all consuming

29th September, 2008

A little project I've had on the go for quite some time now, has been completed & gifted to a very special birthday girl.

I am excited to begin work on some new projects. Some for gifting, some not.

This is a little doll who's been dancing about my head for months. She was 'born' this afternoon, with help from my little M who chose her felt colours & 'sucked' the cotton for me to thread through the needle ~ a very important job indeed. 

He played happily around me with cars, blocks & playdough while I sat quite contended amongst his creativity on the floor. We fed each other's imagination & excitement for the tasks at hand.

It has taken a long time to reach this point ~ to be able to sit & work & complete without my attention & arms being demanded elsewhere. It was most satisfying.

So when our sweet P came home & Milo asked for a walk in the pram I was so pleased accept his request. We strolled right into the evening, arriving home as the rain & the night sky enveloped the earth.

It was a wonderful time. Of collecting, noticing, sharing & discovering. All treasures for the 'sun' doll.

This is how I believe children should learn about colour. Through the beauty all around them, in the sky, the earth, the garden, their imaginations. We don't 'teach' Miles colours. We believe he should delight in the senses before he begins to dwell in his analytical brain. He should experience colour & music & mango & embrace for the beauty & wonder of each before he learns to classify or read sheet music or understand nutritional value.

“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again." -  Elizabeth Lawrence 

When Milo sees colours, I hope that he feels the memory & energy of each.

That yellow fills him with warmth like the sun shining through the windows, warming the wooden bench just where he likes to sit & wait for Dadda to come home.

That pink reminds him of the giddy sensation of swinging 'too' high on the front porch, just so that he can glimpse the stunning display of magnolias in Jack & Thelma's garden.

That blue catches his breath, like a crisp spring wind as he lays in the grass with his Mama watching the clouds racing 'wild'ly by.

This time of childhood. This time to play. Will be over far too fast. I hope he remembers the sensations. And I hope they are all consuming.