of artwork. That being said, there are rules in drawing celebrities & such. And anything you put online can be taken & used (legally or illegally) by anyone. But if you’re just getting back into art, maybe just enjoy the process first–then worry about selling it later down the road?
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The disgruntled beaver man is amazing. Kudos to you and your daughter!
This is a completely beautiful story!
I would love to help you turn this into a book on the importance of sharing / collaboration.
Best,
Jeff
Just loving this!
Such beautiful art.
I’m so buying a print!
Holly, my understanding is that simply putting “your name, copyright, the circle “C” symbol, and the year of creation” is enough to register proof of ownership. If later down the road a legal issue arises, you can then deal with paper at that time. (I’m an artist, not an attorney, but I’ve had a couple of attorneys tell me this.)
Busy Mbird – Love, love, love this post! When my kids were younger we would play a game where one of us would draw something on a piece of paper, and then pass the paper and the other, who would add something and pass it back, until the paper was filled up. But we never ended up with anything as cool as these! I vote that you should definitely do a book!
Btw, you might enjoy my post: http://artandlifenotes.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/modern-art-my-five-year-old-couldve-done-that/
These are AMAZING I love ALL of them and I want to purchase one for sure. I would also like to forward this to a few friends who are writers and to my art teacher as well, with your permission. Have you considered Etez ( don’t think that’s the correct spelling) the THIRD generations of artists in the Leeder clan.
Thank you so much! Yes please share. I haven’t heard if the last bit you mentioned…unless you mean Etsy? I’m not sure about the Leeder part…
Reblogged this on Twin Lens Object and commented:
I love this – beautiful collaboration
Please tell me this is going to be a book, because I will buy it.
Haha! I’m chasing down leads and working on it! Thank you so much!
Reblogged this on Ramblings of S. Brown.
Free-fall and watch what happens. Sharing the free-fall is even better. Thanks for sharing the collaboration.
I love the collaborations! Great idea.
What gorgeous art work! Me and my four year old love them:-)!! We live in Sweden and dont have tons of money but if your art is of the affordable kind for ordinary people i would love to know where i coould purchase the prints. And i love the idea of a childrens book, but make it about your story! It is inspiring for children and parents to read, we loved it as much as the drawings. Together they are beautiful. A beautiful lesson of life.
Laila
[…] like that! Take notes, moms of the world! Hendricks’ blog with more of this story and images here, and prints for sale in […]
[…] …for a more in-depth explanation of their process, visit https://busymockingbird.com/2013/08/27/collaborating-with-a-4-year-old/ […]
[…] Collaborating with a 4-year Old. […]
[…] Artículo original en Inglés y la traducción de The Huffington Post […]
[…] the Collaborations post made such a hubub, I thought it might be fun to have you all try it out for yourselves. So I […]
My children and I play this Surrealist game where you fold a paper into (3) parts. the first person draws something on 1/3 of it without the other two seeing what they drew, then leaves a few straggling lines up to the next 1/3 and folds the paper so the next person can draw on the next 1/3 paper, and the 2nd person repeats this process for the third person. After everyone is done then you unveil the masterpiece. You can get some wacko and funny drawings and it’s always good for some laughs. http://www.amazon.com/Book-Surrealist-Games-Alastair-Brotchie/dp/1570620849, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse
Yes! Exquisite Corpse! I had heard about it ages ago in college, but had forgotten about it!
Oh I forgot to say this is AWESOME!
[…] am in love with the results of this art collaboration between a mother and her 4-year-old […]
Reblogged this on And After the Storm and commented:
Weirdly Adorable 🙂
If you made a book of these drawing I would absolutely buy it. Having stories to go with each image would be an added bonus, especially if you work with your daughter on those too. Fabulous work. I’m so inspired by this project!
Thank you so much! We’re working on ideas as we speak… 🙂
Wow! This played out like a movie for me…I can’t believe this is your life! Love it.
Thank you! My life is pretty awesome, I can’t complain. But it’s also full of funky stuff as well. Isn’t it always? 🙂
There are so many comments so I’m sorry if I missed the answer to this but I would totally pay for one of these of myself or family. Have you considered commissioning your work?
Thank you! Right now we are not going to put the pressure of custom work on her. I hope you understand!
this is funny
i have rarely seen anything SO beautiful!!! do you ship to Europe?
Thank you so much! I’m not sure–the site at Society6.com/micaangela is actually run through an outside company. But from what I understand, they should!
Awww I absolutely love your joint art work it works so well. It’s that extra bit special that you compromised and shared your new book ;-). Great story love it!
Love it! Would also be cool to use children’s faces in the illustrations as well, would love something like that for my niece.