Are you an artist? Do you strive for perfection? Do you wish you were an artist? Do you dabble in all sorts of media but somehow always miss the mark? Do you just wish that you had the time or inclination to ‘play’ like some others are able? Do you wonder what inspires people and how on earth they create what they do?

I find it very difficult to describe what I do. I do – what I do. To save time I suggest that I’m an artist that currently works in textiles. I’m not a textile artist – I feel that is a title that is not worthy of anyone. Why? How many artists do you know that describe themselves as ‘an oil paint artist’? I work with mixed media, collage, fabrics, stitching, paper….. I’m constantly refining what I do and how I work, and I’ve learnt the hard way to very rarely show anything on the internet that has any value.

We have a 5 year old grandson. He’s a living miracle. Born weeks before his due date he was tiny, problems with breathing and feeding were the first battles, but thankfully he grew from strength to strength and is now full of beans and a joy. We see him regularly, and he was part of the company here on Christmas  Day. He is interested in the mechanics of how things work, how things are made, and he loves to read and to draw. We recently started drawing with two pencils – one in each hand and at the same time. He loved it. His comment a the time is the title of this post! On Christmas Day he decided he wanted to draw a cat. I asked him how he would do that. He thought for a moment or two. ‘I’ll think about what it has’. So, what has it? He named the parts as he drew…

‘a head
a mouth and nose
don’t forget the ears
it’s got a body
legs
and a big bushy tail’

See, it’s easy! You draw what you see

Go on, have a go!

I do so hope he doesn’t lose the freedom of expression that children of this age enjoy. It’s taken some of us a very long time to regain