The Art Show and Summer's Close

The girls entered their first art show in July. It was part of Art Town's festival, hosted by their awesome dance studio. It's all about presentation. To make it like a real gallery show, we included descriptions on their info cards.

“My Favorite Pet; Invisible Friend at Dusk”
By Elisabeth
Age 6
Created during the artist’s Purple Period, “Invisible Friend at Dusk” is an homage to Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”. The purple color adds a somber and thoughtful background, contrasting with the whimsical “Invisible Friend”. The image strikes a delicate balance between dark and light, anchored at the top by an impenetrable layer of clouds. The crescent moon is a common theme in many children’s paintings, and serves as a strong focal point. When asked why she choose this particular subject matter, the artist responded, “Because I like it.” We look forward to seeing more of Miss Stott’s work.



“My Favorite Pet Frolics Under the Sun”
By Gretchen
Age 3
When interviewed about this work, the artist declared, “It’s a reflection of doggies.” When asked to clarify, she added, “It’s the girl. It’s right there {artist indicates towards lower right corner}. She’s walking. That’s her heart on her stomach. Because that’s her eye and her nose and her mouth and her dog. We have noses too.” Yes indeed, we do have noses. And if we were to walk under a yellow dripping sun, surrounded by primal red handprints, perhaps we too would show our hearts on our stomachs.



Ella with the Winner's Circle.


It worked. Ella and Gretchen BOTH WON PRIZES. To be fair, every kid who entered won. But Ella's painting was on the morning news! Which I did not wake up at 5am to watch because I was exhausted! But I thought about it!
*Unfortunately Gretchen was sick & unable to make it to the event. She got to stay at home with Daddy.
**Please note Ella's awesome Art Show outfit. Black beret bought special just for the event.
***Just in case you didn't notice, the theme was "My Favorite Pet"...

Then school started ridiculously early. Gretchen peers longingly through those doors, kindergarten is a magical land still TWO YEARS AWAY.


Yes. Two years.


Because I am crazy, I picked Ella up from school last week and drove up to Lake Tahoe. It was our first trip to Sand Harbor of the summer (which is just a tragic shame!) and she'd already started school. But there was so much snow in the mountains that the beaches are tiny! The lake's water level is so high! So we beat the crowds and had a late afternoon dinner picnic.




Auntie Adrianne sent us the most amazing package. It was full of Sample Sale treats. And since then, Gretchen and Ella have been very well accessorized. At our trip to Costco last week, some guy said, "Wow, that baby doesn't need a bib!" You know, because she was wearing that ginormous rhinestone necklace...


PS - We love Uncle Ian.


So how is your summer ending?