I type this as i sit in the classroom as i have done for almost four years now as a substitute teacher. While most subs would be content to bring along a book to pass the day of being a babysitter for high school students, I have taken a different route to pass my time. I bring along my pieces of artwork to work on and pass the time with. I have become almost famous to the students as "that sub who does the cool artwork."

Now I do love me some good old fashioned adoration of my work (this ego does not inflate itself), the one question that continually arises is..."did you draw/paint/do that?" To which i reply with a grin at their naivety, "Yes, I did." However, the snarky SOB deep down inside me wants to retort back at their folly.

Now herein lies the question...is it really all that astonishing that one individual could do the things I do? In art programs across North America, students are learning about the masters who paved the way for artists like me. With the awe inspiring sites of these pieces, how can what I do even hold a match to these greats? This generation seems to believe that things just are and have always been. That there i noe creative process, that time and sweat had to go into these pieces. That it takes practice and patience, not luck and the right genes to become an artist.

Maybe I'm reading into this almost daily interaction i have with students. I'm just starting to feel that the concept of creation an originality are being lost on these children. Let me know your feelings on the subject and we debate this out.