My youngest son is a ceramics student pursuing a BFA; he just finished up his second year at Alfred Univ in upstate NY, the mecca for all things ceramics. I have always appreciated what my son is able to create – he is quite talented and artistic, but remember this is his mother speaking. Of course I am going to love his work and think he is amazing. But seriously, he is good at what he does and he loves it.
People often “commend” my husband and me for “encouraging” our kids’ artistic endeavors and ambitions, which I find really humorous. Having spent many years in a corporate environment I regarded a “prison”, I would never try to force anybody to do anything with their life that is not their passion, especially my kids. I believe that as parents, my husband and I need to dose them up with a realistic view of how tough it might be to support yourself being an artist or a photographer or a musician or whatever it might be, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a try. I preached to both of my boys their entire lives to not be corporate “sellouts”, taking on a career just for the money. So, as my husband points out, I sure got what I asked for because both boys are off into creative pastimes. The oldest is happy as a clam with his work and extremely self-sufficient. He is doing what he loves and is really good at it. The youngest is hopefully on his way. At any rate, he is indulging in what he loves.