My oldest child is six and she’s at such a magical age for arts exploration. It only takes a small spark to kindle her imagination and set her off on a path of discovery.
This weekend, we stopped by the Arts Center for the New Year New Art Junior activities in Lisi’s Lab (the children’s art studio). My daughter was totally enchanted.
It was fun to see her broaden her approach under the gentle direction of the instructor, Paula. Eliah initially wanted to paint, rather than glue things onto her paper, but after a few stripes, a piece of purple floral fabric caught her eye and she decided to add that.
Then came some chalk coloring and a picture of a princess (all done within the outlines of a large letter E). Finally, she cut out the entire letter and then stuck it to the collaborative collage on the wall of Lisi’s Lab.
She had just started another piece, when I had to drag her away for lunch. When we got home, she immediately requested permission to make more collages during her “quiet time” after lunch. I set her up with paper, scissors, rubber cement, and a stash of magazines and she emerged two hours later proudly brandishing four new collages.
What I loved about her creations was that they told a story. My favorite featured a beauty shop by a pond (pictures of a boutique store and a bunch of ducks, respectively) to which a bunch of girls had taken their dog to buy sunglasses for said dog (three smiling girl faces plus a very silly dog who was indeed wearing sunglasses).
I expect we’ll be in full collage mode for a few days, until a new form of creative expression catches her eye. Then we’ll dive into that, and every time the cycle repeats, I see her imagination growing, her self-confidence deepening, and her perception of the world around her broadening.
That’s the art spark.
