A labour of Love

As an artist and a mother, one of my favourite things to do with my son is create. When he was very small we would colour and paint, play with Play-Doh and legos. Over the years we have made a number of fun and interesting art projects together; once duct taping boxes, styrofoam and a coffee can together to make a robot. Creating together has always been something that bonds us.

Growing up, my son was naturally enthusiastic when engaging creatively, no matter the medium or tools we were using. Going to an integrated art school helped broaden his creative expressions. I was lucky enough to be invited as an artist in residence at his school. Learning to teach kids how to express themselves came so naturally I went back 3 more years in a row.

In May 2019 I sustained a shoulder injury to my dominant shoulder, significantly delaying my artistic endeavors. With COVID 19 suddenly tossing my son into an at home learning environment, it became apparent we would need to come up with some new art projects to pass the time.

Parenting a teen is extremely different than parenting a 5-11yr old. Things that used to instantly pique his interest are now lame and boring. I am lame and boring, I used to be fun and exciting. Trying to get a 13/14yr old excited for art, during a time in which they are also isolated from their friends, proved much more difficult than I anticipated. Being injured and having him do a lot of the physical and mundane tasks for the project did not help my cause.

I've known for a long time that as he entered his teens, he wouldn't necessarily want me immersed in his interests. I've intentionally worked at being interested in his fads, to keep him coming to me, telling me all about what he is interested in. I believe once we stop showing interest, our kids stop wanting us to be involved. Having an open door with your teen could mean everything. Teenagers will often turn to each other when they are confused about the world,rather than to someone with life experiences. Making sure I listen to my son's interests and friend drama helps him to know I am always there for him to talk to. The teen years are full of angst and confusion without the sudden isolation of 2020, and I knew we would need to talk it out a lot. I have always viewed our art time as bonding time, so a big project that would be a lot of boring cutting was a good opportunity to create space for conversations.

So to get my teen enthusiastic about cutting plastic and cardboard for a giant upcycled art project, we watched his favourite YouTubers while he cut! Obviously I don't have a huge emotional investment in the "Dream SMP" and Minecraft doesn't get my creative juices going. It sure worked wonders for my son though! The conversations would evolve naturally to apply to the real world.

Some days were easier than others, like most of us dealing with a global pandemic. Motivation was often hard to find, for both of us. But through it all, my teen told me all about his world, and we talked a lot about the world and all the things happening all around it.

It's been a long labour of love, but our 4'x2' upcycled mosaic is finished! And while we made it, we continued to strengthen our bond and my son's enthusiasm towards artistic expression was not dampened by the isolation of the last year. Instead of fighting and getting on each other's nerves we've grown together, laughed together and created together.