An Artist's Magic

Abby is a blossoming young artist. At home, she listens with her ears open, follows directions, and tries very hard not to double dip her paints. Lee even made up a rhyme to help remind her not to double dip. She sometimes chants it to herself while painting.

She loves to paint.

When I ask her if she wants to do an art project, she immediately suggests painting. Now, I don't mind the idea of painting. We use water based paints, so clean up is a cinch. I just hate dragging out all the supplies: art smock, paint brushes (which always go missing), paints, paint cups (or some other holder), paper (or whatever we're going to paint), and a towel to cover the dinner table chair. It takes about 10 minutes to haul everything out and set it up. Then Abby paints with excitement and vigor for about 10 minutes or so - and she's spent. She's done. Bored even. "May I please be excused?" Sheesh. I've tried to keep her interested in it, trying to work on her attention span and all, but it doesn't seem to work. So, I spend another 10 minutes washing paint brushes, wiping down the table top, putting away the paints, and hanging her art to dry. It never quite feels like it's worth the hassle. But Abby loves it.

We decided to try something new. How about painting pottery? Or ceramics? I spoke to a woman at work who says she takes her kids to a place like that in Folsom. I asked how expensive it is and she said it was pretty reasonable. I decided to take Abby and check it out. We went to "Color Me Mine."

The little studio was cute and well kept. The staff was nice and they complimented Abby on her careful painting and neat work station. But the prices were outrageous! It was $30 for just Abby to paint a 1 foot long ceramic piece. Yeah, this will have to be kept as a once-in-a-great-while-special-treat. Not an everyday thing.

Abby took it very seriously though. She was too cute how much she concentrated on her painting. I framed this picture while her eyes were down on her work. She kept her fingers up to her chin, tapping them as she thought about what to do next. She looked up at me just as I snapped the photo.



Reaching for her paints...



When selecting what ceramic to paint, we perused their entire selection before returning to exactly what Abby had first spotted. A magic wand. Now, I'm standing there picturing Abby waving her wand with grandiose movements while twirling and spinning around the room - only to have the fired pottery slam into a wall and shatter into a million pieces. I gently tried to talk her out of it. But Abby insisted on the wand, and the wand is what she painted.

After 5 business days, we got it back. Here's the fruits of Abby's artist endeavors:






And here's how pleased Abby is with her work:



And I'll be counting the days that it remains in one piece...