Creativity

I sometimes wonder why I feel so out of touch with my creative side, afraid to take risks and pursue a new direction. Then I think back to every elementary school teacher I ever had, and how “art” was all about making a perfect copy of the project example that the teacher had made. Coloring outside the lines or in a different color was frowned upon, and I strived to always cut on the line and glue each piece in exactly the right place. Needless to say, my “art” often fell far short of the example, and I slowly gave up ever being able to create something that met these externally imposed standards. Art was never a matter of self-expression, it was always about living up to the teacher’s standards.

I’m trying to prevent this from ever happening to my own kids by encouraging them to experiment with different mediums: paint, colors, markers, finger paint, play dough. It can get messy, but I’d much rather wash marker off their hands, feet and faces than to have them sit blankly, afraid to put paintbrush or marker to paper for fear that their result won’t be “perfect”. My son might ask me if I like what he’s made, and I turn the question back around and ask him if HE likes it, and to tell me why he likes it. My opinion is not important, it’s the meaning he creates for himself that matters. My daughter gleefully colors everything she can reach when she gets a marker in her hand, and I hope she never ceases to delight in coloring her world.

I want them to find joy and value in the product of their own minds, and to learn to use their minds to think for themselves, and to create for themselves, even and especially when it goes against what’s “expected” of them. To be fearless and strong and wise and happy.