art fair and the artist

this weekend louisville hosted one of the largest art fairs in the country. we played hookey from church and braved the cold fall air to go take a look. it was in old louisville among AMAZING victorian homes. the fair was organized in a loop with booths set up on each side of the walk way. we took our time looking and walking.

i love things like that. i love getting out into the community, doing something together as a family. sure it's a lot of work for something you don't know for certain will go well. but today it proved oh so worth it.

even though the art we saw was diverse and amazing, capturing lots of my attention...i actually was most taken with alaythia. she absolutely LOVED it, often times stopping us and asking us to go into a booth with her. she took her time and enjoyed. the sparkle of some glass, the texture of a hat, the funky jewelry in a row. it captivated her. the colors, the beauty, the creativity. it was like she was seeing what was possible for the very first time. and as i watched her i thought, 'she belongs here'.

my favorite moment of the day was a when alaythia pulled sophia and i into a wind chime booth. these weren't your ordinary wind chimes...they were precious stones, shaved almost paper thin and hung together to make the chime. when the different kinds, and different widths, of rock hit each other they made a melody of beautiful notes. they were hung just high enough that the girls couldn't reach them, so i actually relaxed as we entered. their different colors refracted light and twinkled around the booth. and then, just as we walked in, the wind picked up and set them off.

i watched the girls twirl and twist to see all the different chimes. their faces to the sky, whipping from chime to chime to see them all in action. alaythia giggled and soph, as if she knew, raised both her hands as high as she could reach.

it will forever be etched in my mind.

i'll admit, even though i get asked almost every day if i will let her paint. even though i know she loves to color and create...it wasn't until today, when she was surrounded by art and artists, that it crossed my mind that she may be an artist herself...

this afternoon she brought us all into the hallway, leading us eyes closed until she said to open them. and then all at the same time, we opened our eyes to find papers lined up on each side of the hall, a masterpiece for each of us that she had drawn. she had created her own art fair in our house..and i can tell you truthfully, we were all too eager to buy.