Here are some paintings by Ivy that she gave to me recently.
Trying pretty hard not to be one of those parents who thinks their kids are gifted (and who won't shut up about them). I just want to think about what I love about these watercolor paintings.
I asked her to name these, one by one, and she called them all lands. Gently I told her they didn't have to all be lands just because the first one was named that way. But she was sure. I like that. She's thinking about world building.
That instinct is probably encouraged by the way she and her brother play together. Jesse is 8 now, but when he was 3 I would play with him and say things like, "Let's pretend we're bears." We'd make a "bear nest" or cave and forage for food. And later when he was old enough to watch The Jungle Book, we'd pretend like Shere Kahn was around and we had to fight him.
These days Jesse and Ivy play together like that. But they have their own shorthand. They say, "ten-you-say", all run together. It means, "Pretend you said (insert line here)". They say it to each other when they want to direct the other one which way the story should go.
The three of us started playing Minecraft together a couple of months ago, and that is all about world building. It's fascinating how they gravitate to different aspects. Jesse likes to build machines and bases. Ivy has always emphasized a safe place to live and a treasure chest full of "lots of food".
In fact, "lots of food" is a phrase she used to say a lot when playing house around the age of 3. I mean, this has been a focus of hers since way back. 
Her mother and I always found this pretty funny because: these are children who have wanted for nothing. But of course her instinct doesn't come from a place of wanting; it's just what matters to her.
Her use of color is not constrained. The sun is not always yellow. The stars are sometimes red, the sky purple. Spectacular! I also enjoy that the balance of colors is not even. In "Water Land" there are only hints of green and beige, and it's beautiful. Her rainbow isn't a traditional half circle, but fills the entire page. And the colors aren't ordered naturally. Her hearts are not always red or pink.
Above all, she paints the way she should: with childlike wonder. She is not overthinking anything. She has no grand plan. She is free. It's pure expression.
<da:widget wytiwyg="1" class="primary" type="tabs" value="{'tabid':'tab-one', 'text':'Winners', 'checked':true}">
<da:widget wytiwyg="1" class="primary" type="tabs" value="{'tabid':'tab-two', 'text':'Semi-Finalists'}">
Tab 1
Tab 2
