Creating Art from Spilt Coffee

Countless times, I have come downstairs to make my coffee in the morning and encountered unmistakable signs that my teenage daughter has already been there and left her mark.  Spills and spatters of brown liquid, scattered coffee grounds, abandoned spoons were left to greet me.  I used to feel aggravated, and I would let her know, yelling up the stairs that I did not appreciate the mess.  There would be no response from her and no behavioral transformation as a result of my anger.  These exchanges were typical of our relationship as we tried to navigate the teenage years.

One morning, I was presented with a particularly impressive mess and I felt the familiar annoyance, but then I looked at the dark brown spill more carefully.  The shape resembled a figure.  I hurried into the office to get a drawing pencil.  All of sudden the careless mess left for me to clean up had become an inspiration.  With the addition of a few pencil lines, the spill had become a humble work of art.

 From then on, when my daughter left a spill, I turned it into art and posted it on FaceBook with a caption "Coffee Spills left by my Teenage Daughter Turned into Art".  I left the spills on the counter for the rest of the day to be appreciated by all.  Best of all, my day no longer started with an angry exchange between the two of us which negatively colored the rest of our day.  It makes me consider how other frustrating situations in life can be changed into something positive with a slight shift of perspective.  Next, I'm trying to figure out how to transform the clothing and wet towels my teenage son leaves in heaps on the floor into soft sculpture;) Stay tuned...