Maple & Main

 

 

I took this picture in downtown parking lot #3 this morning.

 

I think its official folks; Waukesha has run out of time.

 

Five year old Grace barely stands just over knee height, but her love of horses is immeasurable.

Every Saturday she comes to art class, she picks a picture of a horse to draw.

After three consecutive Saturdays of horse drawings, I took Grace aside and we had a talk.

I told her that this week, I wanted her to try a different subject matter- something more challenging, something other than a horse.

“But I love horses” she said, batting her little brown eyes at me.

“I know you love horses Grace, but we can’t always just draw horses. Let’s try something else” I said.

“But I love horses.”

“Yes, I understand, you love horses, and that’s great. But we have to expand your artistic talents to include other subject matters than horses.”

“But I…”

“No horses this time” I said as firmly as I could to little Grace. “Look through the pictures and pick out something other than a horse… ANYTHING but a horse.”

“O.K.” she said, and with a cloud of despair over her head, she sulked over to the drawer to pick out a picture.

A few minutes passed by and out of the corner of my eye I saw Grace skip merrily back to her desk with a picture in her hand and a smile on her face.

“It’s not a horse, is it?” I asked from across the room.

“Nope” she responded cheerfully.

I was pleased she was so excited and couldn’t wait to see what she had chosen.

I walked over to her desk, she greeted me with a smile, and I looked up at her picture.

It was a zebra.

“Anything but a horse”- those were my exact words, now echoing through my head.

And even though a zebra looks like a horse, stands like a horse, and is, I am sure, some how related to the horse, who am I to tell Grace she can’t draw it- she did exactly what I told her to do.

I stood down (I know when I have been beat), and now Grace’s zebra hangs proudly on our studio wall.