Dipping into Art

The other girls found Jolena doing something very strange. "What are you doing, Jolena?" Mandy asked.

"I’m finger painting."
"That isn’t what finger painting is, Jolena," Veronika said. "I’ll teach you how to finger paint. Come to the kitchen."

When they reached the kitchen, Veronika got out a bowl and a spoon, a little bottle of food coloring, some flour, water, two cloth napkins and some plastic sandwich bags. She also had two doll-size pieces of paper to paint on.
"Now, when we do this kind of thing we always need to have grown-up nearby who knows what we're doing," Veronika explained. "That grown-up person is taking our pictures right now," she went on, "so we have that covered."
Veronika gave Jolena a napkin to use for an apron and tied the other napkin around her own waist to protect her clothes.  She suggested that Jolena should tie her hair back, too. "We will be using color, and we have to be very careful with it," she explained.

"First we need to make the finger paint," Veronika explained. She mixed some flour and water together and stirred it with a spoon. "There are other ways to make finger paint, but this one is the easiest."

Veronika picked up the plastic sandwich bags and put one on her hand. "Children can put their fingers right down in the paint, because they can wash their hands, and they can even grow new skin, but we are made of vinyl. Our skin and hair can stain," she explained. "It might be very hard to get out, and we can't grow new skin. We should wear some plastic bags on our hands," she said, putting a plastic bag on her hand. Jolena picked up the other plastic bags.

"Children still need to be careful with food coloring, because it can get on their clothes, even if their skin doesn't stain easily," Veronika pointed out.

They helped each other with the plastic bags, because it's easier to get the bag onto your hand if you help each other.

Then Veronika mixed some black food coloring with the flour and water. "Too bad we only have one color, but it will still be fun," she said.

Next she taped two pieces of paper to the work surface and put a little finger paint onto each piece of paper.

"Now you play with it until you like what you have," Veronika explained.

Each doll worked on her painting until she was satisfied.

"Why do children finger paint?" Jolena asked while the two dolls were working on their paintings.

"It’s art," Mandy replied.

"And what’s art?" Jolena asked, full of questions, as usual.

"Art gives us a way to show what’s in our minds and hearts," Mandy said. "We can draw or paint our dreams, our feelings and our ideas. If we are angry or sad it can help us feel better. If we are happy and grateful, it can help us enjoy those feelings more. Sometimes when we make something pretty other people are happy to see it, but it's always fun to do."

When they were done, the dolls cleaned up. Then they stood and looked at their finished finger paintings.

"My painting is about how beautiful the tree outside is," Jolena said, "and about how lucky I am to be here."

"I painted about how much I love you and how glad I am that you came to live with us," Veronika said. 

"While our paintings are drying, let me show you some other art," Veronika suggested. They climbed down from the sink and went into the dining room. "Here's an oil painting," Veronika said. "It was made with a special kind of paint that has oil in it. Usually the artist uses a brush. It takes a long time to dry, and sometimes the artist has to plan each part ahead of time, then wait for that part to dry before painting the next part."

Then they went into the bathroom and climbed up on the back of the toilet. "This is a cross-stitch sampler. It's made up of tiny threads," Vronika explained. "The artist used a needle to make the pretty design with the threads."

Then the girls jumped over to the sink, where Vronika grabbed the towel ring.

"This picture is made of paper," she said. "The artist folded the paper in half, and drew on it. Then she cut it out carefully and glued it to another piece of paper."

From there they went into the bedroom and climbed up on the bed. Vronika pointed to a framed picture on the wall. "This is really the work of two artists," she said. "The person who wrote the words was a writer who lived a long time ago. (Words can be art, too.) Then the person who painted the words onto a piece of paper was also an artist. That person made all the letters beautiful."

"How can someone be so good at drawing, cutting, painting and writing?" Jolena wanted to know. "I'm not that good at anything, except maybe skiing, and I still have a lot to learn about that."

"You have to study and practice, and then practice some more," Veronika said.

Jolena thought a moment. Then she said, "That sounds like a lot of work."

"It is a lot of work," Veronika agreed, "but when you enjoy what you're doing, that work is fun."

Then Vronika stood up on the bed and suggested they climb down. "I want to show you the best work of art of all, ever," she said. 

She took Jolena to the back deck, where they climbed up and sat carefully on the rail.

"This is my favorite work of art," she told Jolena. "God made this for us to live in."

"Art we can live in!" Jolena sighed. "God must have studied and practiced a long time to make this!"

"Yes, art we can live in. A lot of art is useful," Veronika agreed. "Mandy knits. Knitting is a skill. It's also a kind of art; it's art you can wear."

"Is there a kind of art you like best, Veronika?" Jolena asked.

"I like to make quilts," Veronika replied.

"Quilts can be on the wall to look at or on the bed to keep you warm at night," she explained. "They are beautiful and useful."

Veronika asked Jolena to help her drag the kitchen ladder into another room. "Look at this," she said.

"It's beautiful," Jolena exclaimed. "Did you make it?"

"No," Veronika replied. "I'm not this good yet. I know I can learn to be this good, though. I just need to study and practice. A lot. But I enjoy learning and practicing, so it's fun."

The girls started down the stairs. Jolena had to get ready for her ballet lesson, and Charlotte had to go to her violin lesson. They were going to ride together. As they went down the stairs, Veronika and Jolena kept talking. (It's slow going down the stairs if you're very small.)

"Wow!" cried Jolena. "Art can be so many different things!"

"Yes," Veronika agreed. "Houses and furniture are art. Books and statues are art. Cooking is art. Pictures taken with a camera are art." 

As they reached the sewing room, where Mandy and Charlotte were waiting, Veronika was saying, "Dance is art. Music is art."

"Dance is art!" Jolena exclaimed. "Jolena takes dance lessons to help her with her tricks on skis."

"Music is art?" asked Charlotte.

"Music and dance are forms of art," Mandy said. "People watch and listen. The dancers and musicians show what they feel and what they've practiced, and people can see and hear that."

"Will we ever be good enough at our arts?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes," Mandy replied, "but we all have to study and practice, and practice some more. It will be hard work, but it will be fun."

Cast--

Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen

Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015

Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni

Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris

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Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
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