Artists <---- please read thank you

[Bang!Zoom!]

Hi, thank you for reading. I need some help and ideas.

 

I have a daughter, she is 8 years old. She wants to grow up to be an artist.

 

The problem is that her teacher told her, "Being an artist is not a good idea, there is no money in that career."

 

I am trying to overcome the damage this has done to her. I would like to work with her at home on this.

 

She is very discouraged, and now makes statements like, "All artists are stupid. That's what Mrs. Jones said."

 

Every single day she's said something about it since school let out over 3 weeks ago.

 

There is a treasure in this trial somewhere, I'm sure of it.

 

I've come up with some ideas on my own, but I'm not exactly sure how to organize them, if they are good ideas.

 

Would anyone like to talk about this with me?

 

Thank you.

[Peela]

Oh what an insensitive teacher. She probably meant well but kids can really take things to heart.

 

You could maybe talk about it realistically- the truth is, not many artists do make a living out of their art but that doesnt mean they dont get a lot of reward out of their art. I have a very artistic daughter- she is a talented artist in her own right. However, she knows that it is not usually easy for an artist to make a living from their art, so she diversifies. SHe is spending a year at college this year learning journalism and media studies (Mass Communications) because she also loves film and photography. Next year she should be qualified for university and wants to postpone it for a year and just do art at the local college for the year- as well as work part time doing whatever. We are supportive of that since it won't cost much.

 

Her dad has always been of the mindset that its not worth going to university to do art and getting into lots of debt. And dd's own approach is that she is already an artist (she is- she is an excellent realistic nature watercolour artist due to years, while homeschooling, being apprenticed to a particular woman), so she doesn't need a degree to validify her. She doesn't. But she would like to broaden her skills.

 

You could encourage your dd to be an artist AND be open to whatever else she is interested in over the years. She can also do art- as many of us do- without the thought that it be a career, or her only career. Careers are only a part of life - creating works of art can be a rewarding past time.

And some people even get to make money out of it.

And 8yo should definitely not be worried about a career, anyway. SHe should just be enjoying her life and learning and being creative without any thought for the future.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Why in the world would an 8 year old be worrying about making money at any career? Tell her to do what she loves. If she's anything like my kids, that may change over the years and won't become necessarily her career, but she will have invested time in what she loves.

 

Get her good quality materials, do art with her. Have fun! Tell her "It doesn't matter what Mrs. Jones thinks. Isn't this fun?!"

[happygrrl]

Play this game:

Ask- "Now why would Ms. X have said this??"

 

Then come up with the craziest answers you can think of.

 

"Ms. X really thought you said 'fartist', and though that would be an interesting career it is true that is a skill that does not earn much in wages."

 

"Ms. X has a Matisse in her attic that she hopes will fund her retirement and does not want any one to become an artist and be better than Matisse so the painting loses value.""

 

"Ms. X was kidnapped by a pirate artist in the past and so dislikes artists almost as much as she dislikes pirates."

 

When I do this with my youngest, he begins to feel better about the situation. I hope I am teaching him that sometimes other people's opinions are more about them than they are about truth!

 

Silly answer, but it works for us!

[HSMom2One]

Why in the world would an 8 year old be worrying about making money at any career? Tell her to do what she loves. If she's anything like my kids, that may change over the years and won't become necessarily her career, but she will have invested time in what she loves.

 

Get her good quality materials, do art with her. Have fun! Tell her "It doesn't matter what Mrs. Jones thinks. Isn't this fun?!"

 

Oh yes, I completely agree!!! God made us each unique and we all have abilities, talents and skills that make us who we are. It would be wrong to deny that for someone else - or even ourselves. I am an artist and art teacher, majored in Fine Arts in college and use my degree every single day! There are many possibilities for creative people in the world. I had to push aside negative comments I encountered and do what I knew was right for me.

 

Actually, I bet the teacher that said that very thoughtless, stupid thing had her own dreams squelched by someone when she was a girl. Please explain to your dd that not all people's opinions are correct. Teach her to follow her heart, and to have fun with making art!

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

 

[Bang!Zoom!]

Thank you everyone for the viewpoints. I am gathering up your suggestions.

 

I would like to create some at-home/community style lesson plans to work with her on.

 

It's the planning part I need help with. I'm not feeling confident about organizing this.

 

She is interested in all kinds of art. One I think she does well with is photography.

