Embracing Black

 It's been interesting watching Ashton get into the spirit of fall, and the spooks of October lately. Her library book choices have revolved around Halloween, with a special focus on ghosts. It started mid-Septemeber, when QFC changed their seasonal display. Izzi immediately noticed the spirited sheets swaying from the ceiling. When the days started getting darker, she noticed that too. She stares out the window saying, "It's so dark right now guys." (Yes, she's taken to calling Jake and I "guys". Not my favorite. On the rare occassion, I'm Chels and Jake is still Poppie. He affirms, "That's right dear. I'll always be Poppie.") I was surprised the day she combined both ghosts and dark and grew afraid to go into the bedroom by herself. I probably didn't help the situation by laughing and teasing at her fear.  She thinks the lonely nipple shaped fixture in the middle of the master bedroom is a ghost. I explained that it is a friendly ghost, and now she runs in every morning cheerfully saying, "Hi ghost." For whatever reason, she's fixed on all kinds of spirits. Her drawings have mirrored her subconscious ponderings. She's gravitating towards black and orange for her "halloween" pictures. She said the one above started as a pumpkin and then became a tree. When I asked her if pumpkins grew on trees she looked at me like I was crazy and said, "That's silly." After she does some large swooping strokes she'll turn to small details, almost like she's writing. So, I asked her what this drawing said. She pointed her finger at the "letters" (scribbles) and said, "This says: G-mum, g-mum, g-mum, I love you." Ahhh, I nearly melted.

 This second painting we sat down to make a beautiful watercolor for Grandma Jadyne. It started with bright red, orange and yellow.....and then she found black. The dark, dramatic, emo color has it's hold on my little girl. She's drawn to its bold power. At first she said this was a "buff-lo" but then it became an apple tree. We're going to wait a bit and add another medium to brighten it up, when she's ready of course. That's the beauty of being an artist, the canvas can change with your mood.

 As a true English teacher's daughter, Ashton has started grading my students papers. She watched me put the name at the top of each rubric and then add numbers in each column. The shot above shows the big picture, while the one below illustrates her ability to copy her mum's work.  I just hope she gets more from watching Poppie paint, then watching Mama grade. Certainly the former is better for the "soul".