Spend some time with your family making pottery.

When my children were small, we did art projects. These projects usually consisted of my planning it and them completing it. But it wasn't until we did one together as adults did I realize the gifts that are hidden in a true community art project.

It all started with my birthday. I managed to convince my grown adult children to paint pottery with me. My intention was to create individual plates for family meals. As we worked together around a table, we were able to discover each other's talents and interests. While one child was content in painting dots all over her plate, another carefully studied the stencils, meticulously chose the paint, and painstakingly created her plate in great detail. One child's plate showed her family - a dog and three cats, while another created his own unique lettering. Even I managed to express my thoughts in pottery.

Did one turn out better than the other? Of course not, and we were able to fully appreciate the creative characteristics of each other as we worked side by side. Everyone's piece represented a little bit of his or her personality, forever captured on a plate.

We were able to express our individuality in a family setting. Brothers and sisters are trying to carve their own identities as they grow up. By creating our own unique individual art piece within a family experience, we are able to express ourselves and be appreciated for who we are.

Had we started earlier in life, we could have attempted other art projects as well. We could have built our own doll house and each decorated a room in it. We could have learned to knit or sew and made a family quilt. We could have visited our local craft store and chosen a new art medium that no one had experienced. By learning together, we would become teachers to each other as well as fellow artists.

We could have designated a wall in our home as our "art wall" and all created pieces for it. We could have chosen different mediums ranging from string art to chalk to junk art. We could have studied great painters and attempted our own masterpieces in that style. By doing it together, moms and dads included, we could have learned about art and about each other.

We could have used our art sessions and extended them to our community. Together, we would have painted planters to donate to a local retirement center. We could have created place mats to be used at a nursing home. We would have drawn get well cards for a hospital. We could have created posters for a local animal shelter.

Any art project results in a masterpiece. But by creating these masterpieces together as a group where everyone participates, appreciates, and encourages each other, we learn to value that unique artist that resides in each one of us.

About the Author:

Luanne Davidson is the proud mother of three adult children and wonders what might have been if she had done a thing or two differently. She writes her "Coulda, Woudla, Shoulda" column each Thursday.

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