Janie & Ezra

Janie & Ezra | Sculptress and Musician | Mother & Son | Jerome, AZ

So, I’m sitting in 15.quince having lunch, and along comes this kid carrying a guitar.  Okay, having experienced numerous 18-19 year olds playing the guitar on the side of the street, I simply lumped him in with the group.  You know, taking a little break from the everything, breathing, and preparing for their next move.  Well, I struck up a conversation, and soon discovered that this kid, he’s 13.  While he looks like an older Justin Bieber, he’s actually like three years younger.  Crazy.  So, I have to dig, and after learning he works alongside his mom, I’m there with questions.

Here’s the thing….This kid is brilliant.  I’m sitting listening to him, hanging on to his every word.  You know, most of the time talking to kids, you’re trying to be encouraging while waiting for them to finish with their cute but misguided pontificating.  I assure you, this thought did not come up once with Ezra.  The guy had things to say, and I was all ears.

In meeting Janie, his mom, it all started to make sense.  Here was a person who was absolute positive goodness, sitting amongst her clay creations, sharing her passion with the world along with her son on guitar.  The way they interacted was so cool….Yes, she was very much the mother and in charge, but she also gave him so much room to be.

In listening to their story on working their art, home schooling and passion, I was contstantly reminded of Ken Robinson’s book “The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything” and really loving the thought of Ezra’s education.  Here was a real life example of kid not only learning how to read and write, but how to live life and passion….I so want to meet Ezra in ten years.

Just to be clear, while I was infatuated with Ezra’s story, I did not lose sight of just how amazing Janie is.  Her, her art, her passion and her joy…Truly inspiring.  The thing is, my big take away from the whole interaction, was how Janie’s passion and joy for life had resulted in giving the world another passionate person.  Talk about paying it forward….Very cool.

Thanks to both for sharing.