In the process of making buying decisions for our store, we are often faced with this dilemma; should we choose the product because it will sell well or do we buy it because we know it is good for children. Of course we aim for every decision to meet both criteria.
On our last trip to TOY FAIR in NYC we had
a conversation with Nurit Amdur, President of Alex, Inc (a
company that imports art kits among other things). To our
dismay, Alex was showing several art kits consisting of precut
pieces to be glued on by the "artist" or predrawn pictures to be colored or painted. We told Nurit that the ideas for the kits were good, but would like to offer blank canvases for children to create their own art. She explained that she, too, believed in "open-ended" creative
art kits but the market demanded that the child's product
be beautiful. She went on to explain that the child's self
esteem is boosted when the adult thinks the product looks
good.
At that point I disagreed. In fact, I believe just the opposite is more likely to occur. The child's self esteem may actually be demeaned in this process of pleasing the adult with someone else's work. The parent may be proud, but the child intrinsically is not. Art created by the child IS beautiful. Through the open-ended process, children learn about drawing, cutting, mixing colors, design and many more creative techniques. Even a painting that turns out all brown in the end is beautiful, as children need to go through the process of figuring out how that happens.
If children are allowed to be creative and
supported by an adult in the process, they are willing to
take risks. Teachers often hear children say, "I can't draw that".
A child who feels reluctant to take the risk of being creative
(and pleasing themselves) usually has at least one adult
in their life that expects their art to be perfect and up
to the adult's standards.
The adult's role as supporter in the art process
includes providing open-ended materials, some direction when
needed, while being careful not to interfere in the creative
process. As a supporter, the roles may be reversed and the
child could become the "teacher" or co-artist as the adult creates their own art. The adult may have been stifled as a child and being creative and accepting of their own work might be a challenge. The more a child hears an adult say, "I can't draw" or
something similar, the more he or she will integrate it into
their thinking about themselves. Our goal is for every child
to be proud of their work because it is their work.
The conversation with Nurit ended on a high note when she said she would reconsider the company's position. She offered to send me blank umbrellas (their umbrella kit has predrawn images which the child paints) that would serve as empty canvases. She asked if we would video tape children as they painted and she would compare it with her observations of children painting in the pictures. I already know what the results will be... the children who create their own designs will be more engaged for a longer period of time, use more language with diverse vocabulary and thinking, and with positive adult support, be proud of their accomplishments.
Of course there are times when coloring in someone else's predrawn lines and other similar activities may be appropriate and even relaxing, we must not confuse them with art. All children (and adults, too) need art and the creativity and self affirmation it provides.