 

I will post a sample of her editing. I think hearing from someone else besides me would be helpful for her.

 

I keep thinking a mentor might be a good idea. Even a virtual mentor? What do you think?

[Peela]

I personally found that...all the art programs I bought or designed for my dd fell through, because she was self taught and self led.

I bought the equipment. I paid for lessons. I left her to it. She painted and drew for the hour or 2 I read aloud each day, for years, and she still paints and draws while watching TV.

Just to say that....kids are already creative. Some will thrive on structure, others wont.

[Rosie_0801]

Artists make beauty! (Or at least their view of it :D)

 

At 8, your daughter is old enough to seriously beautify her room. Even if you don't want her painting frescoes, she can paint or draw pictures to hang on walls and doors, she could tie dye sheets using chemical or natural dyes, she could weave or hook a rug, she could decopage her desk, mosaic her bedside table, she could sew and make prints to decorate curtains, she could make a bedspread by sewing random interesting buttons on it, she could make mobiles to hang, stained glass style pics to stick on her windows, felted curtains as a canopy for her bed... And she could take food art to school for lunch. (Or would that be passive aggressive? :D)

 

Rosie

Edited July 7, 2011 by Rosie_0801

[Bang!Zoom!]

This is an example of her photo editing, the first picture is the before, the second is after.

 

Before:

http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m526/arteducationforachild/IMG_8061.jpg

After:

http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m526/arteducationforachild/IMG_8061-1.jpg

 

I'm trying to put together a little web spot for her to store her work on. I hope that her next art teacher will be interested.

Edited July 7, 2011 by one*mom

[NanceXToo]

We have a local "council for the arts"- do you? Maybe you can find her some real live ( :001_smile: ) artists to talk to, whose passion for it will come across to her, whether or not it is about the "money."

[abreakfromlife]

I think time will help, too. It's only been 3 weeks. I think if you keep encouraging her and providing her with supplies, she will keep going with it and enjoy it. I looked up an art college near us and showed that to dd to show her what she could do if she pursued her art, and how you can do lots of things with it.

[WishboneDawn]

I'd do what was suggested and a few more things. "Artist" covers a huge spectrum of possible careers and pursuits from painters selling their FOs to tattoo artists to graphic illustrators for books and advertising firms. There's a HUGE range of careers to choose from.

 

You could start exploring local artists in all their guises. Start meeting them and letting your daughter see that they make a living. Start pointing out all the apid work done bey artists that you notice - the cartoonists, the tattoo artist, the sign painter, the photographer, the comic book pencilers, etc.

 

I have a friend who's the classic painter who's working on making a living from her paintings. What's the secret ingredient? Entrepreneurial skills. If your daughter wants to be the more traditional kind of artist then start working on the skills she'd need for that like selling herself, writing (for grant proposals, press releases,etc.), money management, etc. Her teacher (the idiot) was right in one way. Just being an artist doesn't make you a living. But all of the successful ones I've met were artists and keen business folk. People like to forget that the arts tends to foster small businesses.

[piraterose]

This is an example of her photo editing, the first picture is the before, the second is after.

 

Before:

http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m526/arteducationforachild/IMG_8061.jpg

After:

http://i1130.photobucket.com/albums/m526/arteducationforachild/IMG_8061-1.jpg

 

I'm trying to put together a little web spot for her to store her work on. I hope that her next art teacher will be interested.

 

That is great digital art for an 8 year old!

 

Bah! I'm a Marketing Creative Designer. There are a whole range of jobs, it's a matter of finding her passion. She seems to like the digital route, She could do web design, computer 3D, video game designer (look up the game Aion - beatiful graphics!)

 

There are lots of options in the field of creative arts:

Graphic Design

Illustration & Design

Digital Filmmaking & Video Production

Visual & Game Programming/ Game Design

Advertising/ Marketing (Brands and Promotion)

Visual Effects & Motion Graphics

Fashion Management or Design

Media Arts & Animation

Web Design & Interactive Media

Ceramics designer

Exhibition designer

Fine artist

Furniture conservator/restorer

Furniture designer

Glass blower/designer

Industrial/product designer

Interior and spatial designer

Jewellery designer

Make-up artist

Medical illustrator

Museum/gallery conservator

Photographer/ Press phtographer

Printmaker

Production designer, theatre/television/film

Textile designer

[Miss Peregrine]

Play this game:

Ask- "Now why would Ms. X have said this??"

