ICAT Advertising & Graphic Design

Nurturing Creativity in Children

“Every child is an artist; problem is how to remain an artist when you grow up”

                                                                                                        Pablo Picasso

How right he is.
Taking forward our thoughts on creativity…one wonders how even the simplest and most obvious problem solving seems to become difficult as we grow up.

Every child draws a picture of a house, the sun, mountains, the family or things that are part of the surroundings, quite automatically and without inhibition.

The toddler builds strange looking objects with lego and building blocks and calls it a car or an airplane.
The family and friends marvel at the creation of the little creative genius. The drawings get pride of place under the fridge magnet or the soft board. The odd looking lego creation sits proudly in the display cabinet,

Yet a few years later when the same child, a little older now, colours the elephant pink, or the tree orange, is admonished for making such a terrible mistake! "Oh dear, why is the elephant pink?? Did you not see the elephant in Mysore Zoo on our holiday"? --- So on and so forth.

It is time for us to stop and think! Have we even bothered to ask the child or pupil to explain his drawing or talk about his pink elephant? In all probability you’ll come to know that the pink elephant is inspired by Dumbo the more lovable Disney character, rather than the plain brown one in Mysore Zoo. And the tree could be orange from the visit to Kashmir in autumn where the leaves take an attractive orange hue.

Children live in a world of their own. A world of make believe, play acting, exploration, filled with imagination and curiosity, they may see animals in the formation of clouds, associate colors with the saree the mother wore, or it may have been a dream that needs to be re-enacted.

Their world is full of infinite wonders which finds expression in what they draw, paint, and wish to communicate.

The instinct and process of self expression and exploration at this impressionable age, is what needs to be nurtured by adults around them. A child who is allowed to express and explore freely, who is allowed
the freedom of choice without being watched over and corrected constantly will turn into a confident  and creative young adult.

Creative education actually begins with the child. Exposure to different material, colors, texture, nature, sounds and stories can open their minds to much more than just reading or writing.

Some of the greatest inventions have come from people who were not necessarily academically inclined, be it a Steve Jobs, a Bill Gates, or an Albert Einstein.

It was the curious mind and the  need for exploration that has given us things such as the wheel, the telephone, Velcro,  the  airplane, the bicycle, the automobiles and the Ipod.

On a concluding note, encourage children to observe, explore, ask questions,

And enjoy the process of problem solving. Remember it is the process of discovery that is important rather than the end product.

 Varsha Shelar