From birth, children are surrounded by a universe of mystery, creativity, amazement and play. They have unlimited potential to develop any skill they desire and one of those skills can be art.
A child’s artistic tendencies can be nurtured and guided through exploration, experimentation and observation. It is an important aspect of a child’s education and can be used to demonstrate their intellectual and emotional thinking beyond the expected academic standards. Here we discuss the necessary factors that not only make a child artistic but also how they can hone their artistic skills and grow their potential.
1.Natural Talent
It is widely believed that the majority of talented artists start off with an imaginative and creative flair. For example, some kids are naturally gifted at playing classical instruments and can find the same peace in a painting that others find with a predetermined melody. Natural talent does not necessarily have to come from family- inherited traits either, as many children find a calling and channel it into artistic pursuits based on independent exploration.
Parents and teachers can assist in this journey by providing adequate guidance and resources within their immediate environment.
2. Emotional Expression
The emotional aspect of a child’s character plays an essential role in their artwork, as it can show an understanding of the world around them that sometimes words can’t describe. Art enables children to express their thoughts, feelings, and perceptions to the outside world in a safe and non-judgmental environment.
Subsequently, this allows children to analyze themselves and gain insight into their personal lives and the society in which they live. Furthermore, art can be utilized as an educational tool by encouraging children to journal their inner thoughts and feelings, propelling the children into a realm of self-reflection.
3. Intellectual Development
The intellectual aspect of a child’s development is arguably one of the most important. Art provides a great platform for development and promotes critical thinking skills as it requires creativity and imagination, as well as problem-solving skills.
It encourages children to find solutions to problems and enhance both lateral and analytical thinking. Concretely, art gives form to a vision that is developed through creativity, when a child is able to create something beautiful from an idea, it strengthens the emotional and intellectual responses needed for a successful artistic endeavor.
4. Creative Thinking
Creative thinking is essential in the process of fueling a child’s artistic endeavors, as the ability to think beyond the norms often leads to innovative expressions and interpretations. This can be gained in an environment that desires change and growth instead of the same old ideas.
New ways of doing things can often be born. This kind of exploration allows children to push their boundaries and develop a strong artistic foundation.
5. Imagination and Exploration
The ability to imagine and explore new ideas is quintessential to a child’s artistic journey. The sense of exploration is necessary to find the visuals that ignite a desire to bring those images to life.
The use of the imagination provides the ability to explore the world without limits. Art gives the imagination a means of expression and the thrill of discovery, regardless of the environment. It encourages a name of play and exploration to find new creative ways to interpret visualized images and ideas.
This kind of exploration also allows art to extend pass the tangible artwork as it encourages children to explore the ethics and politics behind the artwork, as well as uncovering the societal and cultural shift within the artworld.
6. Patience and Perseverance
Art is often an expression of patience as it requires focused and determined effort in order to master certain techniques. Becoming an artist also involves dealing with failure and disappointment, as artwork does not always turn out as expected. That takes patience and perseverance, as well as underscoring the need to try again.
This kind of foundation will be essential for the pass of artistic development, as it allows the artist to stay focused and concentrated, despite setbacks, and try again and again until they reach the desired end result.
7. Knowledge and Education
Knowledge and education are key fundamentals of being an artist as one needs to compile a basic foundation of knowledge and adopt advanced methods to practice their art. Exhibiting knowledge in art history can also strengthen the artwork to conveying a meaningful message in an evocative way.
Workshops, tutorials and training activities are all supporting elements in the production of artwork and often open the door to insight need to understand the trade of the many potential artistic paths.
8. Cultural Appreciation
Art is also shaped by culture and has been throughout history. Advancing one’s knowledge of a particular culture and its symbols and appreciating the fundamental differences can be beneficial to a child’s artistic endeavors.
Art gives children a unique opportunity to learn about different cultural customs and understand the folktales and narratives that come from various parts of the world. It enables children to become more open-minded when it comes to accepting, respecting, admiring and understanding all cultures.
9. Good Habits
The whole process of artistic expression can be challenging and difficult to maintain for longer periods, so it’s important for children to have positive and realistic expectations, and stay focused and excited about the task at hand. Building good habits is paramount to being successful in the creation and interpretation of artwork.
This can include setting aside dedicated periods of time to practice, setting goals and measuring performance, both in terms of the applied skills and desired outcomes. The hope is that over time, along with age, the appreciation of the art form grows.
10. Self-Love and Self-Esteem
It’s important for children to know that it’s ok to make mistakes as this offers a platform to learn and grow. It is also important to understand that art is personal, as no two interpretations will be the same. Having a strong sense of identity and a healthy level of self-esteem is an essential factor to an artistic work.
Showing children the many varying art forms, equips them with the knowledge to plunge into self-expression and be confident in pursuing their passions.
11. Passion
Having a passion for art is necessary to involving creating artwork. It is easy for parents and teachers to provide all the skills and pieces of knowledge, but eventually, this is impossible to do as a child needs to have their own creative voice, as every person has their own creative direction. To ensure this happens, children need to develop their own passions and find ways to channel them into artwork.
One way to do this is to find mentors, such as artists and individuals in the art world who can mentor the child through their own passion-filled journey.
12. Environment
Surrounding the child with a creative and open-minded environment is also fundamental in their growth and evolution as an artist. This should be an environment of acceptance, support and understanding that boldness and innovation should be celebrated in all forms.
13. Support
Creating artwork can often be a lonely experience, but having a supportive network of friends and family can bolster the child’s confidence, inspiration, and determination. Constructive criticism is also important – it will enlighten an artist to new ideas, open their imagination and hone their creative skills.
Conclusion: A combination of these essential life skills and artistic techniques will bring out the artist in any child. It is a journey that need not be hard, but rather one that should be celebrated through great excitement and exploration. A child’s artistic development is often limited only by their imagination, and open-mindedness.
Through unleashing the full power of their natural talents, emotionally developed expressions, intellectual drive, creative thinking, and thirst for knowledge, as well as self-love, passion, and a supportive environment, any child can become an amazing artist.