Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Q for parents of artists

DD is naturally artistic, with a real flair and "eye." She is not necessarily the MOST technically gifted, but is pretty good there as well (and has not had any training). She has not been drawing very much over the past year, and when she does it's often been the stuff her friends are into, usually "fashion girl" type of stuff; kind of derivative. She's had phases like this before, so I didn't think much of it. However, this morning she pulled me aside and explained with heartbreaking clarity that she can no longer draw "like a kid"--that is, with the freedom that come from not caring whether your pictures look realistic and accurate. She pointed to an old favorite drawing of hers that we have up on the wall (from when she was 5 or 6) and said "I can't draw like that anymore." And it's true--she can't, or doesn't. It's not so much that she is feeling perfectionist as that she recognizes that her work lacks the wild verve that you see in a young child's work and is now more workmanlike and less free. I am sure you know what I mean--there is a shift you see in kids' art when it starts trying to look more "adult" and stops having that gorgeous innocent child quality.

She was really sad about it. I suggested several things--that she try working on more abstract pieces, that she spend more time looking at art that has all kinds of different looks and/or that is not "realistic" so that she sees the many possibilities for art, that she try drawing lefthanded or with her eyes closed, or that she draw random shapes and then turn them into things. I think a good art teacher could also help, but art isn't a strength at her current school. I am NOT artistic myself.

Thoughts or help? This is a genuine gift of hers. It's sad to see her backing away.

I think you're on the right track with the idea of exposure to how 'real' adult artists work.

Sure, there is technical competence at work, but you're also right that losing that way of "seeing" also loses a vital artist's skill.

Art class. Preferably one that aims at people who don't think that they ARE artistic, because those are the ones that focus on individual 'seeing' and very definitely does NOT focus on typical subject material that appeals to kids.

Check with a community art center, local community college, library, or parks department. Good luck!

I like your ideas for your daughter - I think studying abstract art is an excellent place to start.

What about suggesting that she try communicating an idea, rather than duplicating an image in her head? For example, she could draw "confusion" or "bliss" or something like that. Then the task becomes about representing the emotion, and this might help to free her.

Or... you could suggest she try illustration - specifically for kids' books, again as a way to loosen her up a bit. Have her look through some artfully illustrated kids' books, and point out how the story's spirit and emotion is conveyed in a childlike and whimsical fashion (rather than being aged and sophisticated the way that adult illustrations are).

This is interesting to me... there's a parallel here with my daughter's piano. She started at 7, and was a natural composer. At her first piano recital, after having been in lessons for only 3 months, she played a 3-part original composition, two handed, in D-minor. She also played her own two handed arrangement of Ode to Joy. Between lessons she'd sit at the piano and noodle away, creating piece after piece.

She's now 9, and not only has her playing progress stalled, but sadly she no longer creates her own music. It's as if as she's gotten older she's become more self-critical and aware. I almost wonder if lessons have hurt the composer in her by applying "rules" to the music. I think we're going to take a break from lessons (her teacher is leaving the country for a year - we may just refrain from finding a replacement). Maybe this way she can rediscover the joy of following her own ear? Here's hoping

Sometimes I think that stagnation can be a normal glitch in their development... but on the other hand, do you ever wonder if they've lost their magic for good? It can be tough to know what the right thing to do is.

I do know that with writing (my parallel) sometimes when you're blocked, you just have to keep writing. Write, write, write. Write through the junk until you get back to the good stuff. Kind of like getting the car out of the muddy ditch and back onto the smooth road. Maybe our daughters just have to do that... persevere through the glitches...

She is actually about to start two weeks of summer art camp. She's excited, so we'll see. I find that art things for kids often are frenetic in their desire to introduce as many "cool" techniques and glitzy materials as possible, with little emphasis on any other aspects of art. DD has expressed frustration with this. I'd like to put her in something better but just haven't found the time or the right person. It's harder to locate someone for a child who has this gift (versus a child with a gift for music or athletics).

