Painting with my nephews

As part of my winter holidays to The Homeland, I have been painting with a couple of my nephews. Although they have not been the normal “painting” experiences. (But “normal” is a myth anyhow.)

The first painting experience was with my Godson, Cameron, where we painted pottery. This was my fourth pottery painting session as an adult, and I think I should do it more often. I might focus on painting some plant pots for Castle Ryan since I can’t find any decorated ones I like. However, that’s not the main point of this post, so let’s move on.

This painting day was part of Cameron’s Christmas present. I have decided to give him adventure or activity gifts whenever possible. Since he is quite the artist, this seemed like a great option.

We spent our day at Art and Clay Studio in Lakewood. As it was the weekend, I booked ahead to be sure we’d get a spot. I also went in the day before to take some photos of the ceramic blanks to give Cameron an idea of what was available. I figured it would help to save us decision-making time on the day. And I was mostly right.

Cameron opted to paint a large-ish truck that has an open truck bed for storing stuff. (Although he doesn’t know what he’ll put in it yet.) His colour scheme was based on the colours of one of his Dad’s trucks. He was very meticulous in painting the lines on the truck, and I think he is quite proud of his creation, as he should be. Although the truck was maybe a little too big for him, as it took two hours to paint, and by then he was getting a little bored with it (I think).

For my own paintings, I decided on two simple, small bowls. The first one, a small oval-shaped bowl, is intended to hold pound coins to use for tipping food delivery drivers on the (rare) occasions I order a takeaway. I am not happy with the final design, and in hindsight, wish I hadn’t attempted the polka dots, which led to an attempt at a splatter design. The second bowl is a better overall size and shape. Again, I’m not especially happy with the chosen design of simple colours, but I’m happy with how the two-toned green inside portion worked out. I think this will be a good bowl for little snacks. Maybe.

My second painting experience was with my nephew, Brendan. (Cameron’s older brother.) His painting was also a gift – a delayed 18^th birthday tattoo! Yes, I am that Cool Aunt™ who buys tattoos for her nieces and nephews. However, this was the first time I’ve done it, as the others never cashed in on the offer.

Yeah! Can you believe that? Twenty-five years ago, I made the deal that I would pay for each kid’s first tattoo when they turned 18 – with some qualifications: It must be their first tattoo; they must listen to (but are not required to adhere to) my advice; and I must be present when they get their ink. (There are also price limits, but that’s flexible.) However, those who wanted tattoos went out and got them straight away. They didn’t want to wait until I was in town; they wanted tattoos then and there. Indeed, no one even reached out to ask about a deal.

That is, until Brendan reached out several weeks before he turned 18. Only, he wasn’t sure what he wanted, so he didn’t get the tattoo right away. Over the next couple of years, we talked about his gift and even made amendments to the rules due to logistics. (Basically, his Mum would go with him as my proxy, take videos and maybe even make a video call, and I would get to see it before anyone else.) There was also a delay because, whilst he knew he wanted a tattoo, he struggled to decide on what to do for his first tattoo.

Anyhow, we finally got his tattoo scheduled as part of my 2024/25 Christmas holidays home, and Brendan got his first ink a couple of days ago at Minds Eye Tattoo Studio in Tacoma. I say first because he was already talking about his next tattoo before the current one was even done.

Brendan chose a design that suited his interests and identity. He was a little nervous going into it, mostly because he wasn’t sure what to expect. But the artist, Kelly, was good at communicating throughout the process. In the end, everyone was happy with the results – including Brendan’s Mum, which is always important.

It’s not easy to be a Cool Aunt™ when I live so far away, which makes these hands-on experiences that much more valuable to me. (And, hopefully, to my nieces and nephews.) I’m already looking forward to my next visit home in the summer when I can do more fun activities with the family!