Why art for children?
Why Art for Children:
I want to share with you a story of a young girl named ‘Mia.’ Mia was just a baby when she first came to enquire for Art classes with her mother. Her mother wanted her to learn how to paint and draw on her own. She also wanted Mia to spend some time with other children at the class. Mia was just 4.5 years old and little did she knew about what was in store for her.
On the first day, Mia was shy and did not enter the class alone. She wanted her mother to come in and sit beside her. She was hesitant to talk to anyone in class, she did not want to sit in the class for even half an hour. A few days passed but Mia’s behaviour was still the same. She kept looking outside of the window, looking at other children and what they were making. She would open her drawing book, but wouldn’t draw anything. She stayed quiet, just listening what the Art teacher said, whereas other children had already completed a few drawings and were enjoying the sessions.
However the art teacher tried using different mediums to involve Mia in the activities. There were sessions like fabric painting, block printing, doodling, one stroke painting, chalk painting, magic painting and lots more. Gradually she started to explore the art materials… To everyone’s surprise by the end of the year, Mia was the most responsive child in the batch.
You want to know what happened, how did Mia suddenly respond and get interested in Art?
It was not that Mia did not like Art, in fact she loved art. It was just that she couldn’t grasp in the usual way, the art teacher was sensitive and alert to understand this. He called Mia a little prior compared to the other children or waited a little more with Mia to make her aware of the art material and show her different ways of using it. As adults we often introduce things to children based on our convenience, however it’s important to understand their needs, desires, learning style, interests and do it in the right way. Children are not just silent/ passive receivers of knowledge or information, they are active observers, seekers and explorers in their journey. Art allows them to express themselves creatively without doing so by talking. It gives us a clear picture of what is going on the child’s mind, it’s a flexible tool for many different things. When a child was left open in the forest, the famous Mowgli. He did not stop developing or building his understanding of the world and developing survival skills; he did so with nature by himself. Instead he jelled with species we would have never imagined, in the similar manner art is something that allows us to be with ourselves and find answers to our questions without asking them to anyone. It brightens the path for us to create 100 other things, transform an object, as well as develop skills for survival. The more art is integrated into one’s lives consciously the more independent and solid is their learning which builds a strong foundation and provides a lens through which we see the world.
Surprisingly it is all around us and in everything we do, see, hear. The colour of the fabric we are in, the design of the kurta / house we are in, the music we listen to, the hobby we possess, our imagination, this Universe is itself a piece of art! There is lots more about what is art in blog 1 (hyperlink)
With Mia, a lot of things in co-ordination worked well! A little patience, sensitivity, alertness of the art teacher to explore art forms and mediums; the progression from simple to complex, providing guidance to the mother to build the child’s attention, allowing her time to settle and respond to the activities helped build a bond with Art. Mia today is 10 year old and she is the youngest art student who has exhibited her paintings in one of the city’s best exhibitions and teaches art to the younger aspiring students as well. Isn’t that great, she is now preparing to build her career in art and design and we are happy to help her through the entrance exam preparations as well.
Quoting Ignacio Estrada he believes that, if a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they can learn.