ARTIST WANTED

[Sam]

:)We have so many talented artist and teachers here so I thought I'd ask you all for some pointers.
:rolleyes:At the age of 9 months old my grand daughter reached for her big brother's magnetic drawing board. He handed it to her and she took the pen attached to it in hand as if she had done it in another time...she put the right end to that board and began scribbling with it. She's 19 months old now and sits for hours drawing and coloring. She's never eaten or broken a crayon and her drawings at times actually look like something. She's showing a potential for art that no one in my family has ever displayed. We don't know where she got it from although I had a brother who could draw fairly well...
Any way..since I have NO artistic talent...what do I do with her??
At what age do you know for sure if there is something there to be nurtured??
What direction do you take with an artistic child?
Any answers would be very helpful.;)

[Lt.Mac]

Hey Coco- that's so cool-
Check the park dist. for toddler programs, the local arts societies and such- daycare centers/ pre-schools that boast arts enrichment programs and look for music programs for toddlers too music and art do have links to each other in the brain. And of course buy lots of art supplies in multiple mediums- we have one of those too but we can't seem to get her to stick to the paper and stay off the walls, her mom has tons of murals of very interesting looking alien type people all over the house and the paper sits on the table. (yes I draw too.)

[appeace]

What a blessing from God! I might suggest that you call the art dept of a local college for advice or perhaps, even your local high school and get advice from the art teacher there?????:D

[JustBecause]

Hi Coco,

You also want to check your local museum. Sometimes they have classes for children and toddlers. Most of the time, they are relatively inexpensive and free to members, and usually you can join for a pretty low fee.

The ones here are typically on Saturday mornings.

[Sam]

Here's the thing...
We don't have any museums around and no programs for toddlers..not even "Mommy and Me" groups.
Daycare centers are laughable here. They stick your child in a room full of children with a few toys and let them go until time for a snack,diaper change and nap. Then it's more of the same until parents pick them up.
No structured play or art supplies or anything that encourages learning except socializing skills. Grace already has that one down pat.;)
So I take care of her for now and we do free play and structured play.
She learns manner, proper behavior, alphabet, colors, etc...
She can almost spell her name. But my knowledge of arts and materials are very limited. We don't have a decent art dept. at the high schools except music and drama.
Funny you mention the singing and dancing Lt. Mac. She loves it!! Instead of the typical stomping and booty shaking she's developing splits and dance movements that resemble contortionism.:rolleyes: She makes me pretend to be Mary Martin and she pretends to be a contestant on "So You Think You Can Dance".
Anyway I couldn't get my pc to download the pics right so I had to post them at Mooseville via their downloader. Here's the link:
http://apmessages.proboards7.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=open&thread=1273&page=1

[appeace]

How old did you say she was??? Im no artist nor critic, but I find her ability to draw and color ambidextrously amazing! Also, her repetition of figures and grouping of matching colors is fascinating considering her young age!
Just watch out that she doesnt get any sharp objects near her ears--lol:D

[JustBecause]

Grace's pictures are amazing! She has a wonderful grasp of color.

One thing we did for our daughter was get those big rolls of drawing paper (they used to be on EBay). We had a piece of plywood of about 5' by 3' and we taped rows of the paper until it was covered.

We propped it lengthwise against the side of the house and got her some non-toxic, washable finger paints, those big chalks, crayons and markers that are easy for little ones to hold, and a few 8 1/2 by 11 single item stencils. I think we got them from Michael's. We laid it all out by the board and let her go for it. We did have to help her use the stencils. We would hold them against the paper, and let her color or paint all over it. Then we would take it off and show her the picture it made. Later on, we showed her that she could try to draw or paint something that looked like the stencil.

At first, she liked the finger paints best, but gravitated torwards the chalk and crayons as she got older. She never went for the markers much. She liked the stencils for a while put then preferred free hand.

This is an idea that works best when it's warm if you only have "messy places" outside.

:)

[Sam]

I always thought it was odd the way she automatically knew how to hold that pen and draw but I dismissed it as something she may have picked up really fast from her brother. He had only had the pad for a few minutes and we had bought it for him to keep him from accidentally smacking her with one of his wrestling dolls while riding in the car. Then I noticed a pic she had done on the board using angles that emerged from the corner of the board but she grabbed the board and erased it before I could get a pic of it. I can't draw angles like that!! I can't draw those designs she made either!!
But then I was on the pc and gave her the crayons and paper to keep her occupied. When I looked at it..I was blown away. It wasn't something I had tried to show her.
I told her how very beautiful it was and how proud I was of her. Then I asked her what it was...
She looked at me like I had lost my mind and said "WERS!!" I'm guessing she was trying to tell me they were flowers and that is how her eyes see them.
I think she's able to use both hands because her mother is right handed and her bio dad is left handed.
:D Appeace I'm hoping more for a Junior Monet (my fav.).

Thanks for those tips Just Because!! They will be a big help!! :D There is a Marshalls a few towns away. So as soon as the gas stations start selling gas again maybe I can get there for some supplies. Is that where you can buy those containers of child safe water paints??
Someone suggested I could find a washable board that could be screwed into the wall of her play area where she could do her art but that wouldn't protect the floors. They also said they used a board like that outdoors with the washable paints and I could get a bucket of water for her to splash in to get the paint off her before going indoors. (She doesn't like to get her hands dirty.:rolleyes:)
Thanks for your help and you opinions. It has been a great help!!

[JustBecause]

I like the bucket splashing idea - sounds like loads of fun. Some of the paint we got on EBay and some at Michaels.

It sounds like you've been affected by the storms. I hope all is well.

[Sam]

;) We have been seriously affected by the storm but not in the way you would think. TS Fay left us with flooding and downed trees and power lines.
We recovered from that.
Hurricane Ike didn't hit us but for some reason we were unable to get gas. The stations that had it kept selling out of it and some were even putting a $20.00 purchase limit on it. At $4.69 per gallon..that doesn't get you very far.
The prices have dropped back down to pre-hurricane status and the gas stations are starting to see supplies come in almost enough to keep up with the demand. So things are starting to get back to normal now.

[JustBecause]

Oh - I'm glad it's getting back to normal for you. Ditto for my family in LA and TX. :)

Things were dicey there for a while. Many places are still without power, but it's coming around. They're bringing the refineries back online so I guess that will gradually get rid of the shortage. I think there were 7 that shutdown.

[Sam]

:) Glad your family is OK. I have a friend who's still trying to get her home and the homes of her family members repaired from damage they got too.
But yeah things are finally getting back on track.

[renate]

what happened??

Renate

[Sam]

:( A tropical storm and a hurricane Renate.

[EvanStar4506]

:)We have so many talented artist and teachers here so I thought I'd ask you all for some pointers.
What direction do you take with an artistic child?
Any answers would be very helpful.;)

You are very lucky! When a child that young shows an interest and even talent, it's a blessing.

My daughter started drawing maybe the age of 4. She wanted to see me draw something and even though I'm not that good, I would crudely draw what she asked, She would go away happy and study it.

Even though my daughter didn't have natural talent she didn't give up. Over time she drew more and more, but no requests for me, lol.

Just keep buying paper, colored pencils, markers, water paints, whatever she wants at the time. Your grand daughter may want to draw or sculpt for a lifetime or change her mind when older.


Two examples of her pencil drawings. She's an excellent artist through hard work.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/evanstar/Family/artwork/WolfRaven.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b263/evanstar/Family/artwork/unicorn.jpg

[brilliant!MacLeod]

WOW!!
That´s great!!!:)