Joel's Creativity

Football players in action. (He drew this before Steve McNair was killed.)

Okay, he spells a bit creatively. It's supposed to be Tennessee Bloody Swords. But Bloddy Swods is so much funnier. I was rolling and snorting when I found this after he went to bed. When I showed Sarah, she had a similar outburst.

I usually think of Joel's creativity first in the sense of the art he makes. But in considering his whole personality, I had to include more.

For example, in this first shot, we were goofing around late one night with the camera, taking pictures of ourselves. He said, "How about we do one where I pretend to tell you a secret?" Well, when he saw this shot, he got so tickled, and we did a lot more. Want to see them? (Future post, perhaps.)

Here he is with my parents, Lyle and Brenda Dauber, at school after his dress rehearsal for the musical. (Above his head is a brown bear collage he made in art class. ) My son identifies so much with my dad as an artist and engineer that he often signs his art Joel Lyle Zubrowski. Pappaw and Joel love to draw cars from all angles. Paul is also a fantastic artist, so Joel certainly has had, from a very young age, a healthy mindset that art is every bit a "guy" thing as it a "girl" thing. When I was growing up, art was considered girlie; boys who enjoyed it were called sissies. How sad. I'm glad the lie has been exterminated in modern culture.

One of my all-time favorites is this terrier Joel created with chalk pastels. On a day when I had some art books lying on the kitchen table, he spotted a step-by-step lesson on how to draw a terrier in watercolors. But we don't have watercolors, so he grabbed the pastels. Within a half hour, he had produced this amazing dog with soft brown eyes, wiry black hair, and perky pink tongue. I loved it so much it inspired the color scheme in my new bathroom. Eventually I'll have it custom framed. (It must've gotten creased across the right side of the face. Oh well. It still impresses me that a seven year old drew this doggie.)

Star Wars afficionado that he is, Joel made this Clone Trooper mask completely on his own from paper, markers, and elastic. It was his Halloween costume. I was really proud of him for not begging for a storebought mask. I knew he could design one that would mean more to him. Costume from Goodwill? Two dollars. Mask he made? ten cents. The artist and his artistry? Priceless.

Early this year, Joel drew Boris the cat. We are not sure where he developed such an affinity for cats. No one else in our family shares his passion for felines. But one evening I found him playing Uno with his Beanie Baby animals. Wish I'd gotten out the camcorder, but I know if I had, he would've clammed up. These are the moments that I know I will miss as he grows older.