Children's creativity

How to let a child be creative ?

Let him freely explore the white page and play.

The one thing I am always asked by parents is to teach technique.
But technique is not the priority to develop the child’s creativity.
Confidence and imagination are first required. The child needs to have the soul of a conqueror to explore the white page.
So, I have decided to share below a few of my thoughts on this subjects, based on my teaching experience.

Children and parents say :

“I don’t know how to open the paint tube” - 9 years old
“ I don’t want to touch the paint”- 6 years old
“My child learns to mix colours on a screen in infant school” - parent
“I can’t paint my tree, I haven’t got any green.”
”What do you want me to paint ? “ - 10 years old
”My child never finishes her drawings, but on her own she does.” - parent

So I ask :

Why does a child can't stay concentrated more than five seconds on his painting?
Why does a child throw the page away as soon as his drawing is just started ?
Why does a child stare at his blank page and feels frightened?
Why does a child slide pages as he slides on a screen?
Why isn’t a child allowed to play with colours and end up with a muddy blob ?
Why is a child told by his parent:”You’ll finish your painting at home”, while he just told me it was finished and felt happy about it ?

So, I wonder how a child is encouraged to explore his creativity nowadays.

“The lion” by Olivia

“The lion”
by Olivia

I have been teaching for thirty years, and I am more and more concerned about what means are given to children to develop their own ideas in art, and how this impacts their life.

First, many parents often tell me that it is “too messy” to do art.
My answer to this is that if a child hasn’t got the opportunity to be artistically messy, he can’t explore his ideas. So if he isn’t allowed to do it at school nor at home, where then ?
Eventually, when they come to me, I am asked to teach technique, but I explain that technique is not messy and it won’t allow them to explore their ideas.

Moreover, I have noticed that children no longer have time to be bored. However, boredom is essential to creativity. This is when ideas emerge so they can be explored. Imagination can run freely, and the varied media offer a safe way to experiment while stimulating all the senses. The creative process is more important than the result.

Let’s remember that ideas are abstract. To bring them to life, we usually combine the cognitive process to the intuitive process. Encouraging your child to draw is a good way to saw seeds of self-confidence and entrepeneurship in his life. The white page is a metaphor of the unknown like every single day which unfolds. It is a blank space for all possibilities. Nothing is right and nothing is wrong. A child should be able to explore freely his imagination at an early age, hence he won’t be afraid to do so when he is older. He will be used to doing so, and this is the future of our society. Children need to grow as confident adults bringing new ideas to the world. It can start with a drawing.

“A Pizza”

“A Pizza”

So, why do parents so vividly want their children to be taught technique ?
I am always surprised to be asked to teach technique to young children. Before anything else, art should be a way of self-expression. And technique should be taught when the child is ready. He should first have the opportunity to play with his pencils, brushes, colours and textures. When I say “play”, I mean drawing lines and spreading colours the way he wants to. Pure technique can trap the child who will only learn to focus on doing things as they are expected.

Art should also be a well-being activity for children. Many children can release a lot of feelings and emotions through their drawings which can become a much needed escape. Unfortunately I often see how art becomes a challenge because they “should do” a technical art work with the right proportions, the right shading and colours to create 3D and some realism. Where does this pressure come from ?
When the child is ready, he will usually ask by himself that he wishes to learn some technique that he feels will help with his drawings. This means that he is ready for it.

“The Tie”

“The Tie”

The expectation of the adult freezes the child’s imagination.
This is a sad reality. I have so often seen parents project their creative ideas on their child. Doing so the child loses his freedom of expression. He just learns how to “fit in the box”. Spending his time to please, he will never be able to explore his own ideas.

The other issue is how adults impose their own interpretation about the child's drawing. However, there is a whole universe which awaits to be told. Adults should learn to listen. If not, the child learns to remain silent.

The more we draw by hand the better. This way we actively engage to imagine our own world. We haven’t got it done for us. Having said that, here is something to think about : technology is an indispensable part of progress and modern life, but even the iPhone and iPad had to be drawn first, didn’t they ? Those things have changed us, and have in turn changed the world.

“Mixed-Weather” by Christina

“Mixed-Weather” by Christina

While screens are practical, they also make everything be too easy. There is the magic of the ready-made image as you get an instant result in a click. Hence children lose patience, and lose their ability to imagine. They are no longer used to making efforts. But drawing takes time. Children should have some time off screen to write, draw, move, play, and physically engage with their activities.
Each time we draw we stimulate neuronal connections. The act of drawing takes a huge part in the psyco-motricity development.

“Max the Wolf”, by Olivia

“Max the Wolf”, by Olivia

All what you need is some paper and pencils
When a child asks for doing some art, it is so important to let him do it. There is a lot of cheap art material that you can get, but some paper and a pencil can be enough. If he asks you "What can I draw?", just says "Draw what you want!."
Allow the child to follow his personal creative pace. And tell them that a “mistake” is just a “happy accident”. Nothing is right and nothing is wrong. Art is also learning to make the most of the unexpected.

I hope this article can give you some insight to help your child to explore with confidence his creativity. I offer private sessions in Kent UK to help your child unblock his imagination. Family sessions are also possible.
Nathalie