The Artist's Eyes by Jenn Lee

Here we are at the end of another school year. Off in the distance I can hear my children singing a song that, by far, preceeds them, Alice Cooper’s Schools Out. No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks….

With a week left of school counting down, it is quickly turning into a race to figure out my plan of attack for the summer. How do I plan to run a home business and keep my nine and eleven year old educationally stimulated as well as busied with their own itinerary for three whole months of summer?

All across the states the summertime clock is counting down getting ready to release all of our school aged children like the infamous Omaha Landing….I believe even General Colin Powell would find planning this offensive attack plan…a challenge.

Alright, I admit it, I am being a little melodramatic lol. My children truly are wonderful kids. They also deserve a well earned break from their educations for the summer. Even so though, keeping them busy is good for them as well as myself as I balance work with play.

Motivated by the desire to actually get some work done, I do have a plan of attack to beat the summertime restlessness of the natives. When thinking of things to occupy some time, I like to think of things that challenge my kids as well as their minds. Here is a list of a few ideas that maybe will help you along your way with your natives….

• Library: Do a book project with the kiddos. Sure they are probably going to groan at the idea of being asked to read a book, let alone touch one. Figure out a topic that interests them and then create a project with it. Remember those dioramas you did as a kid? It’s a fun and inexpensive project that can challenge them mentally as well as creatively.
• Arts & Crafts: The library is also a great place for finding arts & crafts books as well as the internet or local book stores. Investigate books or internet searches for fun, easy and inexpensive projects for your kids to do. There are a ton of ideas you can find that require little to no supervision for children of all ages.
  
• Educational Challenges: This is a fun activity that my fiance gets credit for. He being a history buff, loves anything history related. He created these fun challenges for the kids that required them to use every resource available to them except asking for the answers. The reward…a small treat from candy to little toy item. Most of his challenges keep the kids busy for an hour or longer.
• Culinary Fun: This can be a little tricky as far as age appropriated cooking projects. My kids are nine and eleven so they are at an age that allows for a little less supervision for most of the cooking projects. There are a multitude of books available for all ages. Again, you can check with your local library, book stores, if not the internet for these.
• Outdoor activities: From backyard camping to gardening for kids, there are tons of ideas you can find for kids to do outdoors. We have our garden and the kids have gardening projects of their own. Being responsible for growing their own garden teaches responsibility as well as creates a sense of pride in their own garden. Eating the rewards is a reward of its own. Creating a space for them to set up a tent and make their own private campground is also a fun idea. You will be amazed at the amount of time they will spend out in their campground picnicking or just playing.
  
• Chores: Yes I know…getting kids to do chores is a chore upon itself. If you think outside the box though, you can get kids active in voluntarily doing chores. As a parent I am sure many of you have heard of, tried the “chore list”. Get creative by giving initiatives…rewards or time challenges. Does the bathroom need cleaned? Does the living-room look like the natives went crazy? Did Betty Crocker sneak in and rearrange your kitchen? Play a game with the kids…What would it be like if you were blind? Blindfold them and ask them to clean blindfolded, (Yes it probably won’t get cleaned well, but a reward comes with the best job done). What would it be like if you only had one arm? (Again a challenge but I know you will hear giggles as they try doing this). What would it be like if you had one leg? (Sure, if you have a two story house like ours, you will have to endure the hop hop hop of hopping kids). On your mark, get set, go! Challenge them to clean a room faster than a sibling. (Sure this is one of the hardest challenges to get done even with a reward, but hey…it’s a start). I have to say when they know any reward is coming, no matter how small, they will attempt to do most anything!

Creating ways to keep the natives restless and busy while you work from home is no small task by far, but with a little creativity it can be done and the natives will thank you if by nothing else…allowing you time to focus on work…this is an art…in this artist’s eyes.

My eldest daughter is about to become a mother herself. With the impending due date coming in a few months, John asked Jess if she was ready to pose for some maternity portraits. We had a great time with the shoot, mind you, how could you not with such a beautiful mother to be?Over the years as I was creating my own family, I have often been amazed at the entire process of pregnancy. Okay not the morning sickness, back aches or excessive bloating as the babies pushed all my internal organs around to make room for themselves. But honestly, the process of something so minutely tiny to be seen only under a microscope, forming into a complete little person…simply amazing.

In a way…it’s not unlike an artist’s sculpture. You start with something so basic and unshaped and over the gestational period, see arms, legs, hands, feet, etcetera create an amazing mix of mommy and daddy. Natures sculpting can be seen through everything around us from the growth of flowers and plants, to the birth of animals as well as babies. How amazing life is in it’s ability to sculpt such beauty. Life and the creation of new life, is truly art…in this artist’s eyes.

Everyone loves food, from meals to desserts, fine dining to hors d’oeuvres. Food can be art for the eyes as well as the taste buds. Our eyes are immediate sensors to our brains, as much as what we smell. I know, you’re probably thinking I’ve lost my mind but seriously, food can be art too!

