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Life's little
(and big) LESSONS,
one piece at a time

PRINTS that make our world A better one
crafted from THE ARTWORK OF MAXWELL, ZACHARY & Dad

 

Our Project

As an artist and a father, there is nothing more satisfying than watching my children create. They do so with such freedom, unencumbered by old habits, art history, or critiques. They are so proud of their artwork, each piece seemingly a new adventure and experiment in creativity. 

Day after day, my wife and I find ourselves teaching them the lessons of life we hold so dear – to be kind and empathetic, bold and fearless. These teachable moments happen everywhere, but especially around the same table where their art is made, as we talk about the day that was. 

As I was hanging some of their art on the refrigerator, admiring the differences between their work and my own, a moment of inspiration came to me. While many of their paintings are full of free flowing strokes of color, my own work centers around bold images with simple monotone backgrounds. What they are creating is what I feel like I’m missing from my own work. So what if I combined my art with theirs while also creating pieces of work to help teach the lessons we discuss day to day? 

With their permission I created our first combined piece of art, The Golden Rule, and hung it prominently in our home. My wife and I found that we were pointing to the artwork every time we thought they could be treating each other nicer. Outside of the house, we found they were referring to the piece when talking to each other and to us. So we created a couple more, and those too were helpful in getting our lessons through. These images now hang around our house, and are a part of our daily conversations. The boys love talking about them, and we love reinforcing the messages. 

And so my wife and I have a running list of lessons and a countless supply of their art to marry together to create new pieces of work to help them learn the lessons. These are creADDive lessons, by Maxwell, Zachary and Dad. 

The Prints

 We're so proud of the work we've created together. We hope you like them too.
Visit The Print Shop to bring these lessons into your home.

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While we teach, we learn

Seneca

The Artists

Dad has been an artist his entire life, knowing from a very early age that it was his passion. In fact he realized around the age his boys were when this project started that he really liked to create, and found himself filling notebooks with doodles and copying comic books. Decades of training and formal art schooling helped hone this talent, while also opening the doors to using all sorts of medium to create. Many of his pieces start off as a sketch on paper using a pen, developed more fully on the iPad, and then realized on either canvas, poster paper, or the streets in your neighborhood. He believes there is a place for nondescript art that pleases the senses, but instead focuses his energy on creating powerful images with messages that move people. 

Maxwell and Zachary are budding artists with futures as bright as their favorite colors. Their mom and dad encourage them to create freely, and not be afraid to make mistakes. "There are no mistakes in art" is common encouragement you can hear one give the other when a line or paint brush goes astray. It makes mom and dad smile. 

And don't let Mom fool you. She's got some creative chops too. She's developed a real talent encouraging three free-thinking creatives to be their best while also making sure the trains run on time and the roof we live under doesn't burn down. Mom also has an uncanny ability to remember where we placed all of the things we can't find. 

 

 

 

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