Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Family Artist

Once I asked my granddaughter what she liked the most at school. She replied, “lunch and play time”. I understand that. My favorite parts of the typical workday are breaks and lunches. Recently she told me that her favorite school work was art. I am not surprised that her favorite subject is art. Many of her Christmas presents were art supplies. My wife and I also bought her a “Potter’s Wheel”. On my last trip to Gatlinburg I took her to a place where they make and sell pottery. She absolutely loved watching the man in the shop as he grabbed a piece of clay, threw it on the potter’s wheel, got his hands all wet, and began to form the bowl he was making. Although the process of making a bowl from clay is a form of work, more often than not the typical potter would consider it a form of play because they love what they do. Too many people do work they do not love and therefore they are rarely happy doing it. There is a saying that “if you love what you do, you will never work another day in your life”. I encourage my granddaughter’s love of art and I would love to see her grow up to be a professional artist. I hope she escapes the prison of doing work just to make money. I hope she develops her skill and her passion grows deeper. If she does this she will always have her Paw Paw in her corner encouraging her. If I ever publish the book that many people keep encouraging me to publish, maybe I can collaborate with Chloe and she can do the art work.

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