Step aside, Jackson Pollack. The other week my mother-in-law introduced Cecile to the wide world of art. It was a great, great day. "Gran-E" took us to her back patio, rolled out a blank mural, and scattered out art supplies from Wee Can Too, a company founded by two moms that uses safe, edible, plant-based ingredients. Cecile had three mediums with which to work--crayons, chalk, and paint--and did she ever go to town. Before long, that mural was covered with quite the abstract masterpiece. (In my ever so humble, 100 percent totally biased opinion ;))
There are no chemical colors in Wee Can Too products. And they are dairy-free, wheat-free, and preservative-free to boot. Good thing, too, because one by one--the chalk, the crayons, the paints and paintbrush, and, yes, even the palette--was sampled by our little artist ...
I loved using art supplies from Wee Can Too, and here's why: these days Cecile's behavior largely depends on my reactions. If she picks up, say, a bug from the floor, she knows I'll say, "ick"; or if she reaches for a glass of water on the coffee table, that a "no" will soon follow. Though she's only 11 months old, she absolutely knows what "no" means and often will do something she knows if off-limits just to see my reaction. Always pushing buttons, that girl. That said, it was wonderful to let her both play with and eat the paint and not have to react with a "no"--a reaction that would certainly evoke more paint/crayon/chalk/whatever in her mouth.
Am I worried giving her edible art supplies will encourage her to eat other art supplies? No. Because by the time she's ready to use the straight-up non-toxic stuff, she'll have both outgrown the urge to mouth everything and will have learned that art supplies, frankly, don't taste so great. I know this because I, too, sampled everything Cecile was using (read: eating), and the stuff tastes like flour. OK, maybe flour with a hint of beets or broccoli, depending on whether you're tasting red or green. Actually, Cecile quit putting the brushes and paints, etc., in her mouth as soon as she learned there was nothing delicious or "naughty" about them. It was wonderful, worry-free tactile stimulation. Win and win and win.
^^Painting with your feet? This is action painting at it's finest.^^
Cecile brings such intensity to everything she does. She is such a focused child. Just look at how she selects her color, rolls out more paper for a larger workspace, and then gets right to business. Honest to goodness, these are not her mother's genes in play ;) ;)
Ta-ta! A masterpiece on a mural :) Thank you, Wee Can Too!
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