The Mother and Child Reunion

My children have always made art with me.  I couldn’t imagine not creating when they were small, and so they always had some variation of art supply, and close supervision as we worked side by side.  It helped keep me sane during those demanding toddler years and helped give them a leg up when it came to making art for school.  I never held back on what supply they could use, I just made sure it was a child safe alternative (adhesives) or I did part of their work myself (cutting). 

My youngest is soon to be 12, and he shares my studio with me.  We do the occasional show together and we brainstorm ideas for our work.  It’s really nice to have an art buddy so close at hand!

His favorite medium is polymer clay.  He’s sold many pieces and has even taken a few commissions.

You can see some of his older work in the background, while his newer work is in the foreground.

We bounce ideas off each other, and take inspiration from each other’s work.  Recently I created this sea scene:

Octopus’ Garden 2011  Machine embroidery with Kreinik threads, machine pieced and machine appliqued.  I still need to measure it, but it’s around 36” x 36”

We have an upcoming show opportunity, with parameters of no larger than 5 inches in any direction.  Izzy chose to make his own coral reef.

Izzy Stern  Coral Reef  2011 5” x 5”

Detail of the sculpture.  He was very concerned that the colors be accurate.  I love the eel peeking out from behind the fronds, and you can see the tentacles of the octopus that is hiding behind the anemone.

This is one of his most ambitious pieces to date.  I am really excited to see where he goes next!

It’s funny to see how you influence your children, or friends, or other people in your life, even if you don’t realize you are.  Sometimes a little encouragement and belief in their abilities can go a long way.