My fellow chicken-friend and author; Lauren Scheuer has just written a book “Once Upon a Flock.” On Monday, as I participate in her blog tour, you’ll have a chance to win a copy of it right here.
Until then, though, I want to let you know something else about Lauren. She is an artist and illustrator who has many books and accomplishments under her belt. And on top of that, she is a motivator of a teen.
A few weeks ago when my kids just happened to be on school vacation, Lauren put a post on her blog Scratch and Peck explaining how to draw a chicken. Perfect, I thought to myself, something for my kids to do.
But then one lazy day stretched into another (school vacations for teens is all about sleeping late and then being online to chat with your friends) and before we knew it, the week had ended with no chicken drawings.
Insert frowny face.
Last night my daughter was working on her portfolio folder for Art class. Her assignment was to individualize the folder so that it showed a little of her personality. Addy was given a completely blank piece of paper, something that had endless possibilities. What an assignment!
And what did she do with it?
She drew two boy cartoons from the internet.
Seriously?
Calling me over, she asked me how I liked it.
The drawings were well done, I told her, but I wasn’t sure how putting boy cartoons on a folder gave people any kind of idea of who you are.
“It’s boys, it’s the internet, they’re funny” – she tried to explain to me.
I sighed.
“You should have at least put a chicken on it,” I told her. “Chickens are a part of your life, you’ve learned so much from being around them.”
“But I don’t know how to draw chickens,” she replied.
Lucky for her, not only did my friend Lauren know how to draw chickens but she also knew how to teach others how to draw chickens. I pointed Addy to Lauren’s post and then I let her look through Lauren’s book that is absolutely *filled* with chicken drawings.
This is Addy’s rough draft -
She made a few adjustments to the design based on what she had seen with our flock and then she drew a chicken on her art folder. The chicken was beautiful, it had color, shading, and you could even detect its personality. A bit of spark and life that stood out against the drab background of internet duplication.
I knew you could do it Addy, all you needed was a reminder to use your imagination and some gentle words of encouragement from your mom and our chicken-friend Lauren.
It’s simply amazing what you can learn from being around chickens.
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I write about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact me at [email protected]
Also, join me on Facebook to find out more about the flock (children and chickens) and see some pretty funny chicken jokes, photos of tiny houses, and even a recipe or two.
