Could it be anything else?

With the arrival of winter, we also welcome the sickness merry-go-round that is a given when one has children, and quite social children at that. Winter is generally a dreary season for us, marked not by the passing of weeks, but by the cycle of colds & chest infections. *sigh*

And being the second week of June already, we were long overdue for a decent bout of sickness. And come Friday, it hit. Toddler Bear is not well. Four days of erratic temps have knocked the poor little guy about, so we were looking for something quiet & relaxed to do this morning.

A quick search through the drawers in the studio yeilded some air-drying clay, a gift that has been sitting in the drawer awaiting the perfect project. So with the baby and his “if I can touch it, I must taste it” tendencies safely tucked up in bed for his morning nap, I pulled out the clay, and, with my little assistant by my side, got to work. “What shall we make, sweetheart?” “A train, Mummy, a Thomas Tank Engine, wiv a short stumpy boi-yer (boiler), and short stumpy issel (whistle), and a short stumpy funnel.” Of course. What else would I expect, coming from a child who ignores his assigned craft at playgroup, turning it over & commanding his minions (ie, mummy) to draw a train or ten on the back. *sigh*

I think we ended up more like Edward than Thomas – Thomas has too many square edges, whereas Edward is much easier on a novice sculptor.

This is how the train is looking at the drying stage – sculpted & etched. It will now sit on my desk for the next 48 hours to dry, and then I’ll attack it with some acrylic paint.

Today is a laying low & recuperating day. With a small boy wanting nothing more than to be cuddled, how can I refuse? Everything will still be waiting for me tomorrow. Housework, painting, scrapping, creating. All trumped by a small boy’s snuggles. Back to our regularly scheduled crafting soon!