The ration of maids to kids was like 1 : 2.5 ...which made my job alot easier.
So as they painted I noticed the parents getting excited....their kids had the opportunity to explore their creativity...learn that in art there is no right or wrong...just the desire to be free and be creative and explore on that.
I noticed some parents were so fixed on their kids painting inside the lines.....indirectly i saw it there is a right way to be creative in art......there are guidelines......then one parent asked me can she paint here...pointing to a blank white space on the mug....i replied "of course this is theirs they can paint and do whatever they want"...
I saw that the parents wanted their kids to paint on the mugs perfectly, inside the lines...with pretty colors....to the point of controlling which color to use rather than encouraging to freely 'just paint'...
This isn't a bitching session of controlling parents...but the question I wanted to explore was....is there a right or wrong to art.
Having a fine arts background....my answer is a firm NO. My belief (you may agree or disagree the point here it so see it from my perspective)....my belief is that it is when the children are young that creativity should be encouraged...i feel that if kids are encouraged to be creative it will make problem solving when they are adults alot easier.
I felt this sad feeling in my heart when i saw parents telling kids what to do...to the point of taking the brush out of their hands and them end up painting the mug. One parent would stand right by her daughter and tell her no you should paint it like this......
In art I hate that word SHOULD......with children i prefer the words such as TRY THIS...or WHAT IF YOU DID THIS...
Out of the bunch of 20....3 showed talent. What do I base this on....nothing about if the mug they painted was 'beautiful in my eyes'....but its based on their patience, their attention to detail and their enthusiasm to carefully think of what to paint what to draw.....the beginnings of taking ownership of their creative art works....
One girl in particular....her mother confessed to me that I have no patience for detail.....these little little things i just can't do them....unlike her daughter that took the longest to paint her mug while others went of playing and eating. She wasn't phased by the fact she and I were alone in the play area.....she took such great pride in her mug..which she was so focused on painting.....getting the dots right, getting the color right, the look that SHE WANTED. To her what she wanted was right in her eyes.
What better than a momento....totally created by your child...which you can appreciate 10 years later...no matter how 'horrid it look to the adults eyes'.....a creative creation of your child and how they were at that particular age.
I don't really blame or bitch at the parents. After all I know where they are coming from. They want their kids to get things 'right', to do the best and be the best....at what expense? Telling the kids of how art should look like...was like imposing creativity has a right or wrong...so before you attempt to do anything make sure its right and looks good......to the parents eyes. After all I've been in the kids shoes....I clearly remember my mother doing some of my projects, and it was always the best (my mother herself is a self fought artist).....my mother had such an attention to detail..even I was surprised...So when it was time to do these projects...I told her my idea..she would come up with a plan and we would work on it together. Yes my mother is a controlling woman....its not perfect unless its done by her extremely high standards. Sometimes I would cry cause she pressured me to get it perfect.
I remember living overseas, the mothers got together and thought it would be fun if the kids did a talent show. I obviously would take part , since mother dearest was the VP of the womens society. So i said to my mother I want to be like a genie and hareem girl....So off my mother went sewing (yeah she sews too).....an outfit which in my eyes was gorgeous. The outfit was just the tip of the ice berg. Now came to the practicing my dance....she had the music ready and the choreography. I remember she would make me wear the beautiful yet very itchy hareen /belly dancing costume...and made me practice and practice over and over and over and over...till it felt like torture.....I tried to hide my tears and frustration after an hour...and with her you just don't cry......and she creamed at me and threatened me if my tears still did flow out of my eyes....
Me and my mom can laugh about it now.....cause she did realize she did take it to the point of Nazi - ish.....but regardless....she always encourage my artistic side....since small i can remember being in her art room while she did what ever fine art or crafts...and she always encourage me....after a while...she did give me the freedom I wanted in art....and she encouraged me to be free......it wsa then my natural passion of the arts grew. Theatre and fine arts was always my strongest skills...
I grew up with the mentality there was no right or wrong with art. And we had so many paintings at home that since I could remember art was 2nd nature at home. There were naif paintings, landscapes of all mediums....Every country that we moved to we hae a huge collections of art works from that region. My favorite is this beautiful painting of a woman with a sheer top can see her plump bosoms to die for......
In high school I ended up doing IB art....and the freedom to created pieces that I wanted.....about 90% had to do with the human figure....so there I was in peru.....drawing nudes of women, when i was depressed and going through alot of emotional 'crap' my paintings were of skinny naked women....can see their rib bones and all...and i got through that and my life was better....i started painting fat naked pregnant women.....So during the school art exhibition......i remember my moms friends being all shocked at the amount of in your face raw paintings of the naked human figure.....my parents just supported me...they were not at all shocked when my sketch book was filled with naked figures, private parts in no way censored.
All this flashback.....now to the point....yeah i must tell a huge log story before I get to the point....from my experience....art at a young age should be freely encouraged if that's what the child is interested in....if they show potential....encourage it...let the child expereince the passion gorwing within them....let them freely explore that creativity.....its only 10 to 15 years later the parents will see the results....
this is the frustration I experience....parents pay a money for their kids to go to some art place...and they expect results...they want to see that pretty painting on the canvas 3 sessions later...when really the real results will be produced much much later in life....cause it is at this stage (early childhood) that the desire the freedom to creativly explore is instilled and in due time the passion within will just exude out of them.
I salute all parents regardless if they are the ones standing next to their child telling them what to do....or the ones that allows their child to just express themselves....cause now at the age of 26 and many conversations with my mother...i realize...being a parent...is just not easy...
I was telling my mother...if my children (yeah i want more than 1...so its not child)....want to color outside of the box..the only things i will question is ' with what color?'
Next to the first painting I clearly remember creating - 5 years old, Canberra, Australia
My love for theatre started quite young. It was the birth of 'loving the attention being extroverted' 5 Years old, Canberra Australia.
Me and mother dearest (the very loving / controllng one as previously mentioned..God Bless Her). In her art room me being a busy body. 8 years old Kuwait City, Kuwait.
No comments:
Post a Comment