Chubby Canvas and a Carnival

A story about two adventures in one day. We're just three mothers trying to enrich the lives of the little ones even though it's so hot that a kid can barely enjoy a popsicle. I met a couple of my favorite mommies downtown for an "art in the park" event for kids, featuring live music by local celebrities the Biscuit Brothers, stroller parking, various craft tables and free ice cream.

There were clowns, there were paper hats, there was music-but the show was so packed we just wandered around drinking lemonade in paper cups and trying not to grab the wrong children.

At some point in the confusion Hannah spontaneously lost her British citizenship when she was coerced, not only to give a high five (horrid fratboy gesture) but to give it to none other than Ronald McDonald in the flesh. Sorry about that.

Alison was cool and breezy, and didn't care a whit about the sweltering mouth that was the weather or the thousands of strange children swarming around our feet trying to sweep our own dear progeny into oblivion.

We stayed just long enough for free ice cream, (identical to some I had in my freezer) and when I saw the look on Jesse's face I knew there wasn't too much fun left to be had at the wilted art tables. Not to mention the line for face painting was longer than the line for the bathroom at SXSW. I invited everyone to come to our messy house for conditioned air, snacks and face painting without the wait.

"flying-dactyl"

accidental cleavage, sorry Mam

two ummm....cats?

Elia made sure Alison didn't get left out

lion and butterfly

the end.



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guest post: ONE-HANDED ART by Hannah Stoney

I have two children and I am an artist. Shayla and I have that in common, as well as the fact that we are both married to genius musicians.

The other day, as Shayla and I were watching our kids play she said "it's funny how they slow you down and speed you up at the same time." It is such a true statement that it merits a "yes" with an exclamation mark: yes! Shayla, you said it. Ain't that the truth.

Slow-You-Down.

Oh the double-edged, slow-you-down sword.
My smallest one is almost eight months old and over the last few weeks, I have just started to get back into making some art. I am in the zone. I'm inspired and I have about ten projects backed up in my head and I keep getting lost in line drawings like a tetris playing teenage boy. I would love to be able to just run with it but it's just not the season I am in. I have two small, beautiful people who trump it all.

Of course sometimes it feels frustrating but overall, the slow-you-down part has its own story, its own strange and playful fruit. I am slowed down enough to notice beautiful things. I am slowed down enough to make different kinds of art and explore different mediums. I started writing poetry during long chair-bound breastfeeding sessions. I notice more on our toddler-paced walks and take richer photos with longer stories behind them. I started making tiny videos whilst facilitating parks and playtime. And of course, there are crayons, costumes, race tracks and glueing.

Fallen Walking from Hannah Stoney on Vimeo.

Levi Bang gets the bus from Hannah Stoney on Vimeo.

Speed-You-Up.

It's a bit of a joke amongst my friends that once I get to my desk I am hyper-productive. Two-hands time is a precious commodity these days and so when I get it, I go for it.

It makes me feel a bit geeky to admit this but I also have a read/write/draw system. I have little projects, notepads and books dotted around my house and in my diaper bag and whenever I get a moment (and it usually is just a moment), I pounce on one of these activities. Many of my projects are the culmination of weeks of ten minute here-and-there steps. I am learning to be increasingly OK with. staccato. pacing. (See what I did there).

Here are some recent speed-you-up fruits. In the last month I have been working on shadow boxes, line drawings and paper cuts. I've been working towards all of these things for half a year. I'm not sure if I am really fast or really slow. ~

Hannah Stoney is a dedicated mother, writer and music lover with tons of talent, fashion and quiet kindness in her clever hands. She hails from across the pond and we are so lucky to have stolen her, along with her musical high school sweetheart and darling boys to help class up our town. I'm proud to have a piece of her art hanging in my home. check out her blog at the thinks.com.