The photos in this post were taken by my daughter who is still in elementary school. She’s a spectacular soul with such talent.
My daughter sees magic in every corner of her world and recreates those details in her countless creations. Drawings, figurines, fairy gardens, and, most recently, photographs. She sits for hours as she takes pictures of animals, interesting interactions, scenery, and anything else that she deems to be beautiful or unique. Unfortunately she gives a rather wide berth to her perception of these terms, so we are literally left with hundreds or thousands (yes – thousands) of files to review at the end of her daily shoots. As a bonus she firmly believes that almost all of those pictures are portfolio quality images.
They are not, and, sadly for her, I am significantly less reticent about deleting tons of them. I am attempting to teach her to be more discerning about what is and isn’t true quality work, but I am also a very busy mom / wife / employee who has other crapola on her plate. Consequently my daughter has managed to significantly outpace my file cleanup efforts. My sincere apologies go out in advance to each of you as she will be using up all of the internet shortly if this pace continues.
Nevertheless she has managed to capture some beautiful images. Although she is still so young, her raw talent reveals itself with every new creation. She just has that something that can’t be taught or learned. It’s woven into her soul.
But I have a something, too. It’s called being her mother, and I worry. I’ve yet to meet an artist who said to me, “I got into art because I knew that it would be an easy way to pay the bills.” I don’t need my kids to become millionaires. (Now I’m not going to lie to you. It wouldn’t suck to have a millionaire kid, but that’s not in my wheelhouse of “mom to kid teaching skills” just yet.) My goal is for my children to live in a way that will keep them generally happy and financially sound.
So I am trying once more to teach my girl how to safely leverage off of the world of technology. I posted a couple of her new photos to her blog and am looking forward to seeing a collaborative blogging effort with another brilliant young friend of hers. My dream is for our children to be able to shine by becoming the people they clearly were meant to be and executing the talents that are inherently their own. Maybe blogging will help open doors for her at an earlier point in the process.
I want to believe that her path will forever remain clear and that she will always find her way. I want to trust without question that her unusual and beautiful perceptions and creations will invite endless wonderful opportunities into her life. I pray that these are her realities and that my involvement is more of a kindness than a necessity. But just in case, it never hurts to get a head start, and there’s no sense in wasting good internet while it’s still around. 😉
***Photo credits and tons of love go to dragondaydream.com. Never stop making the world more beautiful my talented darling. You belong among the wildflowers, but I’m so very thankful that you are here with me instead. I love you to the moon and back bunny rabbit.
Momentum of Joy 
May 03, 2018 @ 02:02:59
Lovely post Jo 🙂
May 03, 2018 @ 10:10:37
thank you darling girl!!! 🙂
May 03, 2018 @ 13:22:08
Jooo….your very welcome 🙂
May 03, 2018 @ 02:56:56
Wow, she’s so patient and clever! Well done to you for nurturing that too : )
May 03, 2018 @ 10:11:51
well one of us had to win the patient award. it appears that she took every once of it, too, because i can barely spell the word patience let alone comprehend it! 😉 thank you for the sweet comment honey. you’re a doll! 🙂
May 03, 2018 @ 03:14:43
She is, indeed, talented. At least you don’t have to post her creations all round the kitchen 🙂
May 03, 2018 @ 10:14:59
this truly made me laugh because you can’t imagine the battles we have had over my refusal to retain and display every frickin thing she has ever made. it’s INSANE. just wait till i post pics of my office wall and cabinets drawers. the kitchen would never be a large enough canvas for that kid. only the internet can create adequate space. unless you have room in your kitchen of course. i’m confident that she would appear in a second with old art in hand if so. 😉
May 03, 2018 @ 11:03:13
A conflict any parent has 🙂 I know 🙂
May 03, 2018 @ 07:52:48
I’m sooo with you re: your philosophy about raising your children. I have two young adult children and my husband and I raised them the same way. There is nothing better than observing our kids’ happiness in the world. I will add one thing…we encouraged our children to find their own creative ways in the world, and now there are certain choices they have made that aren’t in sync with my husband’s and mine. Sometimes we wonder if we should have been more forceful when raising our kids–maybe we should have tried to steer them in directions that are more like the ones we chose for ourselves. It’s painful to watch our kids paint a different picture (in some ways) than the one we assumed they’d create. On the other hand, maybe I’d never want it another way. How’s that for confusion?
