FATHER'S DAY BALLOON PLAY

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BALLOONS FOR CHILDREN & GRANDCHILDREN

My twin boys got a lot of balloon time in their younger days.  The picture (left) shows them at play with a set of balloon creatures that I designed in modular units so they could be assembled in a variety of ways. They were similar in nature to the "Mr. Potato Heads" that were popular for a while. You could connect the parts and rearrange them to make a lot of different creatures from relatively few elements.

My boys are both fathers themselves now. This picture is one of those I found when I went rummaging to see what interesting things I might send them as a Father's Day greeting (June 17, 2012). 

The grandchildren do not get the same level of balloon play as their fathers except on those infrequent occasions when "Graham Pa" swoops in with a bag of balloons.  Those are fun times.

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CHOOSING THE FATHER'S DAY SCENE
But, on this Father's Day I was searching for something more universal, a scene that my boys experienced with me that might remind them of scenes they have, or could have, with their children.  I found a scene I really liked.

You can see it to the right.  We were nested together on the living room sofa.  We were settling in after one damaged arm had been patched. One brother had catapulted the other through the air and into some furniture.  The furniture survived nicely, but my son's left arm did not do as well. The hospital trip was not so bad. In fact, we made a little adventure out of it.  But, it was nice to pause together on the sofa afterward to reinforce the bonds tested by the day.  I can see my grown up boys having similar moments with their children.

ENHANCING THE PICTURE 

While the scene was just right, the old snapshot was weak, dirty, a little out of focus and the strong back lighting made it hard to see the three subjects.  I decided to rebuild it as a digital illustration.  It took a few hours, but it was a pleasure to work on it, and it gave me a few hours to reflect on my years as a father and grandfather. The memories were rich and I tried to build that richness into the colors and textures of the image below.

I hope you enjoy the illustration and the memories it may stir in you.

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Thanks for joining us here on "Making It With Balloons"  Blog

Your Host,
Graham Rouse



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