Ella and Anna-Sofia, two sisters living in Espoo, Finland have started making and sharing art with their new friends in the UK. Their mother, Elisa, has recounted their process as they begin their process of understanding themselves and each other through art practise.
Dear You,
The girls were very excited about the project. We first discussed about uniqueness in general and then about their individual unique features. I might have gone a bit too far with the biological side of it as the girls now want DNA tests done :)
Both girls nicely identified factors that make them unique -genetic features, as well as, recognising how the environment has affected their uniqueness. E.g. birthmarks, fingerprints, hair, eye and skin colour, bilinguality due to ”two homelands” were some of the features that came up.
Just yesterday we were on a sandy beach and the kids were comparing their footprints on the sand -that came up when we talked about the imprints. However, both girls were sure about wanting to draw a sort of traditional potrait of themselves rather than an abstract one. Anna-Sofia wanted to add some words around the portrait that describe her. Ella emphasized her hair and smile.
We had two takes on the drawings -they drew the first ones accidentally on A3 and then drew the second ones on A4. First edition was done outdoors in the countryside at my Mum’s place and the second ones at home.
I think it was really healthy for the girls and I to mindfully think about and embrace their uniqueness through this process. The subject of uniqueness led us to discuss how easily children compare themselves to each other ( the sisters know it too well :) ) and how there’s no need for a comparison as everyone is different and worthy in their own ways. To me as their Mum it reminded of the importance of recognising and embrasing it on a daily basis.
Best regards,
Elisa
Ella (8 years old) and Anna-Sofia (10 years old) live in Espoo, Finland. They are making and sharing art with Alethea (8 years old) and Sigi (7 years old) who live in Fordham, UK. Their friendship started in July 2020.