Edith — At the beach

Tell me about your drawing: what is happening here? 

I'm at the beach. I'm walking on the beach and I'm right in front of the ocean.

Why did you draw this? 

Because I like the beach because there's water.

What’s the thing you enjoy the most drawing? 

I like all the colours.

What is your favorite color? 

Blue

Why? 

Because it's blue like the ocean.

What’s more fun: drawing or painting? 

Drawing.

Why? 

Because you don't have to let it dry.

What is art? 

It's drawing pictures.

What do you need to be an artist? 

You need colored pencils.

Are you an artist? Why? 

Yes, because I like drawing pictures.

Edith, 5 years old

Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

Mia — Tutti a teatro!

Tell me about your drawing: what is happening here?

There is a dancer performing on a stage in a theatre and there are some people looking at her.

Why did you draw this?

Because I am a dancer myself and I can relate to her. I like it when I can perform on a stage in front of a public.

What’s the thing you enjoy the most drawing?

I like drawing people and recently I like drawing their jobs: a painter, a hostess, a writer, etc.

What is your favorite color?

I like yellow.

Why?

Because is the color of the sun.

What’s more fun: drawing or painting?

I rarely paint. I draw most of the time.

Why?

Because I can erase errors and correct something eventually.

What is art?

It is something that makes me feel happy.

What do you need to be an artist?

You need to keep on drawing.

Are you an artist? Why?

Yes, I think I am. Because if I have some spare time, I spend it drawing.

Mia Puddu, 7 years old.

San Giovanni in Persiceto, Bologna, Italy.

Diego — Notre Dame Cathedral

Tell me about your drawing: what is happening here?

It is a tribute drawing of the Notre Dame Cathedral 

Why did you draw this?

Because it was burned down and I wanted to honor it.

What’s the thing you enjoy the most drawing?

Characters and landscapes. 

What is your favorite color?

Black

Why?

It reminds me of darkness.

What’s more fun: drawing or painting?

I like both.

Why?

Because drawing has more details and painting is more abstract.

What is art?

Art is basically experience and imagination.

What do you need to be an artist?

You need imagination.

Are you an artist? Why?

Yes. Because I enjoy it.

Diego Urbina, 9 years old.

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Leonardo — Bandit and mysterious plane

Tell me about your drawing: what is happening here?

There is a super-plane with big wheels flying in the space city. It has a big weapon shooting bombs to defend itself.

Why did you paint this?

Because I like it.

What’s the thing you enjoy the most drawing?

Planes and rockets; because they can fly.

What is your favourite color?

Green.

Why?

Because of the Green Ninja of NINJAGO.

What’s more fun: drawing or painting?

Painting.

Why?

Because it is easier and more fun.

What is art?

I dont know.

What do you need to be an artist?

Paint a lot of canvases.

Are you an artist? Why?

Yes. Because I have painted a lot of canvases and my name is Leonardo, like Leonardo Da Vinci.

Leonardo, 5 years old.

Madrid, Spain.

Follow him @leo_nar_do_paints

Our First 100 days of school in projects

We have arrived at that extraordinary milestone. Our kids were excited, and we needed to think of something to put together as a project. So we decided to share what we have learned, in the hope that it will help you.  We propose one book, an artist approach, and three DIY projects for the 100 first days of school

The book

Emily’s first 100 days of School, by Rosemary Wells (New York, 1943). The classic author, well known for her Max and Ruby series, takes us through the exciting experience of a little rabbit girl starting in her school life.

On the first day of school, she leaves her mama's arms. “I’m too excited to cry,” she says. (We’re pretty sure that mama’s the one that eventually cries, though).  ;)

The book is a celebration of school life and discoveries: the classroom, the teacher, new friends… The story goes along through the numbers, from 1 to 100, and it allows both parents and children to read a different story every day. Emily and her schoolmates start a secret collection of objects and add one little piece for each day of school. In the end, every friend reveals the 100 things they have collected, and Emily has her secret 100 too.

The artistic approach

As a mom and an artist, Gabriella (our founder) found that the First 100 days of school are an excellent opportunity to get involved with our kids in an art project: “Art projects are perfect to develop a creative idea, have fun in the process, and get a wonderful result that would make you and your children very proud”, she says. Among the many good ideas, we found around the Internet, we have selected a few that we think that capture the artistic spirit.

