What a ride!

My December feels like a bullet train ride without any stops. How about yours?

The crazy trip continued yesterday: I headed to high school presentation day in my lunch break to proudly watch as the eldest walked on stage to be presented with the certificate for coming first in Visual Arts.

It was very fancy – the NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian handed out the certificates. The Premier!

I’m a bit cranky at Gladys for making that stupid sports stadium decision and botching the CDS program (among other things), but I decided to put that to one side and just enjoy the moment.

The eldest refused to be in a photo with the certificate afterwards because it featured their old name. Sad face.

So we settled for a grudging selfie instead.

I am so dazzled by the eldest’s artistic talent. You might recall the two major projects the eldest completed this year that I’ve shared in previous posts …

As I was removing fermenting plastic containers of mango and chocolate wrappers and dirty clothes from the floor of the eldest’s room last week, I found the marks for the last project.

The art teacher gave it an “Outstanding” and wrote: “Your hybrid creature is amazing! It is very well sculpted and refined. Well done! I look forward to seeing what you create in the coming years! Congratulations!”

I look forward to seeing what is created in the coming years too.

The artistic talent appeared early in the eldest. I was blown away by paintings that came home from Year 1. And I started framing stuff way back in 2010. In 2013 – at age 10 – this pastels beauty was produced:

It didn’t win any awards at the local art prize or Easter Show, but I was dazzled.

The eldest puts it down to all the art classes we’ve invested in. But I don’t think art classes can teach the spark – you either have it or you don’t. The eldest has it.

And I don’t know where it comes from. But then, I’m also totally confounded by how I created the younger, sporty one. I’m even less sporty than I am arty. Genes are weird things.

I’m slightly ashamed that I came first in Year 12 Visual Arts at high school with absolutely no artistic talent, not even a whiff. My major work was a collage because I couldn’t draw or paint or sculpt.

But I was very good at the essays, despite also having very little appreciation of art. I just knew how to write the right things in the right order.

Bit cruel for everyone else in the class that loved art and were actually good at it.

Perhaps birthing an artist makes up for it ever so slightly.

Song of the day: George Michael “Amazing”