Lily is a fantastic artist– her fine attention to detail and hard work pay off– she’s created some real masterpieces at the young age of six. I’m really quite proud.

She’s also produced a fair number of “what the fuck?” pieces, such as this latest one:

It’s actually a ballerina dancing, I’m told, along with the letter “L” formed by two fingers. I totally see now that it’s been explained, but it still looks like something from a horror movie to me. I may indeed have nightmares.

They can’t all be winners, I suppose. So, I’m expecting something amazing any day now.

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I’m not sure quite what to make of this.

But, man, I’m hot.

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Lily loves to draw. Loves it. I recognize in her the same passion I had when I was her age and it thrills me. Eager to help foster this love of the arts, I’ve had her drawings printed on t-shirts and plates and allow her to wallpaper her room with her creations, just as I did.

But, there aren’t many things that have excited me as much as our most recent project. I took some of my favorite pieces of Lily’s and scanned them in to the computer. I turned a few smiles upside down and arranged them to tell a (somewhat) cohesive story. (And a timely one as we hope to move in the coming months.) Here is our tale:

I used Lulu.com to build, print and bind it and cannot wait for it to arrive. (You can print pretty much any book you can think up and, no, I wasn’t given anything to mention them. For larger books, I can speak to the quality of Blurb.com where I printed my blog-book)

The cost for Lily’s book? A mere seven bucks. But the fact that she can hold and read and share a book that she created? Pretty much priceless. And definitely my favorite gift ever.

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I was ready to haul Lily off to the shrink when I caught a glimpse of this recent drawing. Were my inappropriate movie choices beginning to manifest themselves in her sweet brain? Had she accidentally caught the evening news when I thought she was sleeping soundly in my room? Did Halloween have a lasting impact on her? Just what was going on inside that twisted little head?

Any guesses?

{Updated to explain the little artist…}

The drawing was actually the first of a wedding series Lily drew. The groom’s tie had blown in the wind, hence the expression on his face. (You can understand his frustration, yes?)

Here are the bridesmaids,

and the flower girls.

It seems my daughter doesn’t need that therapy quite yet.

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Growing up, my brother and I didn’t have the best of relationships. He was the typical pesky little brother and I was a total bitch. The moments when we actually got along were incredibly few and far between. Most times, they involved me bossing him around and him relishing the attention that I was briefly giving him. I recall dressing him up in my clothes and parading him along the main street we lived on, complete with jelly bracelets and lipstick. He didn’t even flinch. (And, no, he is neither gay nor a cross dresser. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

There was a brief period where we played teacher and student. We ripped apart every Highlights and National Geographic we owned and glued them on the walls of the basement, transforming it into a classroom. We knew what we were doing was wrong, but it was fun. And we were in it together. We figured we’d deal with the consequences later, and it was totally worth it. To our surprise, there were no consequences. Our parents were so thrilled to have us playing together, that I think we could have done just about anything.

Unlike my brother and I, Lily and Ben play happily together for hours. They play zoo and safari and post office. They tell each other stories and have dance parties. Last night, they were quieter than usual. After about an hour, they came down, giddy with excitement. We’ve been having so much fun, Lily squealed. Come see what we did!

And there it was. All of their artwork lining the stairs. Tape, broken off craft pieces and remnants of chalk littered the floor. It’s a classroom, Ben chimed in. Isn’t it so cool?

And it was.

I’m fully expecting the cross dressing to start shortly. And there won’t be anything wrong with it.

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Sarcasm doesn’t always convey here, on the world wide web. This post was one of those times. Illustrated below is ink blot art– you know, when you take globs of paint and press paper together and interpret it? I was totally and utterly not serious. This round, I’m clarifying that, so you can appreciate my genius interpretation. Though my children are bright, they really suck at following direction…

I told you my children were geniuses. Check out these masterpieces! I asked them to paint a heavy set Danish woman selling apples, a cheerful butterfly and a wicked maiden with long braids and an hourglass figure. They nailed it.

Don’t you just see it?

No?
Maybe it’s just me…

Originally published April 09, 2008

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I have often marveled at how children choose the most basic items to entertain themselves. The boxes and bubble wrap that contain birthday presents are always far more interesting than the gifts tucked that are inside. Pots and pans create better music than any store bought instruments and hours can be spent pouring water between cups. It makes me wonder why we have a basement full of toys.

Today, Evan spent over an hour arranging dried apples and raisins onto a kitchen chair. Over an hour…

He arranged, and rearranged…

He stood back and admired his work…

He was so very proud.

Until his brother tragically mistook the masterpiece for a snack.

Oh, the life of an artist is filled with heartbreak.

Next time, we’re playing with rocks.

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Lily: I really need some more money. I don’t have enough.

Me: OK, you can do some chores. The playroom needs cleaning, your shoes can be straightened up and Penelope needs to be fed.

Lily: Nah, I don’t want to do those kinds of chores. I could draw you a picture. You know how people pay artists for their art?

Me: Not quite what I was thinking, but ok… How about a picture of all of us? We don’t have many of those.

Lily: No. I want to draw a supermarket.

Me: Ooookay…

I paid her a nickle for it, admitting that it was a pretty darn good supermarket. I fear that I’ve set a very poor precedent, however. She just asked me how much she could get for drawing a whole city.

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