For those of you parents in this time of "shelter in place" frustration, I can relate a tiny bit. My girls were not against playing together --- because that was their only choice most of the time --- but it was generally up to me to help them figure out things they could do together that they could enjoy for more than just a few minutes at a time.
What I see in my mind, I confess, I really lack the skill to recreate on paper. Even after trying to learn illustration and watercolor technique by fabulous artists via YouTube videos, I just come away with an absolute sense of awe at the artists' talent and abilities who try to teach skills to others. Then, at the end of a video, they say that "anything goes in Art." I hear it all the time. "Art is what you make it." Well, here are some of the first renderings of my illustrations for my new book. It is the story of my two oldest girls who, whether they liked it or not, grew up needing to be each other's best friend. But they had such different personalities. They could sit down with toys and never figure out how to play together They had such different styles of play. One was a natural caregiver. No matter the toy, she was a mother to it, only wanting to dress it and make a home for it. The other used her imagination to create stories for the toys and act out the parts of each character. She especially loved playing with her little ponies and felt that she just had to give them very long elaborate names. For those of you parents in this time of "shelter in place" frustration, I can relate a tiny bit. My girls were not against playing together --- because that was their only choice most of the time --- but it was generally up to me to help them figure out things they could do together that they could enjoy for more than just a few minutes at a time. This is a story about how Mom comes to the rescue to help them find a way to happily spend time together. I salute all of the parents out there during this time of pandemic crisis who have children who just can't figure out what to do with themselves while they are stuck at home.
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So what exactly do you do when you have no schedule, no where you can go, and no one you can see? Read a book? Watch TV? Raid the refrigerator? Stare at the computer screen? Okay, realistically all of the above. But I was getting very tired of being stuck inside my house with nothing much to do. So, I started writing and drawing illustrations for a new Picture Book. I have seven children and each of them told me that they expected I would write a story about them. Matthew's story "Is This Cowboy Food?" was first. It was the easiest to write because we have told that story over and over again for years. Katelyn's story "Who Will Be My Friend?" was also pretty easy to write because that was just her personality and those events really happened. Michael really had "Too Many Sisters" and Mitchell and Camilyn really had adventures on their "Wonderful, Marvelous, Magic Bunk Bed." But, I confess that I was having trouble thinking up the right stories for Kathryn and Carolyn. Kathryn only liked baby dolls. She liked to dress them, and style their hair. She was not very imaginative though with their names. Every baby doll was named either Marie or Rose and she never acted out any stories with them. The only real story to tell about Kathryn seemed best told in a baby's board book. She liked tactile experiences. So a story about touching different kinds of fabrics or materials of varying textures and ending up with a page about braiding "hair" seemed the perfect story for her. But, I have limited resources as far as printing goes, so I scratched that idea. Carolyn was such a unique personality that the stories to tell from her childhood seem too fantastic to be relatable to normal children. She started talking and singing songs at 8 months old. She could write her name at 18 months. And she could illustrate recognizable characters from the chapter books we read as a family before she turned 2. She often had "daymares" that terrified her. She claimed she had a haunted head. Once she used an entire ream of white copy paper, drawing just a few lines on each page, but when spread out all over the family room floor and taped together, she had created a puzzle depicting the three-ringed Barnum and Bailey Circus! She was then just 3 years old. Now, who in their right mind would believe any of that? These two girls were so different, and yet their early lives were inextricably connected. Because our house was so small, they had to share a room. When they were very young, they were the logical playmates for each other, indeed, that was their only choice most days. They tried to play together, but their playing styles were very different. Many days were spent in struggles just trying to find something to do that they could enjoy together. Ah ha! Lightbulb moment! That's their story! So, I am now writing them a combined story about a typical day in their lives circa 1986. The working title is "Spin Around Dresses and Click Shoes." Wouldn't you know the only inspiration picture I have been able to find from the right year is of the backs of their hair! (Oh, and baby Katelyn where is your pretty Spin Around dress?) |
AuthorMy name is Betsy Bailey. I have sung, written and taught music all of my life. I enjoy writing and directing Children's Theater shows. This blog will be directed to topics on creating the magic of Children's Theater. I would love to hear your comments! Archives
July 2024
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