My daughter threatened to hijack my computer. I think she was tired of me quoting Japanese monks. She said she would rather quote Hannah Montana or the Cheetah Girls. I said no way, time to go to the woods. Good thing she likes the woods.
You will be seeing a lot of my daughter, Carolyn, in the upcoming days. Because guess what? School is almost out! Yes, and what better way to integrate your children into your work then by taking them out on photo shoots. It’s either that or stick her in front of the TV all day long. C’mon! What’s a mother to do, eh?
And I did mention to her that I would be displaying her artwork online. She is really excited about that. It seems she was born with a crayon in her hand, and being only 8 years old she is a top notch artist.
I believe in promoting creativity, and uniqueness, and I know there are other mothers out there who do this too. I think of recent discussions with Sandi Law, author of Geeked Off!, and Kelly Erickson, author of Maximum Customer Experience, about these kind of ideas. It sounds like they have pretty creative kids. And I believe free thinking creatives will change the world.
So my coffee table resembles an artist’s studio, and my living room resembles a shambles, because there is always some type of project in the works.
I also try and enlarge my kid’s worlds (I have two) by letting them learn and investigate what they want. I don’t push them into things, but try to encourage their own thought processes – kind of like what I do here with my blog.
Because we all know life is a creative journey – and if you’re not living it, who is?
So what do you do to encourage your kid’s creativity, or your own for that matter. Because that is where it all starts. They say that fruit never falls far from the tree. But if yours did, what kind of creative woods did you find yourself in?
Photo Credit: © Ellen Wilson
Ellen,
A beautiful shot of a lovely young lady! I keep meaning to get a Flickr account and throw up a bunch of my daughter’s (and my) stuff, but I never make a moment. Maybe that’s a summer project.
I hope yours and mine stay free-thinking creatives. I keep our world as flow-y as possible to encourage her, but once they hit school there’s a certain amount of conformity that comes into their lives, and it can be tough to combat.
Two chicks on our own? Our bachelorette pad is filled with 2/3-finished this-n-that. (And completed this-n-that for inspiration.) A little artistic mess does wonders for the creative juices.
If you live your own life as a creative journey and your kid loves and admires you, I think they’ll find their way to it. The same way I thought languages were cool because my father knew a few, and the way my mother’s constant exploring of new creative media encouraged me to try everything from sewing to furniture refinishing to painting to calligraphy to sculpture.
Flip side: I suffered it, but I never thought physics was cool just because Dad did. There’s only so much admiration can get you.
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..You Definitely Don’t Want to Know These 8 Random Things About Me
Excellent advice, Kelly. I think if you try a lot of different things, different media, you integrate it into who are and what you create.
Never did like physics much either, at least the math part of it all, but I love the philosophy behind Quantum Mechanics! Albert Einstein can do wonders with numbers, just give me the ideas behind it all. We all need our special symbol systems, and numbers is not one of mine.
Yes, it is true about school. School demands conformity, so I try to “undo” the more unpleasant aspects of it when the kids get home – like with my philosophical discussions.
I don’t have kids of my own, but I like to corrupt my nephews. That’s what Uncles are for (Uncle By-Law IV, paragraph b).
Much to the parents’ consternation, I give ‘em lots of chocolate at Easter to get them all wound up. Once they got laser space guns at Christmas and styrofoam swords and shields to wail on each other. The kids loved it…boys will be boys!
(Oh, don’t worry, I still also give them “educational” toys, lego and art supplies). Uncle Friar is not totally bad.
Most importantly, I gave them a Bugs Bunny DVD. Because if there’s one gift you should give a child, it’s the gift of laughter. And what better way to do this than to expose them to Chuck Jones’ insane humor?
Sometimes Caillou just dosen’t cut it.
But I also encourage creativity by getting them lego and artencouraged my nephews. I made sure they got a “Bugs Bunny” DVD, so that at least they learn something is out there besides “Caillou”.
Friar’s last blog post..Standing-Room-Only’s
@Friar – Well, I bet they eat the chocolate and freak out with the weapons. Because they are tired of watching Caillou. Didn’t Caillou make soft, gentle little beepy noises? Or was that Teletubbies? I like the Teletubbie with the erect wand on top of his head. hehe.
It’s true you can’t sheild kids from mainstream society. In fact, they probably will rebel (if that’s their nature) if you try to keep them from watching Hannah Montana or playing with hero action dolls. At least that’s what I think.
I don’t have kids but I remember when I was a kid myself, my mom always encouraged me to do creative projects. Ah, those were the days!
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..Freelance Cutout Q&A
We grew up with cap-guns, fire crackers, violent TV and tobacco advertising. And we are all grew into relatively normal, fully-functionning adults (at least, I hope so!)
You’re right. If you make something a forbidden fruit (like certain TV shows or junk food) then the kids will rebel and just want more of it. Everything in moderation.
The Teletubbies are the ones who beep and make stupid sounds. One TV Evangelist (forget who) was mad at the purple one. Apparently the purple one is ‘gay’ and is a bad influence on kids. (..yeah, I know..go figure!)
