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 love them!! These made my day 🙂
A children’s book of poems would be amazing!!
I really love you work, such a great idea! I came across this website about a week ago, and I thought you might be interested: http://www.themonsterengine.com/artwork
The idea is to take kids sketches and paint them realistically. Some are incredibly creepy! Best, annierose.
Ah! That is so coollll!
Haha thought you might like it!
I am a huge fan of your work (I’m about to buy two medium prints). Strangely enough, I’ve been working on something similar. Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef2wnLL1s00
Oh my gosh, that was funny. You guys are doing fun stuff!
I shared Scary Smash on FB and Twitter. LOVE the S.Q.U.A.T. team!
Thanks so much! I’m glad you like it! I will share your stuff as well.
P.S.
I bought two prints, and just received them in the mail. They’re fantastic! Getting them framed immediately.
I am Soooo in love with this story, what a great idea and such a touching and special collaboration!! Keep up the exciting work! Looking forward to getting one of your prints!
Reblogged this on Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll keep the commentary to a minimum. and commented:
It’s possible I’m the last person on the Internet to discover Mica Angela Hendricks, but I am simply in love with her collaborative drawings with her daughter.
I want to write songs about these! May I be a mother like you. Blessing. And definitely thinking of a purchase.
Thank you so much! I have my grumpy days, too, but I also have a super cool kid. 🙂
[…] a few friends passed THIS onto me because it made them think of Lily and i, i thought it would be fun if she and i […]
Absolutely! Please make a book, it would be beyond beautiful.
Are you gonna make prints of the space beavers?
Space beavers are on sale at Society6.com/micaangela. Thank you!
This is lovely! Looking forward to buying a print! 🙂
[…] to happy accidents! Read more about this project or buy some of the mother-daughter […]
[…] thought reminded me of a recent wonderful post on the Busy Mockingbird blog, where artist Mica Angela Hendricks (initially reluctantly) let her four year-old daughter start […]
Beautiful
[…] This sweet project stemmed out of artist Mica Angela Hendricks & a sketchpad. Her 4 year old daughter became the key component to give her drawings the perfect flair by drawing the bodies to the faces her mother draws. Their work is available through Society6. You can also read more about Mica’s story & how her mommy/daughter collaboration began here. […]
[…] let it unfold organically this year and see what happens. For today, I wanted to share with you this lovely piece about the unexpected delights that can occur when we make […]
These are fantastic!
Wow, this is so amazing!! Do you sell prints or digital versions of those? I’d love to wake up to that hanging on my wall every morning.
Thank you! Yes, prints are on sale at Society6.com/micaangela. Thanks!
Just an idea, perhaps you (and your daughter) can offer a portrait service. People send you a photo and you do your magic.
YES! I would certainly be tempted by this!
This is an amazing idea! Would you be willing to do a commission piece?
[…] You can read more about Hendricks thoughts on collaborating with her four-year, and the lessons she learned from the experience on her blog. […]
[…] things I found this week: I also loved this story about the illustrator Mica Angela Hendricks who started to draw together with her kid. Love the […]
I ended up doing this with my girls. Thank you for the inspiration! They turned out great:
http://sketchadaychallenge.blogspot.com/2013/10/drawing-with-my-daughters.html
These are utterly beautiful, magical, absurd, hilarious…
Thank you for sharing.
hello my lovely, just wanted you to know i am starting a new Sunday art post and this post featured in the first one today! So you are linked on the flight platform…have a wonderful Sunday xxxxx
[…] surreal and playful pieces. The fun part? Her daughter is 4 years old. Read more about her mother and daughter collaboration here, and you can buy her pieces at her store. I just LOVE […]
i think you like this 🙂
I really like this, the mish mash of styles is very cool – and they will make great memories.
excellent work and fantastic idea 🙂
This is so wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing!
I’d love to see the illustrations with children’s poems or short stories/ school essays.
http://isaacgracelily.blogspot.com.au/
I’ve been enjoying this blog for some while now. Great kid’s drawings.
Fantastic, seeing these made my day! Thank you for sharing 🙂
[…] All works by Mica Angela Hendricks and her daughter at busymockingbird […]
[…] experiments in flexibility by an artist whose young daughter stole moms precious sketchbook and started a collaboration against her mom’s […]
Dear Mica, I really look forward to your story books for children, with drawings by you and daughter, so sweet and imaginative!
[…] who collaborated with her four year old, and created the most beautiful artwork I have seen in a long time. So stunning. So, so, so […]
Fabulous! why not write a book together with these fabulous creatures as your characters. Aim it at kids…I think it would be a winner…
Reblogged this on Random Rose's Blog and commented:
I love this
[…] 3) Collaborating with a 4-year Old by Mica Angela Hendricks (Art) […]
[…] from Jon. It came all the way from America and was made by this Lady & her 4 year old daughter The Busy Mockingbird. I do love supporting smaller businesses and I get to own something that isn’t mass […]
[…] I love the idea of adding new components to existing pieces. It also reminds me of this artist: https://busymockingbird.com/2013/08/27/collaborating-with-a-4-year-old/ […]
I love the children’s book idea. I’m sure some clever kids could make up stories that rival the imagination if the pictures themselves.
This is genuinely such a clever idea and has some stunning results! Kind of reminds me of the artistry in the James and the Giant Peach film actually! What a pair of talented artists you are!
[…] Click Here For More On This Project […]
[…] atareado”), rezuma experiencia compartida con su hija, lo que queda resumido en este post y en las ilustraciones que acompañan a este texto. Un magnífico ejemplo de conciliación […]
Such a great idea. I’m actually doing something like this (inspired by you, of course) with my first and second grade class and the advanced art class at the local high school. I’ll email you pictures of them… 🙂
Please do! I’d LOVE to see!
An intriguing discussion is worth comment. I do think that you need to write more about this subject,
it might not be a taboo matter but usually people do not talk
about these subjects. To the next! Many thanks!!
Brilliant work by Mica Angela Hendricks and her daughter! We covered this as well: http://www.waavedada.com
the poems should be adult child collaborations as well of course. great stuff!
[…] only mess up, gum up or just plain ruin a project if we let them loose on it. But this artist, Mica Angela Hendricks, found out that sometimes they add something we jaded adults just […]
They absolutely do need and DESERVE a special place! I love every single one of them. And I love the lessons that you have learned along the way. These are perfect keepsakes of your togetherness in this particular stage of your lives. Something, I am sure, you both will cherish. If you go ahead and develop them further (into a book or anything else you think of), then the wider circle of people will be able to enjoy them, too. They are very unique and special!
[…] cosa succede se una illustratrice di professione come Mica Angela Hendricks collabora con la figlia di 4 […]