"Edge of the Earth" - A Collaboration with my Toddler

August 06, 2015

A Collaboration with my Toddler

"Edge of the Earth"

by Eve and Ruth Oosterman



It is has been quite some time since Eve and I collaborated using one of her Black Pen drawings so I thought I would give it try. These collaborations can be a little tricky since the pen marks immediately begin to bleed when water touches them. While it can allow for beautiful and spontaneous effects, it also creates a fine line between collaborating with her drawing and the ink bleeding into invisibility. It's a line I am still learning the dance to, I love collaborating with her and always want to make sure her work is represented, which is one of the reasons we began searching for new ways to collaborate.

This drawing had an amusing start seeing how Eve actually drew it with her toes!! My mom stayed with us for a week and she is notorious for her strangely talented toes... yes, I said toes. She pretty much has four hands, that is how capable she is at using them to do a variety of activities one would not normally do with their feet. Drawing and writing are two of said activities, which of course, absolutely fascinated Eve. It will come at no surprise that since my mom's visit, Eve has been trying to use her toes to do pretty much everything, including drawing this piece of art.


The longer I stared at this drawing the more I saw a ship begin to form. Something about it reminded me of a broken ship headed to the edge of a waterfall, perhaps even the edge of the earth.

Growing up one of my absolute favorite books to read was the Narnia series, I couldn't get enough of them. I had flashbacks to the adventures of Prince Caspian out at sea searching for the seven lost lords of Narnia in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." This adventure filled quest came to an end when their final task required them to sail to the edge of the earth and leave one crew member behind. They sailed through all sorts of enchantments and trickery in order to reach the edge where the water became so shallow the ship could go no further, and dear Reepicheep, the mouse, continued on alone.

That beloved story became the inspiration for this piece as I imagined Prince Caspian's mangled ship sailing out of a cloud of enchantment only to find themselves literally at the edge of the earth.



Don't forget to check out the Video Time Lapse down below to see how Eve used her toes!
http://youtu.be/2cUeCJbQTik


Buy a print: https://www.etsy.com/listing/243188595/edge-of-the-earth-toddler-collaboration?ref=shop_home_active_1

STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT HOW TO WIN A SIGNED PRINT OF THIS PIECE AS WELL AS AN ORIGINAL PAINTING BY EVE!

I'll be hosting a contest shortly where you can win the above and the way to enter will be to collaborate with a copy of Eve's original sketch!! I am so excited to see what unique pieces come to exist through the beauty of each individual's imagination matched with Eve's!! 

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