Stray
Stray. It's been the word to describe a lot of life within our home. Our children are straying from the safety of the known as their curiosity leads them to new places, new discoveries, new behaviors. This is exciting to see as they stretch their limbs and gain confidence. This is frustrating as our three-and-a-half-year-old tries out the reigns of control in literally every area, every waking minute of the day. This kind of straying away from the safety net of his mother's and father's words will grow into confidence and self-awareness of what is kind, unkind, right, wrong, important, less important, etc. The two adults in the house sigh, shrug and do lots of deep breathing. As fierce as the discovery of independence is, so is Jaz' desire to pour out love and and kisses and hugs like a waterfall upon us all. A very thunderous waterfall. Heh.
Stray animals are flocking to our back yard and I am not sure why. A robin with a broken wing was discovered two days ago by the childrens' swingset. I tried to think of the best choice for this hurting creature. Do I bring him inside? Do I call animal control? Do I assist in his death (no, no, no), Do I create a box for him? In the end, I decided he was a wild creature and even in his discomfort, it would be best to allow him the dignity of what he knows in nature. I let him be. It was a beautiful day and our yard provided him with many insects and plump earthworms and warm sunshine in his last hours. Today, my husband discovered two kittens by our shed. Their mother, not far off, came to retrieve one of them, but alas, the other was left behind. We were informed by our neighbor that their is a woman down the road who is a self-designated caretaker of all stray animals. We bundled up the little, white, furry creature and walked to her home. But she was not there. So, today, we are caring for an additional, temporary member of our family.
I stray from what I know artistically, step back and analyze the damage/growth. There have been a lot of failed attempts, and I am prepared to post them today. If you are an aspiring artist like me, maybe it will help you to see someone else in the process and making mistakes. See tagged images below. I've had a lot of feedback and most of it has been very interesting. The direction the art seems to be taking is one of abstraction. The abstract and automatism is taking precedence over the characters. The human elements are many times melting or floating away into the background. If the characters are front and center, then they most likely serve the purpose of drawing the eye toward the abstract, cellular and scrawling lines. These are the pieces that speak the most to me. As always, it will go where it wants to go. It will help me stray away to a different place.
The following is in progress:
Here are the failed pieces:
Thank you to all of you who come by to visit my blog and for the kind and thoughtful comments your leave. It is a joy to talk back and forth with you.
I hope that whatever you are doing today, you have moments of magic and learning and happiness, or maybe even hours, days. Bye, guys.
Comments
I really do enjoy having the arts within our home now. It "rounds things out" and I like the children being exposed to something I love so much and something they might take a personal interest in now and down the road.