JC and I both have some degree of graphomania (I write out every poem I have memorized when I’m in stressful meetings, he draws lots of things, mostly weird pachinko machines). It was perhaps inevitable that at least one of our kids would inherit that trait.
Silas draws and writes all day long. He’s been reading a lot of Dogman and Captain Underpants these days, so his things are very heavily influenced by that style. But I also see hints of the samurai armor he saw at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, the dragons from his dad’s D&D books, monsters from the ancient myths he listens to all night long. All this stuff is percolating in his brain, so he draws about it.
I appreciate certain aspects of this–for one thing, if I ever need to bribe him, the promise of a pack of index cards is a powerful incentive. And I love getting a glimpse into what is going on in his wild mind.
Other aspects are….frustrating. My whole house sometimes feels like a drift of papers everywhere. I’ve tried giving him notebooks. He always tears or cuts the pages out. The better to snowdrift. I have tried helping him make a system of manila envelopes to organize his work, but it only works if I am putting things in the envelopes myself. He really doesn’t do it. I’m at a bit of a loss.
Also his spelling is terrible, but I keep hoping that as he reads more, that will sort itself out. Maybe.
He is always making “games” (his friends Max and Jack are into this, too) that are unfortunately not very fun to play and don’t have any rules, or maybe they do but he doesn’t tell you about them until you’re halfway through a game. JC’s supposedly teaching him to make games that have balance and are fun, but that’s a process. In the meantime, I wish someone who needed some game art would collaborate with him, because his images are wonderful.
He also has been making comic books as gifts for friends. He’s very excited about them, not sure how the friends feel.
Here’s the cover of one he made for Violet. It’s a story about how she becomes a superhero called “Ultraviolet” and …some things happen. And her dad gets killed by a monster, but her mom somehow has super powers and revives him. It even has a poster in the back with their whole family as superheros, kind of like The Incredibles.
He added these further notes.
I made him take notes on the sermon one day. He points out that all the disciples have different expressions on their faces. “Not everyone was ready to hear Jesus’ message,” Silas said.
Random characters (I think for a game?):
Some kind of story about a warrior that went on an adventure.
“The Horror in Torkishtown”
Some random comics (I think they might be connected–and sometimes he just makes title pages)
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