School Pictures

Wednesday is picture day at school for Finn and this year, for the first time, I'm responsible for getting him ready for his close-up. His mother and I split up before he entered the world of school pictures, and he has never been with me the night before.

The court and the lawyers gave us each a piece of paper that gives a plan for when Finn is where. Alternating holidays, four weeks in summer, breaks split in two, alternating birthdays, etc. Thankfully, it has served mainly as a guide, due to the fact that his mother and I seem to be able to schedule things out with Finn's best interest at heart. However, there is no provision for events like this: The things that are part of a child's day to day life. They just fall where they fall.

Am I nervous? No.

I am not now, nor have I ever been a "hands off" type of dad.  When he was a baby and a toddler, I spent quality, one on one time with Finn everyday. The divorce took that away from me, and that was its cruelest blow.  I now cherish all the time that I do have with Finn, but I don't coddle him as much anymore. He doesn't need it. (BTW, coddling and hugging are two very different things and, as I have mentioned before, Finn comes from a long line of huggers on his father's side. He throws a hug like a champ. Not the quick ones, with a pat on the back, but the long ones, that pass through you and stay with you awhile. In fact, he's made ME a better hugger.) I watch, as he grows both inside and outside. He's got his own deodorant (Old Spice) and now, "hair product." Dad hasn't had hair product since 2009. Finn has a good eye. He always has, and he's a good looking boy if I do say so myself, and I'm saying so, and lately he has shown real interest in how he looks. He is more than capable of picking out a good outfit (face it, just the shirt shows), but just in case, dad hung a shirt on the rabbit hanger on his closet door tonight, and his favorite jeans are in the top drawer.

Family Business

I am an artist. No really. People occasionally pay me in coin of the realm for my creativity. My grandfather was a lawyer in Detroit, and a damn good one. Sometimes he would get paid in meat, cheese, or other goods from his clients in various market based industries. Another time. Another story.

I have had a very productive, and fulfilling career as a creative maker of various types, as an educator, and even as a gallery director/administrator. Some folks even seek my opinions these days, and I give it more than freely. I guess that's called consulting. I even have 2 degrees in Art and one of them is a Masters. Whatever.

Now it's time for me to throw another hat on the rack: I am purchasing the guts to a mom and pop picture framing operation. I know enough about the process to get into a bit of trouble, as well as craft some nice homes for people's treasures. That's what a frame is. Sanctuary. At its most basic level, a signal and reminder of value and importance, be it monetary, sentimental, whatever. I will be providing this now and I do not take this responsibility lightly. I'll be leaning on some great framing mentors to get myself up to speed with the mechanics and I'm excited about this new chapter. There will be branding and there will be marketing as I look to find my niche, and part of that component involves "give-away-stuff." I love give-away-stuff.

 I am also excited at the prospect of having a traditional, craft based, creative, endeavor to share with my son, Finn. He has been raised in a what you might call an environment that fosters and supports creative expression. There are rules and there is order, but at the core of our household there exists a world of exploration and making. This new opportunity will plug right into that quite nicely, and if things go well, someday "it will all be his."

I will still be designing, I will still be illustrating, I will still be teaching, and I will still be consulting, but now I'll be doing this too. Along with my son who used to have long hair.