 

Then come up with the craziest answers you can think of.

 

"Ms. X really thought you said 'fartist', and though that would be an interesting career it is true that is a skill that does not earn much in wages."

 

"Ms. X has a Matisse in her attic that she hopes will fund her retirement and does not want any one to become an artist and be better than Matisse so the painting loses value.""

 

"Ms. X was kidnapped by a pirate artist in the past and so dislikes artists almost as much as she dislikes pirates."

 

When I do this with my youngest, he begins to feel better about the situation. I hope I am teaching him that sometimes other people's opinions are more about them than they are about truth!

 

Silly answer, but it works for us!

 

Love this! And we would approach it this way, as well.

[Lolly]

How to pursue...

 

 

I have found that you really can't hold an artist back from art. They will find it. They will do it. They will live it. As a parent, really all you can do is provide the materials and stand back as they emerge. As they have gotten older, my dd's have found mentors online. That was hard for me. I had to allow them to go to, what were for me, scary places for a teen online. Any attempts for me to find a real life mentor for them did NOT work. Mostly, I have purchased lots and lots of materials. Paper, paint, easels, colored pencils, inks, graphite pencils, jewelry making materials, fabrics, clay, a camera, a much nicer camera, Photoshop, upgrade to Photoshop, digital tablet, yet another digital tablet, makeup, more makeup, liquid latex, toilet paper, glue, dyes, etc. etc etc.

 

 

Basically, stand back and let her pursue it. A teacher telling an artist that there is no career or $ to be made will not stop a true artist. It is a raging fire that cannot be put out.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Actually, I've found three..one an art professor at the university, another at a gallery show, and the third we've planned for a few weeks at an art show with about 200 artists in attendance, some under the age of 17 (I hope this is inspiring for her).

 

I've also been collecting a few addresses here and there from museum directors and the like, I'm working with her to craft some letters and send them to them. Hopefully they'll write back (I'm including SASE) and say a few words of encouragement.

 

It's been emotional watching her express this discouragement, disappointment and doubt for weeks. I did wonder if the genesis and the attitude were stemming from other issue. It just went on for too long and I knew I needed to step up and address it.

 

Ever sit by your child's bed side at night while they sleep, look into their face so peaceful and get that feeling that's so soft but fierce at the same time?

 

I do and don't mean to be melodramatic about it, but I thought and prayed about this for quite some time. I waited for the answers in my heart to surface.

 

I feel and know that this is really important.

 

This is not the first or last time someone will tell her point blank to give up on her dreams..but as long as I live, she needs and will receive from me every bit of support I can give her in this world.

 

It's my duty as her mother, I do not know any other way.

 

We'll turn this into the best bad thing that ever happened. Everything for a reason and all that.

[Rebecca VA]

There's a big difference between "there's no money in being a professional artist" and "artists are stupid." If I were you, I'd work on what the teacher ACTUALLY said versus what your daughter PERCEIVED that she said. I wouldn't let a child go around quoting someone inaccurately and then getting worked up about it.

[Bang!Zoom!]

Absolutely there was a huge misunderstanding going on, and we've talked about it at length.

 

And I did wonder at times if she was re-hashing it all or making comments to see if it hit a "hot" button with me. I carefully watched over time, the expressions, words, behaviors associated with it as an issue. I didn't faint away and go all Jerry Springer or give a strong response; but kept questioning, listening and observing.

 

I believe there was a misunderstanding that festered deeply for her, she went and had herself a glorious childhood moment. There was genuine hurt, confusion as a result of the way she received and understood the conversation.

 

I can honestly say I've never seen her hold onto something that long, it really had impact for her. It really hit her soul.

 

One night, I went in to check on her after she was asleep, it was weighing on my mind. I know this is a very edge-of-the herd thing to say, but I was looking at her, thinking about it; asking for any "sign" of guidance...I went to rearrange her covers...and that kid had clutched in her hand her brushes like other girls cuddle a doll.

 

It was a moment like a key opening a lock for me.

 

The last thing I ever want to do would be to over-react, and I don't think I've waited too long or anything like that; and I can see the possibility of this fading into nothing as she grows.

 

For now though, it's important.

[HSMom2One]

How to pursue...

