The Little Artist

Today, I pulled out the art supplies for my son. The messy ones that I had kept inside the cabinet. As I watched him work, I was struck by his imagination and skill. He sloshes paint and water around. He is happy with the process. He portrays himself and his family and friends, both real and imaginary. He draws and colours flowers and animals, nature and toys. He produces many paintings and declares each of them so damn good he doesn't know which one is the best. Sometimes, it’s crayons, other times it’s water colour or acrylic or pastels or sketch pens that this little artist uses. Sometimes he would be trying out finger painting or imprinting .At times he uses brush and at other times, it will be a straw or a stick or something else.

One day, he was explaining why he has used different colours for his paintings. “Only if I use different colours, people will buy my painting mama”. The high messiness quotient is worth his enjoyment and interest.

There are certain days he gets bored with drawing and painting and develops interest in joining the dots or listening to stories. When I introduced him to paper mache, he loved it. We both have made few things like a mask, a bow for him, a tribal art painting, a pen stand, few bowls, etc. He also liked making a photo frame, a basket and a letter holder from ice cream sticks. He proudly walked around telling everybody, when he made a Christmas tree card and decorated it beautifully. He took it to his preschool. He also made cards for his grandparents. He creates something for his friends, parents and grand parents to give as gifts.

Finding enough alternate activities that fit our budget, busy schedule, energy level as well as the attention span and abilities of our child isn’t easy. But with little innovativeness and interest, one can see lot of things available at home and around, which could be used as a child artist’s tool or medium. Much of the fun lies in experimenting, adapting, and trying the unexpected. These type of activities not only teach you about your kid’s capabilities, and interests, but also about your own. These activities also entertain and
educate a child and themselves.

Watching the child take an activity in a new and creative direction is indeed one of the great joys of parenthood. There is no right way to play. Whatever the child determines is the course of action.