As you may already know, I really enjoy discovering different ways of getting inspirational ideas for my own artistic endeavors. In my last post, I wrote about using children's literature as a springboard for my creative projects. Today I rediscovered another one of my inspirational sources: children's artwork.
At work today, I stopped to admire my students' colorful artwork just outside of my school library. (Please see the photo I took of one of these masterpieces posted above.) I was struck by the fact that even the very youngest children showed so much passion for their work. And then I remembered that many of the children don't have a lot of preconceived ideas about how art should look. This sense of freedom enables them to combine colors in exciting ways as well as to use lines and shapes to enhance their work. Many of these very young artists are so self-absorbed in their own work that they do not worry about comparing themselves to others.
I thought of all of these ideas in terms of my own artistic projects. Why can't I feel some of this same sense of creative freedom? I believe that I should enjoy the creative process in and of itself, but why do I tend to judge myself against the work of others?
And then I remember one of my favorite Pablo Picasso quotations: "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Ah, words of wisdom! Now I am not advocating that we just ignore such time honored artistic rules such as the rule of thirds, but I am thinking about how to keep the creative passion flowing. And I believe that viewing my students' artwork provided me with some answers.
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