Word(s) of the Day :: F thru O

What started out as a solution for hitting an art journaling wall, so to speak, has turned into a really sweet pocket of time where I get to talk, laugh and create with my son.  I wrote about the beginning of this project here.

Top :: Forward Motion by me
Bottom :: Forward by Grady (the sign says TO DREAM LAND)

We have strayed from the thesaurus and are picking words that bring up a visual image to one or the both of us.  We play around with words, look up definitions and joke about how horrible Roget is (G thinks his copy of Roget's mini thesaurus is the worst and I tend to agree with him.).

Top :: Grow [UP] by Grady
Bottom :: Grow by Me

The time we're spending together on this project isn't forced and it's definitely not happening every day.  When we have time in the morning, I'll ask him if he wants to work on our project.  Some days he's up for it and some days he's not.  I'm listening to him and proceeding with my own daily journaling, hoping he'll join me the next day or the day after that - when he's ready.  I've also found that it's almost always better if I ask him after he's eaten breakfast.  Lessons learned the hard way.  He needs food before he can create - just like I need coffee.

Top :: Home by Me
Bottom :: [My] Home by Grady

Some days he's just not that into it and he'll just sit and talk to me while I draw.  He always acts astonished when he sees the end result.  It's the nicest, sweetest reaction a mom could hope for.  When he's working beside me, we always have in depth conversations about art or artists, what he's reading and what the plans are for the coming day.  It's such a great way to check in with him and see how he's feeling and what's on his mind.  This is also a great time to tease his father on all manner of things (i.e., his morning hair, his choice of clothing, his mood).  Steve just quietly observes us, raises an eyebrow and keeps on moving.

Left :: Imagine by Me
Right :: Imagine by Grady (the floating white animals are clouds that are meant to look like animals)

I've also been using this project as an experiment in hand lettering and testing out color combinations and writing styles.

Top :: Jabberwocky by Me
Bottom :: Jabberwocky by Grady [inspired by the art of Justin Hillgrove]

G spent three hours on this Jabberwocky illustration.   We read the poem several times and talked with accents while we were drawing.  We're silly like that.

Kaleidoscope
Left :: Grady
Right :: Me

This project has definitely been a lot more rewarding than the obligatory drawing-a-day he was doing on his iPad in the Brushes application.  He is totally over that app and hasn't even gone back on it since mid-July.  He used it every day for six and a half months and then…nothing.  Ultimately, it was just a way to finagle more iPad time out of me.  He's totally over it.

Left :: Liquid by Grady
Right :: Liquid [Sunshine] by Me

And while some of this exercise feels silly, it also feels good.  The end result is not the prize.  Rather, the time spent at the table with my son is.  And silly can be good for you, right?

Mammoth
Left :: Grady (shot with arrows and stepping on his father…)
Right :: Me

We've found humor and common ground in and around our art journaling, again.

Left :: Never! by Grady (inspired by Peter Pan)
Right :: Never[ending] by Me

He has helped pull me into a more imaginative world and I'm noticing how that frees me up to experiment with new ideas and concepts without overthinking them.

I've also been sharing our Word of the Day Project on Instagram and receiving kind feedback, as always, from that forum.  It's fun to hear we are inspiring other mothers & their wee ones out there to sit down and work together at their own kitchen tables.

Top :: Owl [Nest] by Me
Bottom :: Owl [Feathers] by Grady

I've noticed that when I'm stuck on a word for the day, it's so lovely to watch how Grady tries to help me.  He came up with the owl nest concept (above) because he knows that drawing animals aren't your favorite, right mom?  Translation :: I can't draw animals.

It's heartwarming to me to witness how he has encouraged me with my drawing and adventures in art over the last few years.  He's always reminding me that how I draw is perfectly imperfect and that I am an artist.  When he says this I just smile.  He's heard these words from me for years and now he's reversing our roles and being my cheerleader.

How perfectly perfect.