Caillou does speak, but in a childish whiny voice, you just want to throttle him.
On a related note…Wordpress recently told me one of the popular search engines used to find my blog used “Caillou stupid f**cking retard”.
Whoa. Harsh, dude!
Friar’s last blog post..Standing-Room-Only’s
I love that picture, Ellen. It’s really cool.
I do a lot of what you do…try not to stifle his ideas, let him roll with his weird concepts, and help him out where I can. He’s on a photography kick right now, so we’ve been taking tons of photos for a scrapbook. Yes…I’ll post them when he’s done.
@Melissa- Hey, don’t stop with your creative projects! Even if your mom is not here to tell you to.
@Friar – I haven’t figured out search engine results for my blog yet. I’m not sure that I want to. I can kind of guess by what the content is about. I’ll take Teletubbies over Caillou any day. Any kinda puppet with a weird symbol on its head – that makes my day.
@Sandie – Hey, thanks for that! I can’t wait to see what your son creates with his photographic ventures. He sounds like just the right type for my Carolyn. Maybe we should hook them up? And how do you feel about prearranged marriages? Carolyn’s only seven years older than your son. Same as me and my husband. Ha!
My house looks like an art studio most of the time. I have an art table set up in the living room with paint at the ready and people like to come over and paint. My kids paint, my mother comes over and paints, I paint there, there is always a project going on and sometimes more than one.
One of the benifits of eating dnner in the dining room every day is that the kitchen table turned into art area number two. Then of course there is my office…goes without saying…art area..disaster almighty…We have stuff going on all the time.
Ellen,
It’s a little you! Wow, what a cutie.
To the serious side of what you wrote, that is the basis of a conversation I’ve had with Cathryn a few times. I’ve often thought that people who have really traditional lines of work (think, old school farming, or cabinetry or something) have a real opportunity to teach their children well.
Or what you are doing. I’m not able to take my kids to work at all, and I wish I could.
-Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post..canada 2, greece 0. a story about running.
yea for art!
I think the internet is a great way for kids to get feedback on and encouragement for their work!
Darren Daz Cox’s last blog post..Organic frames and thoughts on Christiana Morgan
@Ellen.
Yeah, I know I was harsh on Caillou, but not THAT harsh. The search engine results were just something that WordPress lets you know by default. I had nothing to do with it. But it just goes to show there’s a lot of hatred out there for Little Mister Light-Bulb Head!
@Brett. Are you SURE you want to take your kids to the widget factory? (I’d keep them as far, far away from that place as I could). They might get ASSIMILATED.
I guess it all depends on your job. If you’re a galley slave, or a poison-taster for a King, then “Take your kids to work” might not be such a good idea.
Friar’s last blog post..Standing-Room-Only’s
@Friar,
No, not here!
I’d rather change careers e.g. as I’ve alluded to a few times before, perhaps running a farm – and then spend time with my kids. I have fond memories of working with my father in the shop on the weekends. It would be nice to be at home always in that regard. Yes, I know they have school but not in the summer.
Brett Legree’s last blog post..canada 2, greece 0. a story about running.
@Brett.
I’m too lazy to be a farmer. You gotta work 24/7 and can’t just take off on vacation when you like. Chores need doin’ and critters need tendin’ to.
Those are the hardest working people, in my books.
Friar’s last blog post..Standing-Room-Only’s
@Wendi – I’m kind of anal so I do like some semblance of order. I’m working on getting Carolyn to pick up her stuff, and tidy up her area. I know during summer it will get worse!
@Brett – Camera is way to big for Carolyn to pick up, but I like to get her a little disposable one once in awhile. If you like to play in the garden (if you have one) your kids will pick that up as well. Then they will pass that on to their kids. That’s what Mike is doing anyway.
Yeah, she is a cute wood gnome. Ha!
@Darren – Yeah, I agree. I never thought of it that way, but Carolyn can read the comment section after I post her stuff. She will dig it.
@Friar – I never realized that there was such a venemous hatred towards Caillou! Poor Caillou. I feel sorry for him now.
Working for yourself is hard no matter what you do – farm or write.
Thank you for you very comprehensive comment about the Kilroy painting. The little guy is the traditional graffiti drawing for Kilroy. I am really liking you site. I might like to link you so I could easily visit it often. Let me know how that strikes you.
nouveaufauves’s last blog post..Kilroy Was Here
@Sandra – Ah! That’s right! That little guy is Kilroy!
I try to leave well thought out comprehensive comments. It requires me taking a bit of time digesting what a blogger says, and sometimes I just don’t have the time. I am still tweaking how to do this properly given the time constraints I operate under. I like your blog too, very nice. The artwork is superb.
Sure you can link to my site!
@Ellen, Thanks. My mom is here to tell me. In fact, she’s the one who encouraged me to become a writer and she also taught me to read before I even turned four! Thanks mom!
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..Recipe for Freelancing
@Melissa – You had a great mom, then. And you obviously have a knack with the written word.
I couldn’t read until I was six. I don’t think I was ready for it. Plus those damn Dick and Jane books were so stupid, “See Dick run. Run, run, run.” Puhleeze!
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