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| Homeschool students enjoying painting, (c) SZing, 2011. |
If you’ve ever watched children do artwork, you know that they rarely:
1) Color within the lines
2) Use the colors we expect
3) Limit their subject matter to the realistic
4) Question their ability, skill, expertise or talent
5) Limit their imagination
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| Students drawing self-portraits. (c)SZing 2011. |
The other aspect children bring to making art is:
PLAY. While they may be serious about their art, and sometimes they put on a serious face (you know the one…tongue stuck out in concentration, eyes drawn together and intense effort when wielding the crayon or paintbrush), they still know how to make the efforts FUN.
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| Summer Camp Artists creating jewelry. (c)SZing |
They aren’t afraid of mixing colors. They don’t sweat combining lines or patterns. They rarely worry about whether or not they are “doing it right” or are “good enough.” They almost always are proud of the end result and usually give their art away joyfully and freely with the full confidence that their masterpieces will be viewed with pleasure and of course, that the artwork will be displayed.
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| Homeschool student displaying found object artwork. (c) SZing, 2011. |
A child is willing to learn new skills. And eager to do so. A child isn’t overly loyal to any particular medium or artist.
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| Homeschool student painting. (c) SZing, 2011. |
I encourage you to take a page from the child prodigy journal. Let go and let your artwork be free. There is an inner child prodigy in each of us. Relax. Play. Pretend. Stop worrying and let the artwork be.
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| Homeschool student painting. (c) 2012 SZing. |
All text and photos copyright SZing, 2011/2012. All rights reserved.
