Arm in arm we stepped into the world of paintbrushes and little colorful glass jars, of stacks and stacks of textured papers, shelves lined with neat packages of earth toned clays, perfectly sharpened pencils in every shade under the sun, sticks of chalk, and jars filled with brushes of all shapes and sizes.  There are not many retail stores that can compare to the magic of an art store and yesterday I got to introduce this vision of beauty to my boy, Miles.  After days of painting on pilly construction paper with barely visible watercolors I decided we both needed a little inspiration.  It was time to splurge.  With that we headed on down to SCAD art supply store.

My little mans eyes lit up like matches when we wandered down the rows of mysterious supplies.  We settled on the proper section for water-color painting and my little jabbermouth fell silent.  I had to agree.  Those miniature glass bottles are so unbelievably appealing.  They are screaming to be handled and examined.  Somehow my little man resisted the urge.  I believe you could see my pride wafting out every single one of my pores (in addition to a touch of fear that remained knowing full well this could end in the blink of an eye).

Not wanting to go too far over the top, and believe me it was difficult, I simply purchased some primary watercolor mixes and a package of loose sheets of water-color paper.  I have long surpassed the title of frugal (perhaps teetering on the edge of cheap skate), so this was quite the purchase.  I don’t mind though, I know it will be enjoyed for months and months to come.  We drove home, had a long afternoon nap and my little man awoke with a renewed love for art.  “Rowan wants to watch us artin’ mama”, he repeated several times.  This was clearly my que to retrieve our new materials and start mixing.  So we did.  And we smiled.  And we had a wonderful time.

Happy Monday!