This is a particularly interesting topic for me, because my parents modeled really non-normative genders for me: my father was an actor, while my mom was a construction worker. Until shortly before he died, my father was my primary caretaker, dressing me and doing my hair in the mornings before taking me to school. Both my parents favored short haircuts, wore jeans and tshirts, and never tried to force me or my brother to wear certain colors or play with certain toys. I credit them with my really easygoing outlook on gender and never letting my gender limit what I can do. I love hearing from parents who are consciously doing this sort of thing nowadays—I think it's super important that traditional gender roles be busted as much as possible!
I love the cute little phrases and your art! I look forward to seeing more as you continue. I think it would be cute to do some opposites of the mainstream art—instead of 'Daddy & Son Building Crew,' some art that features an androgynous kid and says 'I want to be a construction worker, just like my mom!' or something similar. But nothing like that promise ceremony example—yuck!
oh - that is such a good idea! You have to make what you want to see, right? Isn't that what Maya Angelou said about the books she wrote? Not that I can compare myself to her!
That is perfect - Thank you for that great suggestion! I'll have some work to do! I need to learn how to digitize these things or something...
I have a scanner, and that's how I digitize my work. Are you going to make an art piece using the construction worker phrase? (I said it and now I am thinking of making one, too! :D Inspiration strikes, heh...)
I have a list of 20 or so phrases...that was your idea so run with it if you want to. I could just riff off the tshirt if I want. I hope you'll share how it turns out!
Oh, about the scanner - once you scan it in, do you color digitally or edit? I know nothing about that stuff - is it something I could figure out without having to go back to art school?
I almost never do any digital color on analog pieces—I like colored pencils, pens, and markers, so any pencil and paper pieces will be hand-colored before scanning. Digital pieces are constructed entirely digitally, of course. I've never been to art school, and my art is mostly a hobby, so my ways are probably inefficient/very much not industry standard, but I don't mind. :)
There probably is a noticeable difference between my digital and old-school pieces—if you're curious for examples, I made an intro post yesterday for the slothicorn community that has two of each.
It's worth noting, however, that my scanner is of mediocre quality, and I could get much better quality from a better scanner, of course.
I will check out your slothicorn post. Thanks!