20 October 2011

and now for something completely different...


I have spent some of the afternoon on this and have called it finished with a mixture of relief and disappointment. It is not up to the standard I would like, and I haven't included some of the things I wanted to put in, but while this languishes unfinished in my studio little Michele is growing bigger and doesn't have it on his wall.

It is based on varying numbers and patterns, hopefully helpful for counting and other mathematical and conversational ideas.

When it is sprayed and shiny I think it will look just fine, and only (you and) I know that my dreams were far bigger than this turned out to be. The hippopotamus was a last minute change because apparently he is crazy about them. I'm not!

This is a very overdue gift for a little boy (Michele = Michael) who was adopted into our village some time ago. My dream was to fill it with all the things from his native Vietnam, but I ended up painting most of it in down-time at outdoor events away from here and had to rely on my imagination instead.

Now there is a very special one to do, an overdue first birthday present. That one might have to be completed on holiday one day soon. I need expert advice before I start that one!

Today I am grateful for diminishing lists.

1 comment:

Kay said...

Michele liked it, when he woke from his siesta, and gave it a huge smile. The hippopotamus was a success. The best reaction, however, came from his mother who had no idea what was coming and was totally fascinated. She stood fixed, beaming, in front of it for quite some time :-)