CCN, my daughter also is drawn to musical composition. We don't have a piano, but whenever she is someplace with one she sits with it and makes up tunes. She wants to take piano, but when we discuss it, she says she wants to learn how to write music, not really how to play piano. I don't know what to think about this and have gone back and forth on lessons for this reason. She doesn't actually seem to be musically gifted, per se. (She also makes up songs, despite having a pretty mediocre singing voice. She writes, too. Basically, if it is creative, she does it.) It may just be another outlet for her intense creative drive. I hope your daughter takes it up again. FWIW, my older brother went through something like what you describe and continues a second muscial career as a composer/musician even now in addition to his "day job." he quit piano lessons in his teens after having gotten the technical basis he needed.

DH is an art professor so I ran this one by him. His first reaction was "Unfortunately you can't teach someone to lIke their own art." He suggests trying to combine art with another interest of hers. I.e. if she is interested in plants have her draw or paint plants. Another idea is to play games with her where you both make art and she sees just how bad you are. Or even have her teach you. If there is a community art center near you there might be a class available for kids in her age group where she can be with others facing the same challenges with their artwork.

For years DH had told me the hardest part if his job is getting his students to "relearn" what was instinctive to them as children. Years of well meaning adults teaching them rules like color inside the lines or making things look "acceptable". So your DD is certainly not alone. He says this is why most people don't call themselves artists as adults.

My daughter is a fine arts major and took art classes all through high school. Her freshman year, the teacher had them go buy a large bound book of blank pages. They were required to draw, paint, sketch, or collage something in it every day. My daughter finished her first book and filled another before the end of her senior year. It is such a fascinating journey to watch her art shift and change with her maturity and through the different phases of emotions she experienced throughout the four years. Some of them were whimsical, others dark and angry and a more than a bit uncomfortable to view. But that journal helped with a lot more than artistic skill and expression. It was an excellent outlet. She still keeps an art journal.

Perhaps this is a gift you could give her and encourage her to art-journal once a day. Helping her embrace the transitions and changes may help her accept that her artwork five years from now will be vastly different from now just as it is different today than it was when she was little.

It almost sounds like she needs an art mentor, rather than someone to teach her different mediums and techniques. When I was a child, that was my mom (she's an artist too). I also used to draw, but I never went through what you're daughter is going through because my style was realism, so as I got older I became more and more comfortable (I was lucky ).

It's a tough call with piano lessons for your daughter... I don't regret putting my daughter in lessons, but I wish it hadn't been so "black and white" for her: creativity Vs. technical learning. This was not her teacher's fault at all - she was very flexible and fun (we love her!) but my daughter is just black and white by nature.

On the one hand, composing is very creative, and if you have an ear, you don't need the technical knowledge to help you create. On the other hand, the ability to transcribe what you've written onto paper is very useful, as is the structural & technical exposure you'd get from studying other compositions.

I took a novel writing course (I'm back to writing, but there are so many parallels, lol), and one of the things we were taught was to not edit as we create (activity in your internal "editor" can stifle creativity, because they're two different cognitive functions that don't work together). So the goal would be to create first, just go with the flow, then edit later.

(I wonder if this is what's happening with your daughter's drawing - as she's maturing, the "editor" in her brain is developing and conflicting with the "artist")?

All three (visual art, writing, and music) seem to have that same conflict between the artist and the editor. The trick is being able to tell the difference and be able to switch back and forth when you need to, which can be tough for adults, let alone kids.

The bottom line, I think, is to maintain the joy. It's good that she's excited about the art camp - it could provide the fun and inspiration that she needs

I LOVE that idea (lol I want to do it myself!)

I didn't read all of the replies, but did anyone suggest getting her to try a new medium -- one that is unusually difficult to controle, like cake icings, encaustics, or found art. Loosing controle forces you to work around and come up with creative solutions. My other suggestion is to work inside extremely tight constraints. I like to do historical reproductions from periods too far back for the preservation to be good. So you have to try 16 different things before you get a result that ends up actually looking like the models, and you can rarely use a single model alone (but that's just me). Constraints force you to be creative because when most elements are fixed, you have to use those leftover elements pretty intensely!

No useful suggestions - I just understand what you mean. The problem you brought up is one of the reasons that I have not had DD take any art classes or art camps or formal art instructions. Technique is important but I think it can get in the way of innate talent if imposed at too early an age. I would continue to innundate your DD with all kinds of art through museum visits and free creations in all kinds of medium. I think this is something that she may be able to work out if her interest continues.