I spent a few hours with a friend of my 20 year old son, Kevin, last night. Shaina had asked if she could "come and hang out and make some art" so we made a date. "Let's start small," I suggested. We decided to design a pair of earrings and she collected a little pile of findings and started to design. Combining skull beads, copper wire, vintage orange and green leaves and other small glass beads, she created one of the most unique pair of earrings I've seen in a long time. Totally original.
Turns out she's not only an earring prodigy but works in oil pastels, clay, polaroid photography and plays guitar. And she's 18 years old. And very bright. We talked about a lot of stuff that I had no idea that eighteen year olds even thought about. Like Diane Arbus and Jesus and Denny's and insomnia and Dia de los Muertos.
So I'm trying to remind myself that the next time my 80 year old neighbor or your thirteen year old nephew says something, I need to do more than listen. I need to ask a question and listen to the response. Then ask another question. There's a lot to learn out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment