Two years ago, May of 2017, I came home and gave my oldest son a big hug and thanked him for all the years of Sponge Bob viewing he put me through. I literally have a ton of episodes in my brain at my disposal to dish out and it came in so handy, and where? At the museum!
Me and Incognito, 2003 by Isaac Julien
I was given the opportunity to be an artist in residence to a particular class at an elementary school.That day, we concentrated on sculpture. I showed my fourth/fifth grade group three sculptures, one of them being, Icognito by multidisciplinary artist, Isaac Julien, 2003. I offered clay and sculpting tools for the studio activity and this little artist (seen below) immediately went to work on his Sponge Bob sculpture. He was passionate about it, recounting episode after episode with the other kids while he worked, and I was right there with the best of them rehashing my favorites too! They were so impressed and surprised, I think my stock rose rapidly in their eyes. And all because I sat down and watched TV with my son and asked him questions about the episodes. Who knew that Sponge Bob would fuel my museum career?
Afterwards, I noticed that another child made a sculpture of a basketball and I was able to chime in and ask him what he thought of the NBA draft picks from the night before (again, because I was watching TV with my big boy). His eyes grew huge, “you saw it too Miss Nellie? Don’t underestimate them. I need to put MOM on my resume! Actually, this was a special needs classroom and many of the kids were obsessed with their interests, as mine are, so in fact, I should add AUTISM MOM to my resume.
The small moments with your (special-needs) child can truly make you big in the world.
How has being a mother to a child with or without a disability made you big in the world or aided in your career?
Girl Reconstructed 