Awakening Your Child’s Inner Artist
Explore. Express. Make a mess! Encouraging our kids to get creative means we get to play too!

By Marilyn Pribus

“Children need to be able to look at a flower or a dog or a house then write about it and draw it,” says Folsom resident Bonnie Williamson. A retired elementary school teacher and author of several books, including Parent Power: A Guide to Your Child’s Success, Williamson says art increases children’s awareness of the world around them as well as their comprehension and mastery of that world. “Mastery and genuine accomplishment,” she adds, “are vital components of self-esteem.”

There is an emotional element in art as well, notes Peggy Gulshen, Director of Sutter Health Children's Bereavement Art Group at the Sutter Cancer Center. "Art therapy is a redundant term to me," she says. "All the arts–visual, music, dance, poetry–are a healing activity, not just for children but for all human beings."

Gulshen notes that artistic activities also help kids develop coordination and physical dexterity. Whether it’s moving a crayon, manipulating pencils or a paint brush, mastering choreography in the dance studio, enjoying the tactile stimulation of finger paints, or making music with an instrument, children refine their motor skills and develop their growing bodies and minds every time they get creative.

Gulshen sees children as natural artists. She explains that art can be a form of language for children before they develop the abstract skills to translate things into words. "It can help them make sense of their world," she says. When you discuss your child's artistry, Gulshen suggests commenting on color, shape, design, and arrangement. Put less emphasis on "What is this?" and more on, "Tell me about this wonderful green spot. I love how you use the purple in the grass."

"All children are artists.
The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."
—Pablo Picasso

CREATIVE THINKERS OR LITTLE CONSUMERS?
"We are training kids to be the super-duper buyers of tomorrow instead of how to build or design or draw," says Williamson, with some heat, adding that it doesn't have to be this way. She encourages adults to provide kids with plenty of time, space and materials to engage in creative play and artistic expression.

Here are just four ways parents can encourage children to create things rather than buy them:

• Make a game or a toy.
• Draw your own poster for a movie you've seen.
• Arrange a dining table centerpiece.
• Sketch a picture for a school project (instead of downloading it from a computer).

Gulshen further suggests "doing" art with your children. "Give them materials," she recommends. "Set up sacred creative space. Let your own child part come out without feeling your art has to look like Rembrandt." Here are some simple ways to get started:

• Grab a brush and scribble with lots of paint.
• Take some clay and work with your child.
• Draw on your sidewalk with colored chalk.
• Borrow art books from the library.
• Go to art museums and art shows.
• Make greeting cards.

WHICH MEDIUM IS BEST?
There is a continuum of media—from structured (colored pencils, felt markers) to more fluid (crayons, oil pastels, chalk) to the still more fluid (paints, water colors and clay, the loosest). The ideal medium, says Gulshen, depends on each child's personality. If you think your child is too controlled, provide a fluid medium in a safe place under supervision.

If your child is restless and impulsive, you might opt for more structured materials to help impose boundaries. For example, a cutting project—snipping shapes from paper—gives kids a sense of control and mastery, and putting it all together again gives kids a feeling of balance.

"Art therapy is a redundant term to me—
all arts are healing, not just for children but for all human beings."
—Peggy Gulshen, Art Therapist

MORE WAYS TO RAISE A CREATIVE THINKER
Visit art galleries and local art shows, and point out art in public places. Check your local library for books and magazines with art or craft projects. You'll also find an impressive array of kid-friendly how-to books in local book stores, some including materials.

Art classes can be lots of fun, offering little ones—and stay-at-home moms and dads too—the chance to expand their social circles and discover messy new mediums outside of the house. And they don't have to be expensive. Midtown Sacramento’s new ArtBeast offers a drop-in arts exploration space geared for children under six. Six or seven is often an ideal age to start more structured art instruction, when their attention spans are increasing yet their sense of adventure and experimentation isn't yet hampered by self-consciousness.

While some youngsters are perceived as having particular talent, every child is an artist. In addition to boosting their self-esteem, art enhances learning and enriches our lives. Concludes Art Therapist Gulshen, "The beauty of art is that is doesn't have to have purpose or function. It's an exploration of the mystery of the creative process."

© 2009 Marilyn Pribus
Long-time Fair Oaks resident Lynn Pribus is a wife, mother, musician and mediocre (but enthusiastic) artist. She now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.