Creativity and Perseverence

My youngest son started drawing one day. I do not know what prompted him to do so, but I was quite impressed with his first drawing which was of a tree with a broken sword.

 

He really enjoyed drawing and started to do some more pictures, using only his   pencils and whatever paper he could get a hold of (nothing was off limits, this included his school assignments).  I started to purchase items for him to use for drawing (paper, pencils, etc.) as gifts for birthdays and Christmas.  He has gradually improved, and I have quite a collection of drawings hanging up around my house.

 

My favourite drawing he has done so far, is of a dragon swooping down towards its nest. He has added some wonderful details, dimension and the shading is well done. I am impressed that without any formal training, he has improved greatly in a relatively short period of time.  I really look forward to what else he will produce in the future and see how much he has grown in learning how to draw.

 

Why do I share this with you? To encourage you! Often, especially when we start something new, we get discouraged and want to quit without seeing our potential.  It takes time, perseverance, patience, practice and grace to improve in whatever skill we choose to work on. I think one of the best things we can do for ourselves is keep the first items we have created and look at them later in the journey of our creativity to see the improvements we have made and be encouraged by it.

 

The first few items I quilted, I wanted to toss as they were not great, in fact, they were horrible (in my opinion) and I was discouraged.  I am so glad I did not get rid of them because I can see how much I have improved.  Also, when people have asked me to help them learn to quilt, I use these items to show where I was in my creative journey and how over time, it has gotten better.

 

I look forward to seeing my son’s creative journey in drawing over the next several years. He has a lot of potential and I hope he keeps expanding on his talent.   I wonder what he will draw next?