How many times have you gone to a restaurant and seen a waiter walk by taking a meal to another table and said, “Oh wow, I want what they’re having!” or looked at a cookbook and said, “I want to make that!” or even watched a a cooking show and got inspired to cook a meal you saw? I admit I have done that a lot. Especially when one of my Mother’s Day gifts I received was A Korean Mother’s Cooking Notes by Chang, Sun-young. I confess I don’t know the least about cooking Korean food, even though I am Korean! I definitely will be trying out some of these recipes now though!

©Marvelous Recipes by Emily

Dr Seuss wrote a childrens book that I am sure everyone has read, Green Eggs and Ham. Remember that character did not find the look of green eggs and ham appealing. He told Sam he would not eat them here nor there or anywhere. The visual aspect of the green eggs and ham did not stimulate his hunger. Eventually, of course, he found that the green eggs and ham were just as delicious as the normal color palette.

©Marvelous Recipes by Emily

I follow a wonderful food blog called Marvelous Recipes by Emily Lee. It’s definitely a food blog you would bookmark. Emily shares with her readers many of her wonderful recipes she’s created over the years. The key here besides the recipes sounding good, is that she photographs the finished product. Immediately upon pulling up her website, your eyes see the meal or dessert and your mind thinks, “mmm..that looks so good!“  It entices your interest to read the article and find out exactly how she made that yummy looking meal. In my opinion, this is palatable art…in this artist’s eyes.

Iron Horses - 18x24 ECO friendly 3D Wall Art

When you are selling your talents or services as a business, the importance of being able to sell yourself is first and foremost. What is it that sets you apart from your market? What do you offer that nobody else does? Can you say you are unique in your industry of choice?

These are all important questions to ask yourself when trying to market yourself or your art. Think about putting yourself into the shoes of the potential client. What do you look for when you are looking for something to buy? You don’t even have to just use art as an example. When choosing a new pair of shoes or a shirt, what makes you choose one over another? A black pair of dress shoes is a black pair of dress shoes right? Why did you choose the pair that you selected? A mans plain white dress shirt is a great example to use. There must be several dozens of mens dress shirt designers and the style really doesn’t change very significantly, but why did you choose the one that you did? It’s pretty evident something had to have directed you towards the choices you made, even though you were presented with several brands of the same thing.

Scarlet Macaw - 18x24 ECO friendly 3D wall art

Being able to sell yourself requires confidence, perseverance and a lot of charisma. You need to be very confident about what you are selling. When you like something, you talk it up to others right? You tell your friends or family why you like that shirt or that pair of shoes. You give valid reasons that they can relate to, right? Sell yourself the same way. You need to believe in yourself and your capabilities. Nine times out of ten, you not only sell your art piece, but you will gain a returning client. This is an art…in this artist’s eyes.

Over the years I have noticed all four of my children have enjoyed drawing and crafts. My fridge, walls and shelves have held many different pieces my children proudly gave me, of course most of these being during their elementary school years. How do you keep them inspired though as they grow up? This has been a challenge at times with some of them.

My oldest son is now twenty years old. Vince is a very good artist, though in his mind he doesn’t see it. He is what I call a mimic. He can take a picture and recreate the image in great detail. Over the years though keeping him inspired or interested has been a challenge. Now at his age, he doubts his abilities and cannot see outside the box.

My youngest two children are avid budding artists though. I average a ream of paper a month between the two! I have to box up artwork to keep from hurting their feelings that “mommy has no room on her display board“. They are content that mommy is saving their art gifts.

How do you keep them inspired though? I have often thought about this after the older two never kept their interests after their younger years, though the talent was able to be seen. Below I have listed a few ideas that might help you keep your budding artists interested in expanding their creative side.

Albums or Scrapbooks:

• Albums or scrapbooks can showcase their art and make them feel like their art is special. It’s also a great way for us to see their development over the years. With a scrapbook you can write a few little notes about your childrens art or what they were doing during this time in life, kind of like an extended baby book.

Cork boards or Displays:

• Buy or make a good sized cork board or display board to showcase your childrens art. It inspires them to create more when they see it up on the wall where everyone can see. I call mine “Moms Museum”. As well each of the kids have their own display boards in their rooms.

Craft magazines or books:

• Buying craft magazines or childrens arts and crafts books are great for weekends, rainy days or days when they can’t otherwise go outside, as well as summer vacation. It also adds to family time when you sit down and do these projects with the children. I have the pleasure of having an art studio/area dedicated to creative messes…did I say that? I meant creative art. My children are always begging for time in the art room. I can also say it inspires me with some of my own creativeness.

Online tutorials or projects:

• The internet has tons of great projects and DIY’s that you can find based on age or level of ability for the kids to create. It has given me great ideas like homemade play dough, self drying clays, baking clays, mobiles etc. They really get excited with each new project and they are honestly usually low cost and tons of fun!

Free websites:

• Almost all internet providers have small, free, easy to set up web pages you can create. If not, there are a ton of free hosting sites that will allow you the same ability. Create a web page for your child. How excited they will be to see their artwork on the internet! You can share the page with your family so they can share in your budding artists work.

These are just a few ways I thought about to help inspire creativity in children. I hope you find something useful in this and have fun with the projects if you choose to join them in some art fun!