Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Self-Portrait of an Artist


So today we retrieved her portfolio from the school. Back at the house one of her art teachers visited and reviewed her submissions. She reiterated to my young artist that she has real talent. As I looked over the pieces, what jumped out at me were her three self-portraits, two of which are reproduced imperfectly here.

What popped were the expressions, captured in her eyes and lips.

When you know someone, as I do my youngest child, her moods and the depth of her feelings become familiar over time as much as her tastes in style or her preferences for foods.

The emotional journey every child is on intensifies in their teens.  It is rarely easy to be fourteen, for example.

As her teacher encouraged her to reapply for the second round of auditions, I saw her expression harden. Like the girl in the drawings, she is skeptical, and sometimes older than her years.

She has long since figured out that life is not always fair, that talent and merit go unrewarded more often than not, and that people, whatever they may say, do not always come through when you most need them to.

She knows that friends can disappear, and that dreams can be crushed.

She's a also a tough, competitive athlete who knows how to persevere. Today, a new plan started to take form, as discussed by her teacher, my daughter, and me.

Should she choose to not pursue the arts high school, she could instead continue her passion to draw and paint on her own, with her teacher, outside of any structured curriculum.

That might be a better path for the girl in the picture. The one who does not suffer fools gladly, who notices and remembers everything.

The one who sometimes forgives but never forgets.

The one who sees things and people as they are -- even, at such a tender age -- herself.


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