Wow I was a Terrible Mother!!!

 I was reading a friends blog today about how she helps her kids be creative.  Hmmm... It started me thinking about 2 things- 1- my own childhood creative endeavors and 2- my children's creative exploits- or lack there of.  Being an old poop means you really do forget a lot of the past day to day stuff, but try as I might, I can only remember a few times I "crafted" with my kids.  I am ashamed to admit that when my kids were little they seemed to just play with toys and watch Mr. Rogers (I hated that show- that sickly sweet simpering man with his slippers and sweater made me want to gouge my eyes out, or his!) But the kids liked it and they liked Sesame Street too. ( OOOO that's a great "S" sentence-  sickly sweet simpering sweater-ed and slipper-ed man!! I must have osmosis-ed that from Sesame Street!) They never just sat like frozen lumps with their eyes glazed over and their mouths hanging open with drool threatening to spill out, hypnotized by the TV.  They were always playing with their toys and each other.  What was I doing?  Painting.  Every spare moment I got I used to watercolor and oil paint. SO now I am feeling like the worst mother alive.  I watch how my daughter makes crafts with her kids and feel guilty I didn't do that.  I did provide scissors, glue, crayons and play dough (home made play dough no less...does that count for anything??) and I think I even played with the dough with my kids on occasions.   Once I was really ambitious and bought a set of wood block tools and some linoleum blocks and we made block prints.  Did I teach MY kids how to paint?  Nope. I guess if they would have shown an interest I might have.  My only excuse is that I think I might have been a product of my own upbringing.  My Mom cooked and ironed and sewed and cleaned and my brothers and I were kind of on our own.  I don't hold that against my mom, (and I hope my kids don't hold it against me.) I kind of just thought up my own creative things to do, like drawing, making doll houses out of a shoe or kleenex box and junk laying around, making troll doll clothes by the hundreds, which is really funny because they were all the same...a rectangle piece of fabric with 2 holes cut in it for arms- a doughnut for a skirt and a "T" for pants.  LOVED IT!  I used to sit for hours drawing an A-framed house with all the furniture in it. But I was always playing at a friends house or playing outside, rain or shine, with the 50 kids who lived in our neighborhood.  Maybe it's too cold in Canada for that, and Moms need to figure out a way to keep their kids occupied.  We didn't watch TV during the day because all that was on was soap operas. No DVD's, no videos, but come 4 o clock we watched cartoons until dinner time.  When I got older, my Mom had me take a few art classes and one horrific modern dance class I can't even think about without dissolving into fits of laughter -hehehe- me and Becky Cannon, oh my good giddy aunt we were bad, but we had so much fun.  They actually, honest and truly, no word of a lie, had us pretend to be trees!! Can you see it- pre- teen/adolescent girls in training bras we didn't have any need for if you get my drift and leotards "willow-ing" our way across the floor. BWAHAHAHAH! oh this brings a chortling induced tear to my eye even as we speak.
My brothers were put in sports a bit- Scott played baseball, Wayne played football, and I can't remember what Cory did,  I got to go to tennis camp and I did become a fairly decent tennis player. But it was hot and I don't like hot, so it didn't last long.  I kind of think kids gravitate to what they like.  My kids didn't ask to craft.  Maybe I shouldn't have been waiting on them to ask- thus the guilt trip. But Whitney is one of the most creative people I know- she is awesome at so many things- sewing, cooking, taking literal crap from the dump or a garage sale and making them into incredible treasures.  She has an imagination and an eye.  She came with it.   I came with the artist in me.  It was fostered a bit by my parents but I seemed to come to it on my own. Kurt was amazing at sports.   He doesn't have a creative bone in his body, and that's ok.  Paige is a writer, singer and actress and when she want to she can draw very well.  I didn't make these kids- they made themselves.  I can't take much credit for them.  But they are all amazing adults, no thanks to me.  One thing they did get from me and that was a cheerleader.  When they did stuff, when they picked something to try, I was there.  Maybe that's ok too.  But try as I might, I can't shake the feeling that I should have done better.  Moms these days utterly impress me with the things they do with their kids.  Better moms?- probably.  Does that mean they love their kids more?  Nope, just means they have a different set of circumstances and different challenges to meet.  Does that mean I was a terrible Mom?  Jury is still out on that one.

And I am spent!!!

You may have noticed I haven't 10 on Tuesday-ed for three week.  This time every year I sort of hibernate in the art studio, and pray for rain, or snow!  Why you ask?  Well if it rains or snows then I don't want to go outside and it's way easier to make myself work. 
I just received the last email from my art director stating that she has all my photo shop files and original artwork, all safely in New York.  I have been photo shopping and painting for two months- Halloween, Valentines(yuck) Christmas and all sorts of everyday hang it on your wall stuff.  Flowers and abstracts and even people.  If there's nothing the buyers like in this package- they can go pound sand!! Today I am going to do what ever I want to do-  And I am starting the day off with a blog. Not sure what said blog will be about but being the natural born BS-er that I am - I'm sure I can come up with something. This Surtex show is a licensing show-  That means manufacturers of just about anything and everything you ever see in stores come to buy artwork to go on their products. Thus the Christmas and Halloween and Valentines images. One of my favorite things to see my art on is gift bags.  Why that is I don't know, but it always gives me a little thrill to see them.  Also I like it when they use it on plates and cups and rugs.  Some of the most lucrative manufacturers are the wallpaper companies. And of course greeting cards.  There... you just had a lesson in art licensing.

On Wednesday, Finn got his tonsils and adenoids out and had a bit more tongue clipping.  Poor little guy!   He seems to be recovering quickly and even wanted to go outside and play with the kids yesterday.  We had Roman and Oscar for part of the day and it was so hot outside we filled up the blow up pool and played in the water.  I just gave Oscar a bucket of water and a little cup and he was happy.  Works every time!

My art director wanted me to try yet another new thing-  Personalized prints.  I am not thinking this will catch on but we will have to see what the buyers say.  Personally I think it's kind of cheesy but I guess there are lots of people out there who like their names on artwork on their walls.   I can't imagine the headache of photo shopping names onto the image and shipping them one at a time!  Who is going to do that?  Certainly not me! BUT whilst discussing this adventure, said art director showed me sites on line devoted to just this kind of thing- tons of them.  Really?  All righty then.  So here are a couple of the images. Note I put Paige and Eric's names in there.  Not my cup o tea but we'll see.
                                    

I guess I'm just not the lovey dovey type so this doesn't appeal to me-  I could see this as a wedding present.  Young couples just getting married and having nothing better to put on their walls? reh- the jury is still out.  I'll let you know how it goes over with the buyers.  Usually the stuff I don' t like they love and the stuff I love they don't like.  It's been that way for 22 years!  I also did some for boys rooms- This one dedicated to my son in law Bradley Edward Davis. heheheh- maybe I'll give it to him for Christmas.  BWAHAHAHAH! Hey.... and Paige and Eric... here's your Christmas present- HEHEHEH- oh I am making myself chortle!!

 Here is one of the Halloween ones I did.  These tags have been a hit.  I did religious ones, Christmas and Valentines ones, and welcome and family subjects.  Fingers crossed the customers like them as much as my publisher seemed to . 
                                     
Enough of that.  But guess what just popped into my brain- personalized tags!! hmmm I'll have to discuss with the art director!  So yes- today I may just sit on my big broad bottom and read a book- I earned it.  So why, may I ask, is it cold and rainy today?? poop!