Children and Art

“Art has the role in education of helping children become like themselves instead of more like everyone else.” Sydney Gurewitz Clemens

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For a long time people thought children’s art was ‘error prone’ and something that needed to be corrected. Traditional art education taught children as quickly as possible how to draw like adults, or draw realistically. Since the 20thC we can now view the child as an artist in his/her own right. It’s important to see that what was thought to be an ‘error’ in the child's art is actually their solution to the challenging problem of taking the 3D world and mapping it on 2D paper.

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“Children are not striving to be realists. They are not trying to draw realistically. They are trying to create a readable representation” so you can understand what they are seeing - Ellen Winner

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Rudolf Arnheim (Psychologist of art) spoke about how children are seeking the simplest possible structural equivalent on a page. They don’t care if the sun is purple or if the person has arms coming out of their head. A lot of the “errors” that children make can be seen intentionally in professional artists' works. E.g. Basquiat, Twombly, Kandinsky

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There are also so many therapeutic and developmental benefits that can be gained from children making art. Some of these are:

1. Children often find they can use art to “tell without talking”, helping them to express big feelings or experiences that they may not be able to use verbal language for.

2. The sensory nature of art making can provide a safe way for children to learn self-regulation and to help calm the body and mind

3. Art and storytelling through imagery can help children make meaning of their experiences

4. Art making contributes to fine and gross-motor skill development and helps children learn problem solving

5. Art making promotes self-esteem and self-expression for children - and so many more.