When my brother and I were children, my parents believed in nurturing our talents and helping us become whatever we wanted to be. Kindergarteners have a very small skill set, but they get to paint a lot, so one September day I brought home a roll of manila paper. It was heavy with paint, damp and creased from where my fingers clutched it on the walk.
Jackson Pollock No. 9 – It really does look like that long-ago painting, manila paper and all.
Prepared to gush over any bit of artwork, no matter how rudimentary, Mom and Dad watched me unfurl the paper and thrust it their way. Stunned, they stared at the masterpiece I’d so casually brought into the house. It was like something out of Jackson Pollock – The Kindergarten Years. Bright splashes of color dotted the paper, flirting and frolicking in an arrangement that dazzled the eye. Abstract and playful, it was the work of a confident painter, one much older than five.
The next day they quietly began saving for a fancy art school. I would be the first artiste in the family, and they wanted to make sure I had an opportunity to mix more media than crayons and fingerpaints.
Excited to show off their daughter’s talent, they had the picture framed and hung in a place of prominence over the dining room table, where we could admire it.
And then one night during dinner, as my brother kicked me under the table so my parents couldn’t see, my mom turned to me and asked, “What made you decide to put that dab of blue right there?”
“What?” I asked, more worried about Mom catching me kicking my brother back than about answering her.
She repeated her question.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Well, what about the red, right there in the corner? What inspired that?”
“I don’t know.” Thinking the chat finished, I surreptitiously fed another pea to our golden retriever, who hovered hopefully beneath my heavy wooden chair.
“And the yellow?” she tried again, waving one hand at a few blobs.
“I don’t know,” I repeated. “It’s not mine. I didn’t paint it.”
Silence, as my parents’ forks froze over their plates. When my mom could form a coherent thought, she asked, “You didn’t?”
I shook my head, oblivious to their tension and, not understanding that my entire future as an artist hung on my next word, said, “No.” Then I went back to shoveling stuffed peppers in my mouth because, really, they were delicious.
“So, uh, who did?” my mom asked gently, as if hoping my answer had been a mistake.
I looked up, mid-bite. Seriously, were we still talking about this? “I don’t know.”
“But why do you have it, then?”
A close approximation of my kindergarten artwork, circa 2011.
“My teacher told us to take a painting home. I liked that one.” After all, even if I had no talent in the visual arts arena, I could still recognize a pretty picture when I saw it.
Silence. My parents’ eyes flicked to the picture. To me. To the picture – the one I hadn’t done with my own skinny little fingers and globby kindergarten paint.
They stopped saving for art school but, just in case, asked me to bring home a few paintings of my own instead of leaving them for my teacher to discard – an easy request since I created a new masterpiece every afternoon. And each day it was the same: a house with curtains in the windows, a slanting stick figure family of four, sun in the upper corner. Tulips. Grass. Our pets made an occasional cameo appearance. Sometimes there was a rainbow.
To this day my drawings look as if I did them with my left hand while crossing my eyes, but that’s okay because I never had art school aspirations anyway. I wanted to be something much more practical: an author.
Sylvia, Thanks! I’ve been meaning to tell this story for a while now. Just finally remembered when I had the chance.
Sarah, EXACTLY!
Emily, Looks like you were sentenced to the writing life from an early age. Sunshine is getting a play kitchen for Christmas (Shh! Don’t tell her.) Hope she doesn’t think we’re trying to dictate her future career. Though if she loves it and ends up being our dinner-time cook when she’s old enough, I’m not going to complain!
Donna, Thanks! P.S. You apparently have low standards, or your just very nice. 😀
Shelly, I love to watch kids being creative, too! The things they come up with are amazing. (Same with listening to them talk.)
Janet, That’s hilarious! And, yes, I feel exactly the same way any time Sunshine does something more exciting than breathing and blinking her eyes (which, now, is most of the time).
Robin, Your comment absolutely made my day! As for the rest of the story, I can so totally, completely picture it, from your topic of choice (hearts and flowers) to you wanting to stay in the lines and make your coloring perfect. Whether or not you could draw, I bet you had the best-looking coloring books on the block!
Stina, I’m the same way. Since I can’t draw, I have to get my visual arts on through photography. Much more fun.
What a great story! And I love your approximation of your own five-year-old work. Looks like mine!
LOL this is great. At least your parents were willing to encourage your artistic endeavors– even if they picked the wrong art form.
And being a writer is totally practical! Much more so than, like, medicine or something silly like that. 🙂
Beth, Thanks! Yeah, I have a feeling kindergarten teachers see LOTS of paintings of stick figure families and houses and rainbows and suns and such.
Stephanie, So true! It makes me feel very lucky. And when I did start showing an interest in writing, they were very supportive of that, too.
LOL!! But you had a good eye for art and so that still counts! 🙂
Your family sound so amazing!
Take care
x
What a great story! Of course, you tell a great story; you’re a natural born writer!
LOL! I do love a good Jackson Pollock! What a great story.
Old Kitty, If only it were as easy to create pretty pictures as it is to recognize them! And I agree – they are amazing. 🙂
Barrie, There are no words to tell me how much your comment meant to me. Thank you!
Talli, Thanks! I’ve always enjoyed Jackson Pollock’s work myself. I think this story is the reason why.
LOL this is hilarious. What a funny story to start a Monday with – just glad I wasn’t drinking my coffee at the time I read it or I might have choked while laughing:)