Mike Is Being an Artist Again

From a Sonlight buddy’s blog. I love to read about folks my age who are rediscovering their lost passion for art.

(While your visiting listen to the fiddle music. It’s great!)

I was too embarrassed to actually submit my blog name for Art Every Day Month 2008. I much prefer to stay out of the spotlight and just do my thing. I’m in awe when I see the kinds of things the others create and pretty much feel like the poor relative living in the attic.

Just in time I read this bit from The Hidden Art of Homemaking (p 48):

First of all, be satisfied with the fact that although your art or talent may never be accepted by the world as anything ‘great’, and may never be your career, it can be used to enrich your day by day life: enrich it for you, and for the people with whom you live. And secondly, come to a recognition of the fact that it is important for you to be creative in this area to the extent of your talent: important for you as a person who is a creative creature.

AHHH!

Yes, I skipped over a few there. What can I say? It’s much easier to remember the date than it is to remember how many posts I’ve made so far this month.

My Sunday project:

Flower Child’s Sunday project:

I took some other pictures but I wasn’t paying attention and that fancy new Mod Podge caused funny reflections. I’ll fix that next time.

My Flower Child (age 10 years 10 months and 29 days) helped me got into the groove today. She is my artist in residence and general all-around creative kid. She loves to create using whatever she can find. She has lots of cool art supplies, but the key word there is ‘whatever she can find’. What can be found is directly related to how deep the clutter is on the floor of her bedroom!

Today, she made several pieces using finger paint, cardstock, tissue paper, acrylic paint, watercolor markers, red plastic wrap, glue, glitter, and our experimental stuff of the day: Mod Podge. Evidently she has no more red acrylic paint (although she could produce neither the empty tube nor any other tube from her own stash), so she was very excited to see my new (cheap) set. Watching her wheels spin when she’s working does wonders for letting go of my inhibitions.

Here’s a picture of her hard at work:

Is it cool to mention that I love white glitter? At my age, that might not be politically correct. Maybe it’s some kind of subconscious connection to the snow in Illinois or possibly it just reminds me of Christmas. In any case, I believe that no home should be without at least one, very large shaker.

During my shopping spree at Hobby Lobby this week I just happened to walk down the arts and crafts aisle and spied one of those honkin’ jars of MOD PODGE. My mom was a neat freak. There was never Mod Podge in my house growing up so I’ve always had this secret longing to stick my fingers in this stuff. Being my mother’s child and all, I did NOT go for the honkin’ jar but instead brought home two small jars: gloss and matte. I may have to put it under lock and key… Flower Child has been drooling over it since I got home.

I also bought a big paint brush. Not just for the Mod Podge, but because all of Flower Child’s brushes are small. Good for her, but I like BIG strokes. Come on… I’m an amateur. Big strokes are much easier. Okay, maybe not. But they just feel right to me.

Okay… there are bears singing STAYIN’ ALIVE on the television. My brain just shut off to process….