Imagine you were a child again.
And someone gave you some lovely art equipment.
Nobody told you to BE CAREFUL! DON'T SQUEEZE SO MUCH OUT! DON'T WASTE IT!
And you have a fantastic time. :o)
A few years back I had a book out of the library that encouraged me to Do Some Art! (very good book in some aspects but sadly, not so good in other ways).
I imagined what it would be like to walk into an art studio, and have someone say to me "There you go! Feel free to use anything you want! Play! Have fun!"
I was so enthused by this prompting, that I got all our 3-D paints out and we had a FANTASTIC time with them - we used them all up!
Of course, we need boundaries - we don't paint the deck, the dog, or PURPOSELY put paint all over our hair and clothes ...
But we really shouldn't use the word WASTE when it comes to art.
A child who is bored with art, or looking for attention in the wrong way, or left to themselves when they want company and direction may WASTE things - but the child who is engaged and enthralled by the materials and the process should be encouraged to USE all those goodies - paints, glue, paper, cardboard.
YES it's messy.
YES it requires set-up and clean-up.
YES it's much easier and better for everyone if you ALL set-up and clean-up together which requires training.
BUT PEOPLE!!!! I encourage you so much - GET BUSY WITH ART!!!!
If your child wants you to work alongside - be there.
If your child wants to be silent and uninterrupted - give them space.
If your child wants you to sit and watch - give them the gift of your time.
The "mess" that we made on coloured card with our 3-D paints that day, was carefully sorted out, and I kept the most pleasing artwork.
And the other day I dug out those 3-D paint splatters and look what we produced.
Blessings
The Mummalady
