Art exhibitions can be intimidating places for small children who often strain to see what the grown-ups are looking at, and are constantly told ‘don’t touch that!’.It’s with that in mind that Tricia Walters is hosting an exhibit completely for children.‘Through a Child’s Eye’ includes whimsical artwork depicting bunnies and children in cute poses and lots of zany stuffed animals that children are encouraged to touch and squeeze.And so that children will be able to easily see it, the artwork will hang on the walls of the Bermuda Society of Arts, at the eye level of the average eight-year-old.“A friend of mine wrote a short story for children and I did the illustrations,” said Mrs Walters. “I liked that so much I kept on doing paintings for children. I had three of them in my last show, and people kept saying they wanted more. They were really popular.”Because she wanted her show to be interactive she decided to look for stuffed toys. Bored with what she found, she decided to make her own. The result is a brightly coloured menagerie of peacocks, owls, giraffes, elephants and “boo boo bears”.“I started thinking about designing a boo boo bear when a little boy at a workshop came up to me and said he had a ‘boo boo’,” said Mrs Walters. “I didn’t know what that was because I don’t have children. He pointed to a little bump on his knee. I thought maybe it would be nice if children could have a toy that would carry their boo boos for them. Kids often don’t really talk about stuff that bugs them and worries them. The boo boo bears are just so squishy and you just want to love them. Every kid should feel like they have a boo boo bear.”Her stuffed animals are made with a combination of machine and hand sewing. She is the first to admit they aren’t perfect. She learned to sew while in primary school, and made her own clothing in college, but this was her first attempt at making stuffed toys.“You can see the stitching in some places. My stuffed animals are like little kids. They each take on their own personality as they come alive.”Today, she encourages her friends to learn to sew, or get some kind of crafting hobby as something fun and relaxing to do.Everything at her exhibition will be for sale. Her paintings will be offered in a variety of sizes, some framed and some unframed, and will range from $30 to $40. Her stuffed toys will also be inexpensively priced. She also plans to keep adding to the show as things are sold so that it will evolve.The show opens on July 27 from 5 to 7pm and runs until August 15.At the opening there will be the usual wine and cheese for adults, but children will be encouraged to pick lollipop flowers from a special garden she will have arranged at BSoA.On now at the BSoA until July 25 is an exhibit made from plastic debris found on the beach and a tactile exhibit, Hands on Art.Mrs Walters’ handicrafts and artwork can also be seen at Art on the Town, a crafts market held the first Sunday of every month from 11am to 3pm at CV Cafe off Water Street in St George.