A seven year old might think when sticking their head out a car's window singing self composed songs into the wind that no one could hear them. One seven year old might be very very wrong! Adults could nurture this creativity, or smash it! Unfortunately for this little seven year old, the embarrassment her parents caused when they teased her at their destination caused her to stuff that creativity deep, deep inside.
An art teacher told me once that my drawing wasn't any good because I didn't stay in the lines with my crayons. She didn't see that I had ignored the lines and drew my own picture. I didn't want to color the dolls sitting having tea, I wanted to draw a horse in a field of flowers. Then shortly after, my crayons were taken away. Those memories still infuriate me knowing my creative sparks were demolished at such a young age.
Nurturing the artist within. I have tried my best to turn the reins free on artistic creativity for my three sons. Each of them have a creative gift, and if they make it their career or hobby is totally up to them. If I'm lucky, they share bits of their creative works with me and I treasure each of them. The next time a child shares their "gift" with you, remember to embrace it, don't snuff out their spark. What would have happened if Mozart's piano was taken away or Leonardo Da Vinci never painted? I believe art can change the world and make it a better place.
I once heard, that music makes the world go around.
4 years ago
I guess I was squashing my daughter at 1 am when I told her to go to bed... Message received! :-)
ReplyDeleteDo you think some of the "misperception" will change as we start to realize the value of those that think outside of the box? (The realization that we can be creative in many ways.) As we look for more "mainstream" people in "boring" jobs, who are able to look for new perspectives? My thoughts are that we are better off now because students can be encouraged to bring their creative side to everyday life. We don't have to label people as "either/or".
Any type of creativity should always be encouraged, no matter how embarassing an adult thinks it is. That being said, I like to thin I encouraged all my children to be creative. But I might have steered them in a more creative direction when they thought destruction was 'pretty'. My bad. Lesson learned for the grandkids.
ReplyDeleteI know three young men that have not been squashed.
ReplyDeleteThey are free to do what they want in life...and have had good guidelines along the way! You see, you learned your "lessons" well and passed them on to
Your Three Sons!". Also nice to have an interested male father to all of them. You both are "doing great"!
May God BLess!