Sunday, November 11, 2012

Playtime...

...or, Silencing the Inner Critic.

I'm starting off a little bit differently this time; here's the first ever layout my youngest son did, just recently.



It was so fun watching him. On reflection, he approached the page the same way his brother and sister did when they had a go: he knew exactly what he wanted to do (once I'd talked him down to four photos, rather than fourteen..."I'll make them fit!"). He had a ball too, and was suitably proud of his work. (My favourite bit? The little thumbprint people he did in the bottom corner. Bless!)






It got me thinking about the way kids approach art; happily, confidently, uninhibitedly. So different to us, most of the time! Picasso's words are so true: "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Mike had no hesitations about colours, or coordination; he wasn't interested in what the latest trends were or whether anyone else would like what he was doing. He liked it, and that was all that mattered to him.

I was so struck by what I was seeing that I decided to go at it with the same joie de vivre as he did. I've been in a bit of a creativity rut lately, as far as scrapbooking is concerned, anyway. So I decided to play, and use what I liked as I liked. This is a hobby, after all - it's meant to be fun! Any time I felt the inner critic taking hold I walked away and did something else till it passed. So, minus any angst, self-critiquing or yes-but-is-it-good-enough-for-a-post, here are layouts 28, 29 and 30.







Are they the best I've ever done? Probably not. But I enjoyed doing them, and at the end of the day I figure that's the point. Thanks, Mike!

Have a wonderful week :)