Wherefore art?

Jack has never been into coloring or drawing the way that I know a lot of his friends can be.  He always liked writing numbers or making lists, which has been/is great for his math, writing, and reading skills.  But I was always a little concerned that he didn’t seem to enjoy being more creative.  Whenever I would ask him to draw a picture on a card for a friend or relative, his pictures were invariably monochromatic.  If I urged him to use more than one color, he would maybe use two – but just barely.

Ever since his new-found interest in Star Wars, Jack has been asking his dad to draw picture after picture of Star Wars characters or spaceships.  If we told him to draw a picture himself, he replied that he wasn’t good at drawing.  I don’t know where he got this idea, except that he has a bit of a perfectionist tendency.  I remember one time, he was drawing a picture of himself and Violet for a card for his Nana.  All of a sudden, he got really upset, because he thought he made a mistake.  Never mind that it was completely imperceptible to anyone else.  He knew that it wasn’t what he wanted it to look like.  He was frustrated and inconsolable.

This opinion that he wasn’t a very good “drawer,” as he says, was one that Jack persistently expressed, much to our dismay.  Not only were we troubled that he had such an astonishing lack of confidence, it’s not even an opinion that we ourselves hold.  Aside from the fact that I wished he would use more than one color per picture, I’ve always loved his drawings and wished that he would do more.  Furthermore, I knew that he would likely be required to do quite a bit of drawing in kindergarten.  I didn’t want Jack going into school with such low self-esteem about his artistic abilities.  To that end, I decided to enroll him in a few art classes before the start of the school year just to boost his confidence.  I neither expected nor cared if they actually taught him anything about drawing; I just wanted him to have a little bit of fun with it.  It helped that one of his really good friends was also in this class.

As we were driving to the class, Jack told me that he was a little scared.  I asked him why, and he said because he didn’t think he could draw very well.  I told him that was what the class was for, to teach him how to draw but more importantly to show him how drawing could be fun.  I told him that if he didn’t like it, we wouldn’t have to go back.  As it was, I knew that we would only be able to go for three weeks, because the classes are far from our home and Jack’s school.  Once kindergarten started, I knew I wouldn’t want to make that drive every week.

At that first class, he set up next to his friend.  I dropped him off with a kiss and was told by the teacher to come back 10 minutes before the end of class for an art show.  As I left, I saw Jack practicing drawing circles and triangles.

When I came back for the art show, this is the what the teacher said Jack did:



Honestly, I can’t tell you how astounded I was at how much he had done in just his first class.  I was also pleasantly surprised by his choice of subject.  It seemed unexpectedly mature for such a little boy.  Most everyone else near his age were drawing pictures of cute cats or cartoon monkeys.

As we were driving home, I asked Jack if he had fun in the class.  He said it was so fun, and he told me, “Thank you for sending me to this class.  I love it.”  I asked him if he wanted to go back, and he said he did.

We ended up having two more lessons.  Jack finished his mountain and started a sailboat drawing (both done in pastels):



 

During each art show, they ask the kids what their favorite part of their picture is.  Jack said that the sun was his favorite part of the mountain picture and the sailboat was his favorite part of the sailboat picture.  Again, I’m impressed by the sophistication of his subject choice.  He wasn’t able to complete the sailboat drawing before the end of his last class, but we brought it home and hung it up on his wall anyway.  I told him that we would bring it back for him to work on some more if we ever have a chance to take another class.

As proud as I am of the drawings he did in the class, I’m even more pleased that he has started drawing more pictures on his own.  In the past week or so, he has been creating elaborate illustrations of the Star Wars Death Star.  Here are my two favorites:



 
The top one is the very first one Jack drew, and the bottom one is the most recent (drawn today).  He can explain what all the different things are in every picture.  It’s incredibly detailed.  He has drawn several intervening ones as well, many of which he has given as gifts to his sister.  It’s pretty funny to hear one’s two-year-old daughter ask, “Where’s my Death Star?”

Needless to say, I think the investment in the art classes was well worth the money.  It’s so fun to see Jack explore his own talents and discover new interests.