art, mommyhood, job

Summer is ...

Children scamper no longer underfoot, but definitely around. My kids are now 14, 18 and 21. There are still sports events to watch, early morning wake up calls to get ready for jobs, meals to cook, a house to maintain. We all know what it takes to be the hub of a family so that it can function as a unit and for the individuals to continue to grow.

The other day the five of us walked to our local coffee shop, just to be together. A painting shaped in my mind of the days when my children young and bowling balling it through life ran and flew and spiraled as constellations around my sun. There was a gravitational pull which kept us in proximity emotionally and physically. Now those children are becoming their own suns. There are galactic bodies entering their gravitational pulls. While I feel a loss not more little bodies to paint or to attach to me, there is a bigger universe being created.

Painting children being children has always been a passion. Kids, like nature, are such a gift. I had the blessing to be able to illustrate a parenting book this past winter. It gave me the opportunity to paint families and the feeling of families. It took all the knowledge I have gained both as a mom and as a painter to create the images. Photos just do not work they must be augmented with knowledge of anatomy, color theory and design.

While juggling making art, being mom and having a business- 3 very different uses of the brain 3 very different ways of functioning, I realize how powerful it is when we can find internal connections augmenting each.