Skye Memoir

Skye

Little giggles should have tipped me off, or rather, the silence in between. After a long day of babysitting my young cousins, the arrival of dusk told me it was time to get their friend Gwen home. I left the dinner half prepared and went to find Skye and Gwen. At first, I didn’t quite absorb the situation. After all, what little girls didn’t like playing with make-up? I practically lived in the stuff when I was growing up. But something about the reflection in the mirror made me look again and I knew I didn’t have any eye shadow in such a hot pink or clown blue shade.

“Oh my goodness! What have you done?” I cried, more to myself than to the little girls. There before me sat the smuggest three-year-old artist and her model you’ve ever seen. The artist held a small jar of hot pink zinc oxide in one hand and she was expertly applying thick amounts to her best friend’s face. On the counter sat a blue jar. As I went in for a better look, a million thoughts crossed my mind. Where had it come from? How long had I left the girls to their own devices? How was I going to get it all off before sending Gwen home? How did Skye apply it so perfectly? Oh my goodness, this is a piece of art and we have a VanGogh in the family. This kid is amazing. She has applied the colors in perfect symmetry to both sides of Gwen’s face. Even the ears are completely coated and opposite colors. Do we have a camera?

There was no way I could send Gwen home looking like she belonged in Cirque du Soleil so I had to remove Skye’s masterpiece as best I could. Armed with a wet face cloth, I began to gently wipe her pink and blue cheeks. On her part, Gwen sat patiently as her best friend’s artistic endeavor dribbled down the sink.

Skye’s creativity and artfulness are one of a kind. One year, she painted my toes a dazzling red and did a better job than any esthetician I’ve ever been to. More recently, she engineered and created a magnificent wooden doll-house to display different kinds of wallpaper for a grade nine Renaissance project. From hot pink, to clown blue to bright red, this little artist has, continued to color her world and to amaze us all.