So fun to share the artwork of Sydney, a young artist. Sydney’s Mom Valerie is so supportive of Sydney’s work, that’s just wonderful and is so helpful to a young artist. Way to go Mom Valerie!
One of the things Sydney’s Mom does to support Sydney’s art is to take Sydney to art workshops and private lessons. The photos below show Sydney at one of the art workshops her Mom brought Sydney to, and look at the fun artwork Sydney is holding (GREAT JOB ON THE CAT, SYDNEY!). I love that Sydney seems to be so thoroughly enjoying herself!
Sydney sharing her FUN cat artwork and its inspiration
Sydney hard at work painting at a workshop. Great concentration Sydney!
I often get asked if I teach art (no) and what I think of art workshops and private lessons for children. Here’s what I think of these things:
Workshops and art classes for young artists can be great because classes often have so many awesome art supplies to play with! Good teachers share helpful tips on how to do things too, which can be great help.
Having said that, some of my favorite artists are self taught! Just because one young artist might be ahead in how ‘real’ the art looks, doesn’t mean the young artist is ahead in freedom of expression. Those are very different concepts, and BOTH skill with art tools and freedom of creative expression are important.
While art classes can give young artists valuable technical skills, finding your inner creative voice is something each artist does for herself.
Sometimes talented young artists in class (or sibling) settings can get frustrated because what they create (to them) doesn’t look as good as other kids creations, or maybe the young artist got inspired with an assignment and then created something that was not what the teacher was at that moment trying to teach. That’s when good teachers are very important – their words and understanding of the young artist sensitivity is very important. A teacher not thoroughly understanding the young artist means that teacher’s art classes – even private lessons – might not be the best thing for an artist. Each young artist needs to learn to judge herself by her own measuring stick, and that’s a hard thing to master, even for adults. The last thing we want to do is to discourage a young artist without even realizing it!
If I had to choose an art teacher for a young artist, I would not judge the art teacher by how ‘real’ the art their students create looks! I would judge an art teacher by how fearless and confident their students are in trying new things and playing with color and shapes and geometry and gravity. Young artists should not strive to create art that is not within a young artist’s own voice, but rather to perfect their own creative voice. If 4 children did a picture of a mouse, I would love to see 4 very different mice artworks, showing that children felt free to create their own spin on what is the essence of ‘mouse-ness.’ Here’s a clear example of what I mean, and a great way for parents to have some fun and share with young artists how artists through time can be very different from one another, and yet each be considered a great master: Can you imagine Pablo Picasso, M. C. Escher, Norman Rockwell, and Rembrandt van Rijn all being art students in the same art class? Can you imagine all four of these artists creating mice that all looked the same? No way! That’s what I’m talking about. A great art teacher lets Picasso be Picasso, Escher be Escher, Rockwell be Rockwell, and Rembrandt be Rembrandt.
Fun Exercise for Parents to share with Young Artists (will take four separate days): Show your young artist artworks by Picasso, and ask your young artist to draw a mouse the way Picasso might. Repeat for each of Escher, Rockwell, and Rembrandt. After your young artist has created her four very different mice, ask your young artist what she learned from each. Ask your young artist what mouse was the most fun to create and why. That’s one good way to help your young artist discover their inner voice. It’s also a fun way to explore art history!
That’s why it’s important, if you do decide to give your young artist art lessons or art classes, to find just the right art teacher for your particular, one-of-a-kind, precious young artist. What is a fabulous teacher for one young artist might not be the right art teacher for another young artist. As a general rule of thumb, I recommend that parents looking for art teachers should talk to other parents who have had great experiences, and look for student’s art that isn’t trying too hard to be perfectly realistic. I would be happier to see a ‘mouse’ painted in many styles and colors by the different students instead of many realistic, uniform, very similar mice. Look for fun colors and signs of creativity at play! Look for art students who ENJOY creating and are fearless in their creativity. Young artists need to find their artistic voice at their own pace. Creating art is a very personal thing, and each parent needs to figure out what approach is best for their precious, sensitive young artist.
I am so glad that Sydney’s wonderful Mom Valerie found the right classes and teachers for Sydney – it is clear Sydney is thriving and enjoying herself! -And the artwork Sydney makes is so fun! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK, SYDNEY!
