Give a Child a Crayon...

Give a child a crayon, and before you know it, depending on the age of the child, she or he will be drawing scribbles, random circles, doodles, or even simple people, trees, and pets.  They generally have no reservations and just go for it.  And, sometimes they just go for it on the table…or the wall…or the back of grandma’s Queen Anne chair with a permanent marker!

And so it begins – instructions to stay on the page, stay within the lines, not on the wall.  Eventually someone asks, “What is it?” or says,  “It doesn’t look like…. It’s supposed to have this or that feature.  Why did you draw it like that?”  Then five, ten, fifteen or more years later comes the response, “I can’t draw a stick figure.”  Or “I can’t draw to save my life.”  And even, “I don’t have a creative bone in my body.”  Most people say those things, or something similar, and have no recollection of a time before they were forced into the non-creativity mold.

But the creative spark remains.

I have a friend who considers herself an artist.  She doesn’t paint, draw, sculpt, sing, act, or dance.  She doesn’t prescribe to any typical visual expression of what we consider an artist to make, do, or be.  She makes connections.  She matches people with resources.  She may hear of someone with a need for knowledge, direction, or resources in a particular area, and her creative mind comes up with a book, person, agency, or service that would be the best fit.  For her as an artist, as it is with so many people who otherwise consider themselves “non-creative”, it is a way of thinking, not a way of doing or making.

I have another friend, an I-can’t-draw-a-stick-figure person, who can put together a perfectly coordinated and very attractive outfit from head to toe.  She considers herself a “shoe person”, but she always has the whole ensemble tastefully pulled together.  Not everyone can do that.  Not everyone has an eye for it.  Not everyone is creative in that area…but, if you think about it, it is just that -- another form of creativity.  This same person has tastefully decorated her apartment with great attention to coordinating styles, colors, and patterns for an overall elegant effect.  That’s just another expression of her creativity and a talent she has developed.  Some may call it “style”, but at the core it’s creativity.

Fortunately, even if it’s inadvertently discouraged in the name of conformity, the drive to create doesn’t give up that easily…just think of the possibilities if we nurtured the creative spark and encouraged creative thinking, not just in expression or creating works of art, but in creative problem solving.  Would the world be a much different place if we had too many solutions and options?  Would there be a need to “think outside the box” if we were already outside the box and not relying on the same old solutions for the same old problems – solutions that haven’t proven successful even after repeated attempts?  Creativity opens the door to other ways of thinking and problem-solving.

It was my sister, who received her degree in early childhood education, who suggested to me when talking to a child art about his/her artwork, don’t ask “What is it?”  Say instead, “Tell me about it.”  This leaves plenty of room for self-expression and avoids judgments/misinterpretations that could be discouraging.  I have found this approach useful, and I usually look for something positive to say, possibly about the colors used, or the shapes, or what they’ve said about the piece.  I try to keep in mind that the creative spark, when it comes to visual expression, is often fragile.  It needs to be encouraged and fanned to flame, not smothered by a wet blanket.

Yes, coloring on the walls or the Queen Anne chair could be a problem, so structure and guidance aren’t at all bad things, unless they become so rigid they inhibit the creativity.  If reasonable boundaries need to be put in place, appropriate freedoms should be opened up to allow expression.  If the child can’t contain herself/himself to the piece of paper – give ‘em a bigger piece of paper.  Give them a canvas.  Give them the tools to create as big and as much as they can.  Give them encouragement, and you’ll not only allow another avenue of expression, you’ll also open up a world of possibilities.  And the world may just benefit as well.