This is "teaser art" of an illustration from an idea I have for a children's book. It's called "Just in case, Justin Case" It's about a little boy(Justin-5) and his mom. She is a very nervous young, first time mother. Which is totally understandable BUT we are raising our kids today in the age of fear.. and soooo many Moms are going over board, and she does. She's got a holster of Purell...she makes sure Justin has every safety precaution on the market and the result is...he has no fun. He can't just be a kid. A messy, confident, inquisitive kid free to explore the world around him. His life and activities are so structured to insure maximum clearance from all unsafe unhygienic obstacles. And she tells him, when he protests...Just in case, Justin Case. The thing is.. Justin wants to GO! He wants to run, he especially wants to do the monkey bars..(unthinkable to Mom). He asserts his independence at the playground, and in doing so...after Mom has a heart attack... he is happy, proud of himself for crossing the monkey-bars.... and Mom gets the message. We have to let our kids be themselves. We have to let them fall, get scraped...get dirty and germy...or they will never be all they can be. This is partially based on my own fears when Mags was small, but also a little on a few friends of mine...who shall remain nameless...I had to keep drawing the Mom over and over again to lose the likeness. This image is "The First Day of Pre-K" Justin's got the SPF 2000 Sun Suit, Helmet with GPS locator satellite, Bar coded I.D. , UV Protect-ant safety goggles, Velcro sneaks, Ergonomic rolling backpack and elbow pads...He's wondering why no one else is dressed the same....
So.. It's not totally written yet... I want to do three images from it this week cause Aug. 22 My class is going to Clarion Books to meet a publisher. I have no delusions of getting this published. But nothing ventured nothing gained. It shows what I can do. I think it came out well. It's not a full illustration of the scene..that's still in my head...it's for a postcard I am having printed.
Anyway, if you read this or stumble upon this blog...I welcome some feedback!
4 comments:
LOVE THIS IDEA! Although I'm a little bit worried that the mom might be modeled after...me.
I just read something recently (can't remember where) about how kids today don't experience simple scraped knees and elbows the way we did because we're hovering all over them so they don't fall or trip or wobble. As a result, they may not develop the same tolerance to minor physical pain (i.e., a scrape or bruise) the way we did as we grew up. Or be able to deal with it so great when they're by themselves in school. Wow. That's kinda big.
Good luck with the meeting! This is fantastic!
PS -- Is it me? Tell me if it's me.
It's me , It's you, It's other Moms too! The mokey bars are totally me...Maggie didn't do the monkey bars until first grade- D'oh! -My fault.
Do you know that this all began at the beginning of time. I went to school with a boy named stanley in the 1950s who had a mother who walked him to school until 6th grade. We all teased him thought he would be a looser. However he grew up to be a multi millionaire in realestate. Guess he finally learned to take risks. Kids find their way, write this book.............
Anonymous...who are you???? Post your name!
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