Years ago I was part of a group show and a work by an acquaintance caught my eye while we were bringing in our art. Her son (an older teenager) was carrying it and I asked him what I thought was a fairly simple question about the piece and his answer was “I dunno”.
I remember when my son was that age and if a friend of his was coming over I sometimes expressed dismay that my house was out of sorts (not unusual). He told me “It’s OK, Mom, I just say ‘My mom’s an artist’ ” and the friends would just nod their heads in understanding.
Fast forward to this weekend when I got to see my son for the first time since Christmas (Boston is a long ways from southeastern North Carolina!). He asked me about my art, what was new, what was going into an upcoming show. So I did a “show and tell” for him and his lovely bride. Questions were asked about changes in my technique and style, influences, and future endeavors. Intelligent questions and unsolicited “warm fuzzies” left me feeling good on many levels.
My daughter is a tough critic and supplies great feedback on in-progress pieces. She also has a great head for business and has helped me escape that “Oh you like my art? Please, take it!” frame of mind (I wrote earlier that one of my goals in retirement from the day job is to enhance my business skills). She has also helped me make contacts in the Atlanta area.
Both of my children are young adults and thankfully are past the “I dunno” stage. They show my works in their homes, sometimes bartering for a mutually favorite piece. I’m not doing my art just to hear “You like me, you really like me!” (like that actress did accepting an award a few years ago) but it does please me that my own kids have an interest and appreciation.
PS – Young Son also said I need to blog more so here I am !
Below is a Work In Progress from the painting in an earlier post.
The Art of Joy A. McGugan 