May 03, 2018 @ 14:24:54
Well let me know if you figure it out because I constantly feel the push and pull of wanting them to be able to find their own way and be themselves but also avoid falling into pitfalls that they could avoid if they just did XYZ. It’s maddening and you don’t really know until they sink or swim. Please be a good friend and solve this riddle. Ideally solve it today and drop me a line. Please. 😂 ❤️❤️❤️
May 03, 2018 @ 14:42:11
Ha ha! Well, for what it’s worth…my two “kids” are in their twenties and the process seems to be the same. I mean, as they continue to attempt to find their own ways and be themselves, there are always new pitfalls to avoid. The harder part is, since my kids are older, I get to sit back and watch them but can’t control very much. So much fun. 🙂 I guess I haven’t been a very good friend, have I? So sorry! Well, at least I was honest. 🙂 Does that count for anything?
May 03, 2018 @ 15:23:01
Personally I think you have been a bad ass friend. 😉 And I’m not sure that I control as much as I think I do now anyway. No telling how the madness will go once they really fly the coop! 🙂
May 04, 2018 @ 05:57:24
But! No matter what! Being a mom is the best thing I’ve ever done and every will do. I have a feeling you’ll agree. 🙂
May 04, 2018 @ 06:11:36
Yeah that’s the role that is impossible to explain. It’s exhausting on the mind and heart, and I’m not even going to talk about the havoc that those small human wreaked on my body. But the awesome stuff that comes with them is incredible. I always say that they are the best things we ever made. They are so much more amazing than I could have ever imagined. Being their mom is like winning the lottery every single day. A lottery that leaves me a #&@! ton of laundry and dishes, but still a serious winning ticket. ❤️
May 04, 2018 @ 09:19:20
Amen!!!!
May 03, 2018 @ 09:43:47
How wonderful that you are encouraging her talents and allowing her to find her joy, Jo. She’s clearly a creative spirit, and that quality will serve her well no matter life leads…. Hugs, L
May 03, 2018 @ 14:27:36
I’m trying girl. I just want her to be able to follow her dreams and ideally eat at the same time. Forget the starving artist gig!
May 03, 2018 @ 12:41:17
So sweet. Adorable. Love!~kim
May 03, 2018 @ 14:28:10
She’s a goodie. You would like this kid, and I know that she would like you, too. ❤️
May 03, 2018 @ 14:30:41
A great birthday gift for her would be a 100 TB server to store all her work. I would add a 3D Video Wall where she can watch all her photos. Ah, and a scanner so she can store all her drawings and avoid having papers sheets running around everywhere. You´re welcome. 😉
May 03, 2018 @ 15:21:42
And a new laptop, camera, and full pro line lens sets! And an assistant! Yes. This feels 110% possible! lol
May 03, 2018 @ 16:07:29
Jokes aside, I think creativity can be a curse or a blessing. It is a blessing when it goes along with some dutifulness and order, otherwise it just becomes a mess. I am pretty sure she´ll be fine since she has a pretty dutiful mother who will not allow her to slack and daydream all the time. I am also sure she will not be a millionaire; in order to succeed big time in an artistic endeavour you need to be so damned lucky or to have no parents; no good parent endorses the crazy stuff a person has to do to succeed as an artist.
As for discerning what is quality work I think that is very subjective. If a piece of trash is liked by Kim Kardashian it suddenly becomes a work of art.
May 03, 2018 @ 19:32:17
Art is definitely highly subjective, and this kid may surprise you. She is a money magnet. It’s weird how much money likes that kid. I have no idea how it will shake out, but that kid is in the zone when she is doing art. And hey – who knows – maybe Kim will like one of her pieces. They are faaaabulous dahling! 😉
May 03, 2018 @ 21:20:29
That´s great!!! So, I hope she gets the new laptop, the camera, the lens set and the assistant soon. It´s worth it!! And she is also going to need a manager. I´m willing to do that job.
May 03, 2018 @ 22:45:17
Me too baby!
May 04, 2018 @ 00:52:51
Wow. Both pictures are good, but the first one is pretty special, to me. She certainly has an eye when it comes to photography. I love that she sees magic in the world. That was me too once. I hope your daughter never loses it, Jo. X
May 04, 2018 @ 05:24:56
It’s so funny to me to read that way you wrote that. My immediate reaction in my mind was that you may not see the magic anymore, but you most certainly deliver it. You are extremely creative and talented, and as I will always tell you, you inspire all the time. You’ve still got that special something within you. You didn’t lose it. You just don’t recognize that it’s still there. ❤️