A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. - Oscar Wilde

If you came unannounced to our home, you would most likely find my kids reading or working on some creative endeavor such as writing, drawing, coloring, painting, or building things. My children, as I am sure most of your kids of the same age as mine, produce tens and tens of works of art per day. My fridge is always busy with their work (which is totally so against my taste, but when you have kids you do what makes them happy, sometimes), as well as my filing cabinet, where I store their art, is bursting at the seams with their paper art. My mother, who is a very neat person and doesn't like any kind of junk, didn't keep much of my school work, and it is a regret of mine, since it would have been an amazing way of showing my kids my childhood in Albania. I'm as crazy in keeping things neat as my mother, but I feel guilty if I throw any of my kids' art, and so I have been either scanning them, taking pictures of them, or displaying some of them on my blog. I have no doubt their grandparents love to see them, but even better, they will love to look back and show them with pride to their own children.

Gillian is my great artist in the family. She would rather paint or color than play. Besides reading, it's her favorite past time. Her style reminds me at times of Klimt or Monet, and at times of Picasso. Gillian literally creates 15 to 20 pages of pretty and colorful art per day. Here is something different from her usual color combination post-modern art:

Self Portrait

My mom's favorite flower

Jefferson tends to be very detail oriented in his work. He is very precise, full of ideas, and very resourceful. Nothing will prevent him from achieving what he wants to make. He has a very open mind and uses unusual things that are not obvious to the normal eye. When it comes to his drawing, I love the clean cut look of his creations, the many ideas merging together in one picture, and the fact that it doesn't matter what he is drawing, he will have some kind of weapon added to his work. Here is one that I really like (can you spy the weapon?):

Halloween Night

James is just starting to like art, and he enjoys mostly coloring, but recently he has surprised me with some of his own creations. Here is his version of how he looks:
On Friday evening we received a phone call from Mary's Pizza Shack informing us that James had won 1st place in their coloring contest. If you remember, last Monday, my friend Amy and I took our kids to eat out at this pizza parlor, and while they were eating and talking, they were also coloring these pictures of turkeys given to them by the waitress. I didn't think much about it at the time, but all the kids finished their coloring and then gave them to the waitress. Well, it seems James had won for his age group. He was so happy and proud that his whole face was smiling. This is the Turkey that won:

My older kids were kind of jealous, and it was hilarious to see them express their frustration for not having been the winner. Gillian was honest about her anger, but Jefferson was funny to observe. When he was telling his grandmother about James's prize, he commented that he himself hadn't done his best in the coloring, since he was busy talking to friends. I know that in his mind he was saying "Next time I am going to color a masterpiece, and I better win." Not that Jefferson isn't a great artist. My home is covered with his homemade Thanksgiving decorations, and believe me, not only he is a great artist, but he has the imagination of a Da Vinci. He has made books about pilgrims, Indian tepees, and many, many kinds of turkeys. Here is one of his favorites:

Gillian didn't lag behind in Thanksgiving art either. I love her color combinations in her art. Here is one last Thanksgiving drawing she made of Pilgrims and Indians celebrating together:

The award for 1 prize was a $25 gift card from the restaurant. On Saturday, we went to pick up the card and used it to buy our dinner. Elijah encouraged the older kids to follow James's example and start using their geniuses in providing for the family. I could tell from their facial expressions that the joke didn't go well with either of them.

Regardless of whether they bring prizes or not, I sure enjoy their love for art and the expression of their thoughts and feelings.