Toilet paper tube collection

This is so easy and practical that was our first choice (Gabriella did it with her son, Luca, this year). The tubes are simple to accumulate, and you can ask your friends to contribute (literally everyone has this at home). Once collected, you can make several different things with them (paint them as buildings, characters, spaceships, etc.). We painted them with neon colors to give them an abstract look. The result was so delightful that now that the project is over we’re having problems getting rid of them :)

Nulla dies sine linea

We know Pliny the Elder famous quote is more often related to writing, but it applies to this project too. Starting the first day of school, your kid will draw a line on a surface (we recommend a big but easy to transport support, such as a piece of cardboard or even canvas that you could later transform into an art piece and hang on a wall). Children can use whatever they like (markers, paint, crayons, etc.) and you can agree on a limited color palette or play with total freedom. The important thing is to complete that line every single day. The result is just fantastic, as you can see in the pic that Harry took for us from his own experience. (Thanks a lot to Katharine, his mom, for sharing it with us).

Sketchbook

Let’s draw, draw, draw! Most kids love drawing, and they’ll do it anyway. Having a notebook where they can make a little piece about their day at school, it’s not only a straightforward way to collect treasures from their first 100 days but also memories. If you want to take this a little further, you can ask them to tell you something about that particular day, and you can write it down below the drawing. This will turn into a beautiful journal about that unique experience, that you both can keep and revisit later.

Emma & Amanda — Daddy’s surfboard

Tell me about your drawing: what is happening here?

Emma: We painted our Daddy’s surfboard. We sprayed paint on it. I drew my dad, my sister and me, and other stuff.

Amanda: I painted a treehouse to decorate the surfboard. I drew papi and me, and a rainbow, and the place where papi was born: Caracas.

Why did you draw this?

Emma: I also drew a rainbow, because it’s my favorite color. Rainbow is my favorite color. We wanted to make the surfboard pretty because it was all grey and it needed some color.

Amanda: I painted a treehouse because I wanted to. I also sprayed red on the surfboard because it’s my dad’s favorite color.

What do you like to draw the most?

Emma: Good question. Because you can draw anything that you imagine. Sometimes I do it to remember something I saw somewhere, others just because I’m bored.

Amanda: Because I like Unicorns, and because sometimes I’m bored and I like to draw. I just like it.

What is your favorite color?

Emma: Rainbow

Amanda: Blue

Why?

Emma: It’s colorful, very colorful.

Amanda: Because it’s in the rainbow.

What’s more fun: drawing or painting?

Emma Drawing.

Amanda: Painting.

Why?

Emma: Because with painting you have to color in and it takes a long time to do that. That’s the only reason.

Amanda: Because of color.

What is art?

Emma: It’s something beautiful.

Amanda: Coloring.

What do you need to be an artist?

Emma: Color, paper, and an imagination.

Amanda: Wanting to be one.

Are you an artist? Why?

Emma: No, because I don’t like art classes in school.

Amanda: Yes, because I like to draw.

Emma Stolk, age 8.

Amanda Stolk, age 4

Miami, USA

Destan — New York

Tell me about your drawing: what is happening here? 

I live in New York City and there are a lot of cool buildings here. In this drawing, some buildings are real and others are imaginary.

Why did you draw this?

I like drawing skyscrapers. I'm attracted by their design and height.

What do you enjoy to draw the most?

What makes me feel good.

What is your favorite color?

Red.

Why?

It's the brightest, strongest color.

What’s more fun: drawing or painting?

I recently got into watercolor painting and I'm really enjoying it!

Why?

You can mix colors which is super fun.

What is art?

I think art is drawing, whether you draw with pencils or with paint, to me it's still drawing.

What do you need to be an artist?

You need to be good at drawing.

Are you an artist? Why?

I am an artist because I can draw very well. I spend most of my free time creating art and it's something I really enjoy.

Destan Cevher, 7 years old.
New York, USA.

Follow him @destancevher

Alexandra — How to be a big sister

Tell us about your drawing: what is happening here?

The mom is letting her daughter hold the baby sister very carefully.  

Why did you draw this?

Because I am planning to make a book about how to be a big sister.

What do you enjoy to draw the most?

What I enjoy the most is coloring because it adds a lot of details and it is very neat. 

What is your favorite color?

Blue

Why?

Because it is very important to the water and the sky.

What’s more fun: drawing or painting?

Drawing.

Why?

Because you can add more detail when you are drawing. When you are painting you can make more mistakes and your work gets ruined, and you have to start a new one and you waste more paper.

What is art?

It is a creation you work really hard on.

What do you need to be an artist?

Be super creative so you can have the most amazing drawings in the world.

Are you an artist? Why?

I think I am but my dad is better.

Alexandra Raffaelli, 7 years old.

Oakville, Canada.