My budding teen-aged photographer recently placed an order at Shutterfly.
There are a few things in my life that I have a hard time NOT saying "Yes, I will gladly spend money on your behalf" to. One is music. Another is books. The third? Pictures.
Aidan uses a lot of discretion when editing her shot choices and this order came in at around 90 pictures culled from the last 3 months or her life.
The orange envelope arrived and Aidan disappeared behind a closed bedroom door and said, "Do NOT come in here until I tell you it's okay."
Immediately, I'm thinking, "What is going ON in there? Is she going to smoke a cigarette then try to air it out before we know any better?" and then I shudder, and remember oh yeah, that was ME when my Grandma came to stay with us that one time back in the '80s when my Mom and Dad went on vacation. I still remember my Nana saying later that night in my room, "Something smells AWFUL in here."
And besides, my daughter actually has a good head on her 13-year-old shoulders and would never do that, mostly because I tell her daily that smoking is of the devil and she should never, ever even think about it unless she wants to end up penniless, loveless and insane. (Teens respond to hyperbole.)
Anyhoo…after a good 45 minutes she unveiled her behind-closed-door doings:
I suppose I should pull back a bit:
Seriously? How cool is that? Just one big wall mural of her photos. And she grouped them by their color values. Warmer shots on the right, cooler shots on the left.
I love her vision. I love to see what she sees through the lens. I'm not trying to sound all cool or nothin', but the little apple didn't fall too far from the tree.
Except she landed without a pack of cigarettes hidden in her tube socks.
Go Aidan.
P.S. When I was growing up, my Dad grumbled every time I put yet another nail into my wall only to secure my latest Cream magazine photo of Paul Stanley, and much later, Sting. I look at Aidan's walls as just a canvas for her personal expression. We'll have years to spackle and clean it all up and even then, maybe we won't really want to. Here's to supporting creative vision, in whatever form it takes.
Besides, she used Scotch tape.
STAY SMOKE FREE AMERICA!