 

 

I have found that you really can't hold an artist back from art. They will find it. They will do it. They will live it. As a parent, really all you can do is provide the materials and stand back as they emerge. As they have gotten older, my dd's have found mentors online. That was hard for me. I had to allow them to go to, what were for me, scary places for a teen online. Any attempts for me to find a real life mentor for them did NOT work. Mostly, I have purchased lots and lots of materials. Paper, paint, easels, colored pencils, inks, graphite pencils, jewelry making materials, fabrics, clay, a camera, a much nicer camera, Photoshop, upgrade to Photoshop, digital tablet, yet another digital tablet, makeup, more makeup, liquid latex, toilet paper, glue, dyes, etc. etc etc.

 

 

Basically, stand back and let her pursue it. A teacher telling an artist that there is no career or $ to be made will not stop a true artist. It is a raging fire that cannot be put out.

 

No, I have to disagree with this. I have met many people over the years, some as adult students in my art classes, that were trying to recover something that was snuffed out in their childhood. Artists are very often sensitive people that can unfortunately be hurt and intimidated in the early years.

 

I, myself, have been a 'true artist' all my life, and I know for a fact that my creative side is not a "raging fire that cannot be put out." That may be true of some select people with a driving personality, but not so with all "true artists". There have been times that my creative side has been squelched by outside influences or circumstances, and hidden away in a dormant state for periods of time. The result has been depression and great unhappiness, that is unless I choose to fight my way back to a healthier place. I've also met many artists that have had periods like this as well. The outcome really and truly depends on personality, balanced out by great support and encouragement during the early years -- especially from parents and teachers. As an artist and an art teacher that lives this every day of her life, I can't stress this enough to parents of budding artists. Celebrate the gifts your child possesses, nurture it and let them bloom.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[radiobrain]

No, I have to disagree with this. I have met many people over the years, some as adult students in my art classes, that were trying to recover something that was snuffed out in their childhood. Artists are very often sensitive people that can unfortunately be hurt and intimidated in the early years.

 

I, myself, have been a 'true artist' all my life, and I know for a fact that my creative side is not a "raging fire that cannot be put out." That may be true of some select people with a driving personality, but not so with all "true artists". There have been times that my creative side has been squelched by outside influences or circumstances, and hidden away in a dormant state for periods of time. The result has been depression and great unhappiness, that is unless I choose to fight my way back to a healthier place. I've also met many artists that have had periods like this as well. The outcome really and truly depends on personality, balanced out by great support and encouragement during the early years -- especially from parents and teachers. As an artist and an art teacher that lives this every day of her life, I can't stress this enough to parents of budding artists. Celebrate the gifts your child possesses, nurture it and let them bloom.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

 

:iagree:

 

I come from a family of artists, and my husband is one as well. With my mother it is a business at this point. There was a time when it was a passion, but she has been a professional artist since she was 14 and made a heck of a lot of $$ through the years. With my grandmother, her art has been a lifelong love affair, at 92 she works on 6 foot tall paintings. With my husband he is so completely an artist that it drips out of his pores, a compulsion so integrated into his personality that will manifest into the plating of breakfast or the way he waters the lawn. There are differing degrees, motivations and mediums. I don't really know what that has to do with anything...but there you go.

 

BTW, that teacher was a MORON. I hate when that sort of thing happens. No 8 yo should be thinking about their wage earning potential.

 

Edited July 8, 2011 by radiobrain

[Sahamamama]

Why in the world would an 8 year old be worrying about making money at any career? Tell her to do what she loves. If she's anything like my kids, that may change over the years and won't become necessarily her career, but she will have invested time in what she loves.

 

Get her good quality materials, do art with her. Have fun! Tell her "It doesn't matter what Mrs. Jones thinks. Isn't this fun?!"

 

:iagree:Yes, I think Jean has a good point. Why discuss salaries with an eight year old? Duh. She's eight.

 

You tell your daughter, "Honey, right now you are EIGHT YEARS OLD, and I feed you. I house you. I clothe you. It's okay to do something that brings in ZERO DOLLARS. It is probably true that SOME DAY you will need to turn your attention to certain practical aspects of 'making a living' but for now all you need to do is wake up in the morning and LIVE. Forget Mrs. Jones. She obviously wants to cut dreams in half before they're fully born."

 

That's what I would say to my own daughters, and then I would take them to the art store to buy supplies (at least something). :D I certainly wouldn't go looking for examples of rich artists, though. Focus on the fact that money is a non-issue for now. HTH.