Using Art to Inspire Creativity in Kids

By Eric Horn, Mr. Mama Maven —

As the father of a future fashion designer/President of the United States, you need to look at things differently. My daughter is the sweetest girl but she is anything but passive. At two, she decided had enough of being fed by my wife and I. So she took a spoon full of yogurt out of my hand and said that she would do it herself. In the last few months she has blossomed as an artist. She works so hard at it and is very serious about her artwork. She draws and paints and has done multimedia that she calls “Art vs. Art”. She is also super excited to start her afternoon sewing class this fall.

With all this energy directed towards artwork, I assumed she would love museums. However, when we visited museums, instead of looking at exhibits, she almost sprinted through them. I suppose this is another instance of her feeling that instead of seeing what others are doing, she would rather do it herself.

Throughout this summer, the biggest exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has been China: Through the Looking Glass, which demonstrates the impact of Chinese culture on haute couture. Everyone that we know that saw it told us that our little fashion designer had to see it but every time we asked her she said she was not interested. With the exhibit closing, I thought I would give it one more try to see if she would go with me to the museum.

This time I tried a different tact. I asked her if she wanted to bring her notebook and sketch the mannequins and their dresses. This really appealed to her but it turned out to be more effective than I could have imagined. When we arrived she got straight to work. She meticulously studied every detail, carefully drawing the dresses that she liked. Other people at the exhibit could not believe how hard this little girl was working to capture the artwork in her sketchbook. She also came home and was so proud to show what she had done. She found a way to do it herself.