It all started with a ball of clay and a sense of wonder.
Let me begin by telling you I’m an artist first, and the writing of the stories began because of playing with my grandkids. Being a grand parent is the perfect excuse to play once again without everyone thinking you have lost your mind.
It all started one day as we were playing with Play-Doh. It was then that I realized that kids don’t really know what to do with the stuff until you actually show them. We started making little things (like a baseball bat) and it grew into bigger and bigger things (people and cars). It was amazing to see their little faces as they themselves realized they could make it into whatever their imaginations wanted. It was then that I began to push their imaginations by making up stories and playing the “what if” game. (What if that baseball bat grew into a full tree over night?) It was so much fun, and not just for me. I had forgotten how much fun it was to play, imagine and dream without limits.
After they went home, the work began. I created a world of fairies that would forever keep their imaginations growing. I created little clay fairies that held perfectly still if you looked at them. We began one day with a simple fairy trap. It was a box rigged with a string dangling from the inside from which a piece of jewelry hung. If a fairy came and tugged on the jewelry, the door would shut and the fairy would be trapped. I had the kids set it up that night, lining a path to it's door with Skittles, cuz you know no one can refuse those colorful candies. Come sunrise those kids were out the door before I knew it. They had trapped their first fairy. Then two. And so the stories began and more fairies had to be made.
From then on, the fairies became the first things they look for when they come over, as the fairies never do seem to stay in one spot, making it a fun game of hide and seek. The kids would find them and put them back into the aquarium village (their inside home). I often wonder how long this wonderful game will last. Will the kids begin to make up their own stories? Will they still be looking for the fairies when they get older, but not want to admit they are? As for me, I know I’ll keep it up as long as they do. Time will tell and I’ll be sure to let you know.
Update Jan. 4, 2015.....Kids are now making sure they call me before they come over to let the fairies know they are coming and should be hiding. Only don't hide in hard to find places because it takes too long to find them. Today I'll start to make a few new fairies.
Ann |
