In the art room today the chalk pastels were brought out from the cupboard. Eagerness to try their hands at a new material soon turned to surprise at how the colors stayed on their fingers as easily as it stayed on the paper. These six and seven year-olds were given a goal and a purpose for their art, but beyond that they were free to explore with a fascinating, and for some a disconcertingly messy, new medium. Once encouraged with the knowledge that the color would wash off their hands with soap and water, they eagerly hovered over the 12x 15" piece of brown paper to draw animals that they were familiar with, just as the cave artists had done on the walls of the Lascaux Caves in France.

Ya Mei leaned over the table resting on her legs so that she centered herself over the paper. This is a common need for the shorter ones among us and, on her own, she placed herself in a good position to view the entire sheet of paper. She began to draw careful outlines of an animal or two, followed by lines which to any unknowing adult would have looked like careless scribbles. When students are intently working, exploring, and focused on their art, I do not interrupt the creative process with my own ideas about their work. Ya Mei was about to discover a new possibility for her art. The scribbles became mottled together and she noticed that the colors were blending when the side of her hand rubbed back and forth against the paper. She asked me for a Kleenex and she used it to purposefully blend the colors. Her picture was now softly blended and the animals had disappeared. During the final phase of her creation she redrew the animals on top of the blended area and drew a few careful lines over the blended area to define the edges once again. When finished she had created a picture of two animals beside a waterfall.

This is just one example of creativity expressed. For creativity to flourish, the child needs both a few defined boundaries and freedom to explore. A "draw whatever you want" assignment does not give the child enough visual information to make associations and get the thinking process started. A "copy what I do" assignment will not allow enough freedom to be enjoyable and teaches children to follow instead of initiate. Children also need uninterrupted time so that the creative process begins to flow. Questioning their actions will stop the process. Adults can also stop creative expression by stepping in too soon with their own observations. As long as a child is focused and working, let her be fully in the moment and fully free to follow her instincts while using her own ideas. Children who are dependent on adult input and instruction will have a harder time being creative. They are learning to be followers and as Edward de Bono states, "... forever repeating the same patterns." In the art room today, Ya Mei made her own discoveries about what pastels can do and how she can use them to create something as mysterious and wonderful as a waterfall. Ya Mei and I, her teacher, are very proud of her work of art. 

The lesson referred to in this article can be found on page 46, Lesson 18, Art in Caves, from the book, ARTistic Pursuits, Grades K-3 Book One, An Introduction to the Visual Arts. Published by Artistic Pursuits Inc. 2008 Edition. www.artisticpursuits.com.