Tiny Dots, Big Feelings, and One Competitive Mom
So here’s a peek into the latest chaos at our house: Carson, acrylic paint, a swan, and an art style that requires the patience of a saint and the hand of a surgeon.
Carson’s been doing online school since we lost Nannie. After her passing and our move to Florida, we knew a traditional school setting would be too overwhelming for him. Virtual school has been a gentle shift—it’s flexible, familiar, and gives him space to heal. And this week? Art class decided to challenge both our sanity and our fine motor skills.
They’re learning pointillism—which is basically the art of painting a picture using teeny, tiny dots. Think: very pretty, very slow, and mildly infuriating if you’re not a dot enthusiast.
Carson was tasked with creating his own pointillism piece, and in true heartfelt fashion, he chose a swan—Nannie’s favorite animal. Cue the soft music and my heart exploding into a million pieces.
Now here’s where it gets real: he didn’t just grab a paintbrush and go wild. No, we were on a mission for perfectly tiny dots. Q-tips? Way too big. Not gonna cut it. We leveled up.
What did we use instead?
Tiny screwdrivers.
Paint smudgers.
Basically anything we could find in the junk drawer that looked like it might make a dot the size of a grain of rice.
It’s been two days of precision dotting, and Carson’s swan is genuinely turning into something special. It’s beautiful and detailed and full of love—and now I’m just the weepy mom standing behind him whispering, “You’re doing amazing, sweetie,” every ten minutes.
Naturally, I couldn’t just sit there watching him have all the fun. So I grabbed my own canvas (and a small screwdriver, because we’re all about the technique now) and started my own pointillism masterpiece. Is it because I’m artistic? Not exactly. Is it because I’m competitive and needed an excuse to make art like I’m training for the Olympics? Absolutely.
The coffee table has officially become a dot dojo. There’s paint on our fingers, our arms, probably our eyebrows. The table may never be the same. And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.
When we finish, we’re going to let YOU vote on which painting wins: Carson’s sentimental swan, or my…well, TBD-dot-mess-turned-masterpiece. I’m already planning my victory dance.
Stay tuned for the ultimate face-off in the Great Pointillism Paint-Off of 2025. The dots are tiny, but the stakes are HIGH.
May the best dotter win.
