She looks like her daddy. In fact, when she was born I struggled to find any hint of similarity to me. But as she has gotten older, her interests and mannerisms were definitely inherited from yours truly.
As I have been delving into boxes, portfolios, and briefcases filled with my old artwork, I have stumbled upon the good, the bad, and the cringe-worthy. It is difficult for me to see drawings I once did, with disproportionate human forms and badly sketched trees. Perhaps there was a reason I had them hidden away for so long. There was a pleasant surprise, however, when I found my old paper dolls.
From about the third grade until the 8th grade I would spend hours drawing dolls and the clothes for them. I would name them, give them an age, and even a story. My figure drawing got better as I got older, as did my sense of fashion. Thrilled with my discovery, I shared my treasured memories with my daughter, whose eyes grew large with excitement as she looked upon the dolls. "YOU drew these, Mama? These are so amazing!" she said as she carefully held one in her hand. Well, that was a bigger response than I was expecting. For hours we poured over the dolls like Nicky South and her twin sister, Vicky (I was very influenced by Sweet Valley High books in those days, anybody remember them??). She tried on all the clothes and I told her the stories behind each character: Cindy Snow, Miko Han, the twins and Sarah Tenning.
Cindy Snow gets her party dress on.
As you can see, these clothes were probably drawn in 1987, because back then EVERYBODY had a two-tone catsuit with a keyhole neckline. And that extra long color block sweater? I'm pretty sure I saw one on an old episode of Full House recently.
Inspired by my masterpieces, my daughter decided she wanted to make paper dolls too. Out came the paper and pencils, scissors and crayons. For being in the first grade, I have to say that her creations are quite good.
Just look at that long blond hair and (very) full lips! I'm definitely seeing some artistic talent here.
As we were putting the dolls away, my girl told me that she loved looking through my "memories". And I loved sharing them with her.
5 comments:
Your daughter is growing up into a beautiful young lady. I can hardly wait to see her in person in a couple of weeks!
Thanks for sharing this. It sure warms my heart!
The girl has some definite artistic gifting. She even let her paper doll have a hand showing! You know how hard hands are.
Interesting that Angelina Jolie lips are part of the build.
Mom - Showing her the dolls reminded me of when you would show me your old Barbies. Good times!
Dad - Your visit is very near and we are looking forward to it! You may even get to see her artwork too :)
I cannot believe you drew those dolls! So fantastic!
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