So children’s art. There comes a point in the life of every parent when your precious offspring sprints over to you, coming back from a play date or from kindergarten, or simply after quietly labouring over something on their own for the past hour.
What they present you with could be a jumbled mess of colourful swirls or a set of stick figures, bearing a striking resemblance to your family. Whichever it is, more often than not, a parent is delighted to receive their child’s drawings and laud them for their efforts.
A Parent’s Dedication
Rather awesomely, it’s recently become a trend to show appreciation for your children’s art by permanently preserving it in ink. Some parents just do one or two discreet tattoos while others go big and bold with full colour and size. And some go all out.
Like Keith Anderson, the father who started tattooing himself with the drawings of his 5-year-old son and has been doing so for more than seven years now. He says he would continue doing so until the boy wishes. If that moment ever will come, no one can tell, but since young Kai has already tried his hand at tattooing his own dad himself, I’d put some money down on him developing a lifelong relationship with tattoos.
Who says what can and can’t be art?
Of course, there is some wasted paper and crayons involved. Some people might disagree with putting a frame around just anything and calling it “art”, let alone putting it on your skin, but what defines art when we’re talking about sentimentality? Certainly not the critics. When it comes to appraising a kid’s drawing, it’s mum and dad’s opinion that matters most.
Themes and Styles
As the last category in Ross’s trivia game, this too is all relative. But logically enough children’s art gravitate around the same subjects in their artistic endeavors. The most prevalent ones being how much they love mom and dad; their pet or imaginary friend; what new animal – real or fantastical – they’ve just learned about; or anything that might strike a toddler’s fancy.
It’s easy to imagine how it might become your new favorite ink – even if it’s your first one. When you look down at your arm and see the words “I love you, mommy” scribbled in that first grader’s choppy handwriting. Or to always have a reminder of that monster under the bed you’ve so bravely slain thus becoming your daughter’s knight in shining armor!
I, personally, would not recommend getting every scratch and doodle of you little one instantly on your skin. On the other hand, having your children’s art on your body forever is just about the sweetest thing. Take a look at the examples below and see if you would not agree.
