Kids love art! I love kids art! Have you ever watched kids do art, its wonderful to see them as they work. They work so freely, not worrying about where the art is going, just using the tools at hand to have some fun.

Just watch their smiles as they work and put themselves into their art. I am always amazed at the wonderful simplicity of the art they create! The joy they have as the art starts to come together.

Even with sewing, the new skills they are learning, the things that they can create bring such big smiles. I encourage my children to play with art whenever I can. I want them to learn to think creatively, it’s one of the greatest gifts I can give them. I want them to embrace their own unique vision and not be afraid to express themselves and art is a tool that helps me teach them that.

It doesn’t matter what the art, painting, drawing, sewing, clay…..just as long as they are having fun experimenting that is good! And if they want to make a tree purple, then I say GO AHEAD!

I often come across people who feel they know little about art and so have difficulty sharing art with their children. You dont have to know how to do art to have fun with paints and crayons or even fabric for that matter. You simply have to have a desire to learn and have some fun! That is what motivates kids, just a desire to try something new! Somehow as we grow we lose that and replace it with fear.

Sometimes we just need a kick start, some ideas that we can use to stimulate our kids with art.

So I was searching the internet looking for ideas for kids and art and came across the blog of Mary Richmond and she has several ideas for working with kids and art. There are several posts on art lessons for kids where you can work on outdoor projects, painting and even making t shirt art. If you need some ideas to bring art into your kids world than check out her blog.

There is even a page for art with teens and adults, with some ideas, inspiration and things you can do to get started making art a part of your life today! I can’t imagine my life without art, I try to encourage anyone who is interested to try something new today! You would be surprised at what you can do when you give it a try. So check out Mary’s blog and as I find other interesting sites I will share them with you.

As summer draws to a close take some time and share art in some way with a child in your life this week.

And take a moment to check out Marys Website, she does beautiful handpainted tiles. Beautiful work!