How to Tell if You are an Artist: Advice for Kids
With a life long career in design illustration I have been asked on several occasions to give talks regarding my career. When I talk to school age children I am there to inspire the reluctant artist lurking under the radar. Following is a handout I created for 5th & 6th graders at Hugh Bish in Lawton, OK but I believe it works for many ages.
TEN CLUES THAT YOU MIGHT BE AN ARTIST
1. You forget to eat because you are too busy building a fort with you mash potatoes. arranging your food by color or playing with salt, pepper and straws.
2. When you are instructed to take notes, you fill any free space with doodles
3. When someone is describing something you see the thing as they are describing in your head. (you may be accused of daydreaming—as if there is something wrong with that!)
4. You get a thrill out of seeing your art on display or in print.
5. You come up with some of your best ideas while laying on your back looking at the ceiling or at the open sky.
6. You are very quick to recognize any changes of design in the latest model cars, athletic shoes, cereal boxes or hairstyle.
7. You have had a favorite color or colors since you were tiny and it doesn’t necessarily jive with everyone else.
8. If there is no crayons, markers, pencils or paint around you create with whatever is abundant – rocks, sand, mud, scraps of metal or macaroni.
9. You prefer NOT to color within the lines.
10. You get a better grade on a project when you add your own drawings or photos.
THINGS YOU CAN DO TO INCREASE YOU’RE CREATIVE SPEED
1. Put down your game boy, turn off the TV, silence your cell phone, STEP AWAY from the computer (unless you are using art software).
2. Pick up your pencil, paint brush, clay, camera and have at it.
3. Challenge yourself to learn different techniques.
4. Take art classes outside of school.
5. Ask for art supplies for birthdays or Christmas.
6. Start an art club. Just getting 4 or 5 others interested can make a pretty good art club. Field trips to Wichitas, Medicine Park, the zoo, setting up still lifes or drawing each other are all things you can do.
7. Go to art shows and museums. Pick a favorite artist or artists.
8. Look at art in books, magazines, anime, comic books.
9. Open your eyes and take in the art that surrounds you.
10. Play———————————————————-!
11. Carry a sketchpad around for drawings and thoughts. Draw anything, anybody, anywhere.
12. Carry a camera around for photos. Photograph, anything, anybody, anywhere in a unique manner.
13. Decorate your room, yourself in an individual artistic way.
This entry was posted on Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 4:45 pm and is filed under Art, Philosophy. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
