I am an artist. I am here to live outloud.

It's been a while since we had art time in this house- so I pulled out the paints and papers this aftenoon. I'm very glad that I did, The Boy and The Girl had a blast. The art bug pops up every now and then in our family.

My grandfather was an artist- a painter, to be exact. You won't find his works in museums, but several of them are proudly displayed in our home. When we would visit my grandparents in the summer- I used to love to go out to his workshop and examine the paintings he had- so many of them- some just stacked on a shelf or in a corner- a few framed and hung in the house. My mother had quite a few of them herself- at least one hanging in every room of the house.

As a child, I used to dream that I could one day be an artist like my grandfather. Unfortunantly, I didn't have the required skill. I enjoyed taking art classes though. In high school I frequently skipped classes- and would show up in the art room, either to work on the pottery wheel or on a painting. Our high school had a fantastic art teacher-an amazing woman who always encouraged my efforts, but never sugar-coated her opinions!

One of my sisters did inherit quite a bit of talent. If my grandfather was still with us, I am sure he would be very proud of her. She's actually studying art restoration in school right now- and has had the opportunity to work in several great internships. Last I heard from her she has a summer filled with either summer school (she is hoping to graduate early) or internships in different parts of the country- very exciting stuff for her. It kind of makes me jealous, to be honest. I am very proud of her, but part of me wishes that I had gotten that talent as well.

Whether the artistic gift has been passed along to my children has yet to be determined. I, of course, am a great admirer of their work- to me it's sheer brilliance. The rest of the world hasn't been impressed yet. I will say though, that I hope their enthusiasm for creating continues- even if they don't possess great talent. Whether they paint like my grandfather, appreciate like my sister, or just dabble, as That Guy and I do- I want them to continue to find joy in creating something- to put their mark on the world in some way.

I could, however, do without The Girl putting her mark on my walls- but that's another matter all together.