Artistic Mother Altered Story Book, Week Seven

I made the altered story book from Week 7 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole using a baby board book, gesso, stamps, oil pastels and photographs. The book features my two year old son Matthew. I chose pictures of him doing his favorite activities and used fun little stamps of animals and other things I thought he would enjoy. I will be giving him this book as a Christmas gift. I'm sure he will be so excited to have a book all about himself.

The next project we will be doing in The Artistic Mother Art Group is canvas art from Week 8 of The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole. It is similar to a scrapbook page but for the wall. I am looking forward to this project. It will be very pretty. We will be using painted papers, fibers, a portrait of our child and attaching decorative beads to the sides of the canvas.

The thing I love about the projects from this book is not only am I learning the discipline of adding art to my daily routine and learning new techniques, but they are keepsakes and precious reminders of my greatest treasures, my children. Each piece I make celebrates their life. The focus is on motherhood, which is the stage of life I am in currently. So while I am working, I am also reflecting on my mothering and the uniqueness of each of my children, their special talents and abilities and how much I appreciate them. I also think a lot about how I can better be there for them and guide through their journey through life. It helps me to keep a better balance, to grow as a person and mother and to do something each day for myself as well as for my family. I also enjoy the fact that I am tapping into my creative side and that my life is not just about the mundane everyday tasks of errands and household chores.

My next task will be to paint more background papers and choose the child's photo I will be using for this next project.

I took photos of each page of this sweet little book. I hope you enjoy them and the little story that goes along with it. And be sure and let me know when you post your Artistic Mother art projects so that I can come by and take a look.

Click on the picture to enlarge it if you would like a close-up view.