An unusual request, I know. But I am about to tell you what a grandmother would do to please her little dancer.
When my five year old granddaughter was told she could decorate her prop surfboard for the dance competition season, we were surprised that contrary to the other girls who were mostly painting flowers on their boards, she wanted a “real” mermaid.
There was lots of emphasis on REAL!
Now I ask you, what exactly is a real mermaid? After much questioning and probing, her mother sent me some ideas to consider for this challenge.
I had never painted on hard foam before, but the board came pre-primed.
This was a blessing because the acrylic craft paint which is already quite gritty compared to more expensive artist paints, adhered really well to the board.
After the mermaid was painted, I wanted to add a ballerina in the bubble she is holding, as though the mermaid wished to be a ballerina.
That was the story I told my oldest granddaughter who helped me base coat the board during her winter break.
Below is the bubble with the ballerina and my oldest granddaughter who loves anything to do with art, helping me paint the prop.
I saw youngest granddaughter’s first dance show this past Saturday. It was a very cute number with summer music and twenty or so girls dancing and “surfing” on their boards.
Unfortunately, the audience never got to see all the work everyone put into painting the surfboard props. They were flat on the ground or quickly stashed away.
An opportunity was missed for a very awesome display of beautiful surf boards with colourful summery art to go along with the dancing and the music.
I did get a quick glimpse of some sparkly Hawaiian flowers on one board before it was whisked away.
In the end, youngest granddaughter was very happy with her “real mermaid” board, and that is all that counts.
