I usually bring some art supplies and sketchbooks to church to help my little ones be engaged and have fun while sitting in the pews (actually…I bring them for myself, but it benefits them as well). The last three Sundays I’ve been collaborating with my 4 year old son Ethan. His style usually involves a lot of “scribbling,” but his mark-making has actually been teaching me a lot. His marks are very spontaneous. They are “randomized” in a way that is very difficult for an artist used to control to mimic. In fact, I was unable to come close to mimicking his marks until I payed close attention to how he was holding his pencil or pen. His mars were being made by his whole arm…his whole body even. It was only after gripping the pencil with my fist in the middle and moving my whole arm that we were truly able to collaborate.
