The Three C's
I was driving with my teenage sons through the tranquil Devon lanes the other day listening to the trilling of three mobile phones drowning out the sounds of birdsong. The cows in the fields mooed in confusion as they wondered whether this was the new bell for milking time. My suggestion of a walk through the fields was met with the contempt they thought it deserved - my childrens' idea of a walk is taking five steps from one screen to another, their idea of a chat is an online session exchanging utter banalities with an entire classroom on MSN Messenger and my partner is married to his laptop instead of me.
Gone are the days of hunting for the children's favourite teddy to take on holiday, Vodaphone has a seat all of it's own! I'm accused daily of being a technophobe but I'm proud of my inability to sit for eight hours a day in front of a screen. Forget the government's stance on more education and the three R's, I want our society to have more of the three C's: community, contact and creativity and I'm sure that today's lifestyle is draining away the quality that these C's promote. Try visualising Picasso with a mobile!
Even the times that are supposed to be special, like birthday parties, are starting to become a special form of madness - force feeding children E-numbers until they are buzzing round the walls of a concrete hall filled with plastic bouncy things for two hours and then that's what they learn to call fun! Maybe I'm entering the grumpy zone but I decided to do something about it.
I've spent the last year running a successful business with a team of fellow artists providing Art Parties, sitting with groups of children having fun and being creative with their friends on a special day. Showing them another form of enjoyment; sharing their excitement as they produce something unique, special and really beautiful.
We are exploring new ideas to show even the youngest age groups how to make something amazing in an hour or two, using mosaics, clay, paint, textiles and an endless list of other materials. Now we are starting to package this experience to provide a way for parents to do it themselves.
Hectic life styles prevent us from spending quality time with our children - popping out to the shop for a pint of milk can feel like a major expedition some days and organising a children's party is enough to send any parent into a frenzy. Our expectations of creating a special day with quality time and laughter seems almost impossible when each day is so full of deadlines that even members of the family have to book an appointment for a chat. Oh for a fairy godmother to wave a wand, but she's booked up months in advance and can't squeeze you in this year.
So our idea of today's fairy godmother is a beautiful box dressed in ribbons and containing all the materials and instructions (clear enough for even the most party-stressed parent to understand) for a group of children to do something really special together and have the satisfaction of creating a beautiful work of art. Take-away art parties are the way to provide quality time without much planning.
