Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday, May 14th! Are you trying to figure out what to do for your mom this year? Or, if your family is like mine, maybe you honor several of the special women in your life on Mother’s Day, including aunts, grandmothers, ect! It can be difficult trying to come up with a gift for moms that is meaningful and unique for Mother’s Day. However, today we’re going to talk about a choice that’s always both of those things: art!
When you create original art for someone, it’s always a one-of-a-kind gift, so creating art for your mom for Mother’s Day can definitely be a great idea. However, you also want to make sure that the art you give to your mom (or aunt, grandma, etc. ) is presented in the best way possible, right? Not just any doodle will do! For most moms, I think that the thought that is put into a gift means just as much as the gift itself. With that in mind, here are 5 tips for giving your mom thoughtful art – the kind of art that will make her smile every time she see’s it- this Mother’s Day!
1. Start with a Plan
It may seem obvious, but don’t just start drawing something generic with no plans or intention! Stop and think about your mom (or other recipient). Consider things like:
- Would she prefer something she can hang on the wall, something smaller, or functional art?
- What are her favorite colors?
- What medium does she like and/or what is your strongest artistic medium?
- What subjects might speak to her (more on that later)?
And last, but definitely not least:
- How much time do you have?
This last one is so important. It’s probably easy for a lot of us to imagine the work of art we’d ideally love to create for someone. That creative mind gets going and it can kind of seem like the possibilities are endless, right? While that’s a great feeling, creatively speaking, it doesn’t always pan out when you are trying to create a gift by a deadline. If you only have a couple of days before Mother’s Day, you want to make sure and plan something that’s realistic for you to finish…and to finish well! In other words, if you’re short on time, a bigger canvas is not always better. A simple, but well-executed idea, comes across as more thoughtful than a hurried attempt at a recreation of Starry Night (unless you’re totally confident that a recreation of Starry Night is your jam, of course.)
Brainstorming in terms of subject matter, medium, and practicality will help you get off to a good start with planning a thoughtful work of art for Mother’s Day.
2. Be Specific
A huge part of being thoughtful is being specific! In order to be specific in creating art for Mother’s Day, you definitely want to choose the topic/subject of your art with care. For example, if you have a mom who loves to garden, you may decide to draw her some flowers. That’s a great idea, and on it’s way to being specific! However, you can elevate that idea even more by being specific in the type of flowers that you draw. What are her favorites? What colors does she love?
You can also think outside of the box of typical Mother’s Day topics, too! For example, do you have a mom who loves coffee? You could paint her the perfect cup of coffee. Or do you have special memories of being with your mom at a particular place? Whether it’s your favorite restaurant or a beach vacation where you both made good memories, painting or a drawing a specific location that means a lot to both of you is a great example of being thoughtful and specific. You could also take a favorite photo of the two of you together to try to recreate with art!
Here are some more possible topics/subjects to get you thinking about being specific as you choose a topic for your thoughtful Mother’s Day art.
- What is your mom’s favorite book or movie? Could you draw inspiration from either with your art?
- Does she have any hobbies you could highlight in a fun way with your art?
- Does your mom love music or poetry? Could you use lyrics/words in your art? (Here are some ideas for using words in art).
- If you were to arrange a table with items that represent some of your mom’s favorite things, what would be on the table?
With a little brainstorming, it probably won’t be too hard for you to come up with some ideas about how to create thoughtful, meaningful, and specific art for your mom this Mother’s Day.
3. Consider Functional Art
Art isn’t always something you hang on the wall–it can come in many forms! As you plan and think about your mom’s specific interests, one thing to consider is whether or not she’s someone who would enjoy a functional work of art. This can be a particularly good idea if your mom doesn’t have a lot of wall space, or if you’ve already given her several pieces of traditional art. There are a lot of fun and creative ways to make art that your mom will use/interact with everyday!
For example, if your mom loves being outside and gardening, consider painting something for her garden! Instead of a canvas, you could paint a large rock or paving stone, a statue, elevate a birdhouse, etc.
Over on Sparketh’s Youtube channel, we have a couple of examples for DIY functional art that you can watch to get inspired! The first is a hummingbird feeder adorned with gorgeous, colorful, painted hummingbirds.
You could also create a one-of-a-kind frame that can hold a photograph of you and your mom. In the video below, you can see how Sparketh’s Youtube artist transforms a basic frame into a personalized masterpiece, using air dry clay and paint!
If you like the idea of functional art, here are a few more ideas to get you inspired:
- Hand paint clay (or polymer clay) beads and use them to create wearable jewelry art!
- Create a miniature drawing or watercolor painting, laminate it, and gift it as bookmark.
- You could also create your art on a small canvas and use hot glue to attach magnet strips to the back. Voila! The most artistic magnet ever.
- You could take a basic lamp/lampshade (check your local thrift store for best results) and paint the inside of the lampshade with acrylic paint. When the light is off, the lampshade will appear normal. Turn it on and your beautiful artwork will shine through the lampshade!
- Use your artistic skills to create a one-of-a-kind Mother’s Day card that your mom will want to keep forever.
4. Use Helpful Resources
When you’re creating art as a gift, you obviously want to do your best! One thing you can do to can ensure you are presenting your best effort is make use of helpful resources like the professional online art courses we offer at Sparketh. If you are already a Sparketh member, then you know that we have a large variety of online art courses that can help you sharpen your skills when working with a particular medium or trying to learn how to draw something new.
It’s amazing what a big difference step-by-step instruction can make, especially if you’re wanting to draw or paint something that you haven’t tried before. Many of our students are amazed by the artwork they are able to produce when following along with Sparketh courses and learning through a step-by-step approach.
Our course library includes courses on how to draw a variety of different animals, still-life objects, portrait styles, abstract art, and more. If you’re a member, and already have something specific in mind to create for your mom, you should definitely check out our course library. We probably have at least one course that will give you valuable tips and techniques to elevate your Mother’s Day art!
5. Add Finishing Details
Once you’ve planned and created your beautiful work of art for Mother’s Day, it’s time to think about the finishing details –also known as the presentation. A thoughtful presentation is the perfect finishing detail to show your mom that you were intentional about every aspect of the work of art you’ve made for her.
For example, if you used pencils, pen or watercolor to create your art, “finishing details” might mean finding a pretty frame to protect and go with it. If you created functional art, or art on canvas, you might want to take a little bit of time to wrap your gift carefully.
Don’t forget to write a few special words to your mom, too, possibly even describing what inspired you to create you work of art for her! (The ultimate finishing detail is always the note!)
Moms (and stepmoms, grandmothers, aunts, and other honorary moms) are already likely to love any work of art that you’ve taken the time to create for them. Hopefully these 5 tips will help you create an extra thoughtful gift for the special woman (or women) in your life this Mother’s Day!