Born to Be an Artist

We are all born artists. Some of us just take a little longer to discover our talents.

Born to Be an Artist

Yes, you were born to be an artist, and so was I. The sooner we realize that, the better. Unfortunately many people only learn to discover a small degree of their creativity. Too bad! Whether you believe that you are an artist or not depends to a great measure on what you have been told as you were growing up. I remember one art class, the first one of the year with a brand new group of students, where one girl went limp in her desk during the first 5 minutes, hanging with her head right down on the floor. I was frightened, because I had no idea what was happening. It turned out that the girl had been convinced by her older siblings that she was incapable of doing art, and she escaped any attempt by going into an epileptic seizure.

My Story

The same discouragement could have happened to me. I watched my older brother spend every spare minute drawing, painting, and making things. As a preschooler, I used to beg him to let me try, too. He was not so inclined and invariably told me, "You are too stupid." Of course I was too stupid, eight years too stupid. What he really meant was that I was too young, too young for an older brother to be bothered with. I did not let him deter me from learning how to draw, because my mother had instilled in me the conviction that I could do anything I wanted to do. All I needed to do was try. Fortunately, my mother's confidence in me outweighed my brother's discouraging attitude. Seeing that no one was going to show me how to do anything, I just kept watching everyone else and then tried out what I had seen when no one was looking. As a result, I taught myself to draw, paint, and crotchet while I was a preschooler and had plenty of time to experiment. When my mother finally decided that I was old enough to learn to crotchet, I showed her the dress which I had already completed for my big doll. After that, no one ever again told me that I was either too young or too stupid.

And You?

Does this sound like your story? Or have you been pushed into trying things which did not interest you?

The copyright of the article Born to Be an Artist in Art for Children is owned by Traute Klein, biogardener. Permission to republish Born to Be an Artist in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic