Thursday, January 23, 2014

Finished?

I nag Julia a little, about her art. I shouldn't. This is a piece she started in her art class before Christmas. A two-hour class isn't much time to finish something.
I like her watercolors. I like her buildings and houses. I really wanted her to finish this one.
So I sent it back with her last week. She likes the cross atop the steeple, sitting clear above the fuzziness below. Is it mist? Fog? Just a watery sky?
I hate to nag. But I also hate having a stack of artwork, all unfinished, you know? To nag or not to nag .... I remind her that I'm paying for the class. That's probably not helpful either.
But she's obliging, and she completed the piece and gave it to me. She would not hand over the little acrylic she painted this week, the one with the black trees. She liked that too much. She's given her only oil -- a very nice one -- to Peter, who wanted to take it back to his dorm room! I put my foot down on that one. No Art In The College Dorm. New Mama rule. So I'm babysitting it until he graduates and has a home fit for it.
It's been too cold here to walk the last two days, but the last time we had a warm morning, Julia and I started our school day with a good walk around town. Here's a view of the bridge I haven't shared before. She sitting there, gazing out to the river. Homeschooling is often very nice, especially when you have only one student and you've been doing it awhile. If you think there's no way you could take your kids out of their daily school setting, the grind of assignments, classes, bells, people, rides, practices, and all that, sit and talk with them about it. You might find one of your kids who would rather take a walk, sit under a bridge, paint watercolors, play with the dogs, and do occasional algebra ... instead. You never know.
(If anyone wants to see more of Julia's art, the best way is to just click on the "Art" label over there on the right sidebar.)

8 comments:

Pom Pom said...

I see why you wanted her to finish that piece. It's wonderful!
I wish I could sit by the river.

M.K. said...

I wish you could too, Pom!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Your daughter's painting is very nice. Painting in watercolor is intimidating to me. I've done it so I know.

Have a nice Friday and a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

melissa said...

I really like her light hand with her watercolors. She seems to know when to stop working on them, which is part of the talent.

And love what you've said about changing up the homeschool routine. I've been much happier the past two week with having a much lighter schedule. No more waking up feeling guilty after giving myself permission to do less. Still rankles and the guilt still springs up, but less now. I needed to stop for my own mental health. Thanks for your encouragement with that. ;)

Kezzie said...

Julia's painting is so beautiful! God has blessed her with a talent! Definitely the nagging is important though. It's so important to get into the habit of finishing things! I need to do that more with my compositions! X

M.K. said...

Yes, I agree, Kezzie! I don't want her to get into the habit of having many unfinished projects lying around. There's such satisfaction in finishing ... and in learning how to know that something IS finished :)

M.K. said...

You're most welcome. There are just times in the year (or even sometimes for an entire year) when such a revamping is necessary. I sometimes find that it improves the education even, which is refreshing.

M.K. said...

Thank you, Lorraine!