Vitruvi-Anna Man

Think Da Vinci, think the circles.
Anna is now very much into detail when it comes to drawing. Brains, hair, ears, fingers, toes--they're all usually there.
All right. Let's do the tour.

The Balloon Period
The top one at left is of Anna and Mommy holding balloons in a little bit of wind.
The bottom picture is of Mommy holding a balloon (note the use of fingers) while lots of wind is blowing all around her. The lower circle is where you blow the balloon up. Anna signed this one in a seperate circle towards the bottom right. In a very original, mirror-like way.
It is generally agreed that this period has its genesis in the influence of her balloon-crazy brother, Tommy.

The Intestine Period
For a few weeks, Anna would not leave these internal organs out of any drawing she considered 'finished'
Not after we ordered a book about the human body from the Scholastic Book Order.
(Remember? The book order you did through your elementary school. Before Amazon, this was a big deal. At least to me.)

Evidently, the digestion/intestines page made the biggest impression on Anna. She was including them in all her drawings of humans and still points them out wherever squiggly lines are found. In some of the funniest places.

(Really, go ahead: look for some on the Passenger Safety Information Card next time you're on a plane.
And also on the 'Plastic Man' superhero stamp now available from the post office. As in:
[whiny voice] "But Mooooommy, we need to get the intestinnnnnnnnnnnes stamps...")

Sadly, there are currently no known examples from this period in existence.

The 'Scapes' Period
(Scapes being my shorthand for any type of outdoor scene on a grand scale. Click on the image for a larger view.)

The first drawing is of Jack, Mommy, and Thomas standing on mountains. When I asked her why she hadn't drawn herself, she told me that I couldn't see her because she was taking the picture.

The second drawing is tentatively titled 'Under the Sea'. Note the waves at the top, octopus in the middle, and various crocodile- and sqirrel-like fish swimming about.

The third picture is a double 'scape', of sorts. The bottom is Mommy scuba diving. Note my horizontal position, helmet and air hose. The top part is Anna in space. When I asked her what all the up and down lines across her legs are, she told me those were her 'space leggings'. Fashion forward, as always. Originally she had told me that she was going to draw her and I scuba diving together. When I asked her why she didn't draw herself under the water as well, she told me:
"I didn't draw me, Mommy, because you were too big. So I went on a planet mission." Oh.

The final drawing is of a horse and some other creatures. I like the tail, ears, and legs. And large smile.