Week 23 - In Full Color

art/ärt/Noun

1. The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

2. Works produced by such skill and imagination.

I'm working very hard (and let's face it, I'm Type A, so probably TOO hard) to let Owen create without restraint. I want him to be able to make and create with glee. And here's where my own crap influences my parenting (don't smirk, you do it too): I never felt free to be and make whatever I wanted, HOWEVER I wanted. I still don't really. Even in art school, I couldn't just ... let go. And maybe that's why I take pictures, dials, apertures, focal lenghts...control. I'm a perfectionist with authority issues. Can't ... ok WON'T ... follow a pattern, but I want what I make to be perfect the first time. There are a lot of rules in my world. And I don't want my kid to put that kind of pressure on himself. And I don't want to put that kind of pressure on my kid. I want him to have ideas and let it fly! So we started with finger painting. He painted the paper, he painted the wall, he painted the floor and he had paint from head to toe. And he mixed and he pushed and smeared, and we were both so happy. The paint didn't wash out of the shorts...oh well. And it was hard to get off the wall and the floor, but you know what? We did it all again the next morning!

Week 18 - How Do I Measure Up?

Inspired by Susannah Conway's call for honesty in blogging and a quote my friend Janelle found about motherhood, I've been thinking a lot about motherhood and being an artist, and the things they have in common.

First the quote:

"I figured that motherhood would be something that descended naturally, the same way my milk came in - a little painful, a little awe-inspiring, but part of me now for better or for worse. I waited patiently... any day now, I told myself, I am going to wake up and know what I am doing." - Jodi Picoult, Keeping Faith

And that's true for me...I always feel a little like I'm faking it. I felt that way in art school, too. And in both motherhood and in art, you take little pieces of your soul out of your body and you put them out into the world for all to see and judge. If people "get" what you're doing they will praise you; you are a good artist, you are a good mother. But if they don't understand, they will rip you to shreds with smiles on their faces.

December - Pane-ting

I got Owen markers for windows. Was this a good idea? Ummm...probably not, but he loves them! And I don't mind giving him a very washable spot to express his creativity. The only drawback I can find is that his work, like many installations, is only temporary and can't be saved to look back on. I predict many pictures of this window covered in Owen art.