still struggling with art!

[ktgrok]

My son says he doesn't like art:confused:

 

I tried painting, clay, more creative stuff. I took him to a class in print making today. He is still not into it. Now, to be fair, the class today was all girls other than him, and they were all younger than him, so that was part of his problem. And the teacher was very spacy (as I guess art teachers can be), which is just not him. I swear I need to find a sullen, male anarchist type artist to get him interested :)

 

I'm about ready to give up. I know part of it is that he is a perfectionist and what he creates doesn't match up with what he has in his head. But it's also that he just doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to be creative he said. Should I give specific projects, or just drop it?

 

Also, is there a good book or website where he can at least flip through and figure out what style of art he likes?

[SBP]

I rather feel that art falls into the same category as creative writing. If your child is interested in it, then by all means, encourage it! If not... well, personally, I just wouldn't sweat it. I try to expose my kids to the great works of art & art history in the context of our history studies, and the one who expressed some interest in "creating" art has had a few outside art classes, including a couple of cartooning classes he really enjoyed. (And the teacher was a male - not sullen at all but very laid back and all the boys thought he was really cool.) Eventually other interests prevailed, though, and the limited $ we have for outside activities was directed elsewhere. And he seems to be OK with that.

 

So for my .02, if your DS doesn't like "creating" art, I'd just suggest letting him explore some activities that do interest him. That's not advice I'd ever give about the three R's, btw, but art... I do think that can be child-led :).

 

SBP

[NanceXToo]

I rather feel that art falls into the same category as creative writing. If your child is interested in it, then by all means, encourage it! If not... well, personally, I just wouldn't sweat it. I try to expose my kids to the great works of art & art history in the context of our history studies, and the one who expressed some interest in "creating" art has had a few outside art classes, including a couple of cartooning classes he really enjoyed. (And the teacher was a male - not sullen at all but very laid back and all the boys thought he was really cool.) Eventually other interests prevailed, though, and the limited $ we have for outside activities was directed elsewhere. And he seems to be OK with that.

 

So for my .02, if your DS doesn't like "creating" art, I'd just suggest letting him explore some activities that do interest him. That's not advice I'd ever give about the three R's, btw, but art... I do think that can be child-led :).

 

SBP

 

I agree! You can't make someone like art or want to create art, maybe it's just not his thing. So figure out what IS his thing and help him explore THAT instead.

[ABQmom]

I have three girls who love art and one boy who hates it. I don't force him. I do make him do Mark Kistler's Draw Squad about three times a week to teach him to draw, but he rarely uses color--always pencil sketches. He also participates in picture study with us. That's it. He will create all kinds of things from Legos or blocks. He loves making swords from anything he can find. I just think some kids like art and some don't. Don't sweat it. Spend your money on something your son likes.

[Alphabetika]

If your son doesn't like the traditional creative art but you'd still like him to be doing drawing activities, take a look at Complete-a-Sketch:

 

http://www.sixbranches.com/CAS0123.htm

 

My middle dd looooves it. It gives a student practice in seeing, using a pencil and straight-edge, copying, but it's more of a drafting feel rather than a purely artistic feel. The advanced C-a-S also includes paper models he can build. I always suggest this to people whose kids "don't like art."

[3lilreds in NC]

I am NOT a good "art person," but I think if I had a child who didn't care for the creating of art projects, I wouldn't sweat it. Maybe you could focus more on art appreciation kinds of things. Ambleside Online does a nice picture study for each term (the current term's artist is Albrecht Dürer - are you impressed that I added the little dots above the "u," LOL). They make the selected images (there are 6 per term) available as PDF files in their Yahoo group, and you can print them however you like. They recommend photo paper but I printed mine using our color laser printer and I think they turned out nicely. You can see other artists they've done, and perhaps coordinate your artist studies with your history studies. ETA: They also provide bio information on each artist.

 

Anyhoo, that's one idea. Another would be something like Child-Sized Masterpieces. I have it, haven't managed to use it yet, but I WILL and it seems like a lot of fun.

 

If you want a book of ideas for him to flip through, take a look at the Usborne Complete Book of Art Ideas. We have it, and it's fabulous! There are TONS of different kinds of projects in there. I have to believe he would find something to try, at least, in there. [A little plug: AudreyTN has started her own Usborne business. Check out her website if you're interested in the book. :D]