Liam the Artist

Liam has really taken to art, which pleases me greatly. In the past month his drawings have really blossomed into colorful and creative pieces. He has had me draw things as an example and then he will redraw them on his own...the latest being a dog face which he mastered quite well. As his aptitude for art increases, so does his frustration level if he can't do something "just right." He will crumble up his paper and throw it on the floor and put his head down and cry. It would seem my "tempermental artist gene" did not skip him, much to Ken's dismay. (Really honey, am I THAT bad? Wait--don't answer that...).

Yesterday as a special reward I took Liam to a paint your own pottery place because I thought he would really enjoy it. It is a really cute place in Old Town Arvada where you can pick out just about any kind of ceramic piece to paint and craft to your own liking. The place was totally booked so luckily I had reserved a table beforehand. Liam chose a dinner plate and I grabbed a mug to try and paint quickly while Liam worked on his piece. He had a blast and was so excited. I didn't know if he would grasp the concept of painting something colors that looked different on the ceramic but would turn out differently after it was fired, but he did. He told me "this looks pink now but it will be red later when it comes out of the oven." He colored his plate in a rainbow of colors and finished it off by giving it a giant smiling face. Then he excitedly yelled "I DID IT MOMMY!!!" and every single adult in the place turned and laughed out loud. He was definitely the hit of the place since he was the only person under the age of 38. Numerous older ladies kept coming up to him smiling and commenting on how beautiful his plate was. He was definitely in his element. I tried to hurry up and throw some paint on my mug and muttered "Well this looks bad but oh well!" That is when Liam stood up, rubbed my back and said "No it doesn't Mommy. You should never say things like that. It looks beautiful, you did a great job." It made me smile because this is what I tell him whenever he gets discouraged. Maybe he is listening to me after all?