Expressions of Ella

Recently, my Ella had a sample of her work from school honored at a district-wide art show. Her first art show - well, technically not 'hers,' because several students from all of the schools had their art displayed at the event, but to my girl, this was her first art show. And, I let her own that thought, because it's so important to build self-esteem in little people.

I remember the day she found out that her applique work would be in the show at Irmo Public Library. She was giddily grinning from ear to ear when I picked her up from school. (I thought the favorite boy in her class had told her he liked her handwriting again; her smile was that big.) She excitedly pulled out the invitation that notified parents and students of the good news, and did a little dance before placing it into my hands. I was so excited for her, and I couldn't wait to see what she had created.

Monday, March 14th was the big day. Ella, Summit, and I met her daddy, Popi, and Babi at the library, and found her beautiful artwork and took her proud picture beside the lovely applique that she had made in Ms. Crocker's art class. It was a rectangular piece of black burlap with a pink stitch around the edges. The burlap was decorated with small felt hearts and flowers that she had cut out and applied to the fabric to make a sweet design. Of course, I thought it was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen!

Since she was able to hold a crayon, my Ella has been making pictures. She loves painting, drawing, coloring, cutting, gluing, designing. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that her first outing was to a Dr. Seuss exhibit at a gallery in Wilmington when she was a mere 3 weeks old. She's far more creative at 6 than I could ever hope to be at 28 (ha ha). This is something she gets from her daddy. I probably have 8 large tupperware containers full of her artwork that I can't bring myself to throw away. This is one thing that I refuse to relinquish... my kids' artwork. Even Summit's. He's not quite as into drawing and such as his big sister, and, based on the "picture" of his I saw in his class the other day, he's not as adept. At first glance, I thought his lack of, shall we say, ability may be a sign of a problem, so I made him draw a stick person to ensure he didn't need to be evaluated.

And Ella has the carefree, fantastical, flighty artist thing going on, too. Girlfriend does not care about the linear, logical nature of things. She's not so concerned with cleanliness or order. She doesn't care if her clothes match or if her hair is brushed. She'll walk around with paint on her shirt and pants, in her hair, under her fingernails as if that's where it belongs. If she gets inspired to draw, she can't stop. And if you make her, then the world must certainly have ended, and gloom and doom descend upon our reality.

One of her favorite pastimes is making pictures for us - for her friends and family - and she's always so excited to share her latest masterpieces. Mostly, she draws girls in dresses, flowers, hearts with arrows through them, the sun, the ocean, and peace signs (I'm raising a liberal, people). She's a dreamer, my Ella, a whimsical dreamer with a relentless desire to paint and draw. This is how she tells stories, uses her imagination, shares her spirit, shows her love. I love how she shows her love. It's just perfect.