So I’ve been out of town for several days, and my darling daughter came into town from Knoxville to watch my canines while I’m gone.

If you don’t have a person in your close circle who is an art major, you have missed one of the joys of life.  I did not know about this until I had one myself.

What follows is what greeted me upon my return home. My girl gave me a little heads-up that she had “left a few things for me”.  Indeed.

This is the bathroom.

Those little stickies on the mirror are communications she left for me.  Beside admonishing me to Clean My (makeup) Brushes, she left a 3-page instruction manual, complete with samples and drawings on how I should be wearing my makeup.

Note:  While I like to think of myself as hip and cutting-edge, in the eyes of my children I am still Mom.  I have Mom clothes and listen to Mom music and wear Mom makeup.  Instead of making me defensive, nothing could please me anymore than to been seen that way by these 4 people.  I will take the eyerolls and glances between them and the good-natured teasing any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Here’s a closeup of some of the detail:

Second note:  I am fortunate that this girl is not only an art major but a professional performer as well, and knows a lot about these things she’s advised me about.  One of the things she has taught me to appreciate is strolling through a makeup department or makeup store while she gets me up-to-date on the latest trend or product.  As an animal -rights advocate, she knows which brands use animal testing and which do not.  She knows what performers use what brands, and what techniques to use to create a certain look.  This is so far out of my own wheelhouse it magnifies the experience exponentially.

She had told me that one of the things she had left for me was kind of a surprise gift.  I live in a very interesting 75-year-old home and I winced when she said it was a rather permanent addition to the house, but when I finally discovered it, I could not have been more pleased.

This is becoming a signature piece for her.  Here’s a print she did recently – it’s hard to tell from the photo, but it’s about 2’ x 3’.  I want to have a fabric print made of it.  She does occasionally put her pieces up for sale, so contact me if you’re interested.  (ooops – I’ll come back and add the photo – I don’t have it downloaded yet).

Edit:

Detail

I’ve blogged about her before here, along with my other honeys, (and here and here is some of their work) and they all accept it with good grace.  Everyone is madly in love with their children, as am I; madly, hopelessly, irretrievably, unconditionally in love with them.  I am profoundly and humbly grateful to them and for them.  They have become spectacular adult human beings, and when they metaphorically allow me to crawl into their cribs with them and hold them close, I want to freeze the universe and preserve the moment.

Thank you sweet girl for your help with the pooches…I love your beautiful self.

Thanks for reading!