I didn’t plan to decorate my son’s room with original art. Even though I am an artist myself, and an art educator, it didn’t occur to me that I should or could collect local artworks for a baby until my baby shower, when several artist friends gave original pieces, designed specifically for my son.
My son, Leo, is now two and a half, so his appreciation for these works has grown from addled newborn stares to the elaborate stories he now spins, based on the images on his wall. One of his favorite pieces is a pair of blue bunnies based on bronze sculptures at The Walters Art Museum, created by René Treviño, an amazing baby shower gift. These precious little guys are painted with a light hand and thick layers of viscous paint, and float daintily on a simple white background. They arrived stunningly framed and matted, in white on white. I love that the piece is simple enough to entice a young child, but elegant enough to treasure through adulthood.
Another incredible baby shower gift I received came from local artist and gallery director Alex Ebstein. She commissioned a work by Andrew Liang, another local artist, right after he had a show of paintings which featured small, hand-cut animal shapes, so that all the paintings – creatures, animals, basketball players, vehicles – functioned together in a larger installation.
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