Helene Goldnadel on Art Development in Children

As children grow their perspective on art grows with them. Scientists that study child development have been able to map out the progression of art skills in the average child. By looking at the artistic techniques a child uses to draw it is possible to make assumptions about a child's level of development. However it is important to remember that just because a child is creating art that fits with a different age group it may not mean that child is not developing correctly. Helene Goldnadel says that there are many factors involved in child development which cannot be gauged though art alone.

Many parents have had the frustrating experience of finding scribbles on the wall in their house made by their one or two year old. This is the first stage of art that lasts until the age of two and is mainly comprised of random marks. A child is beginning to develop motor skills at this stage and the random lines will soon turn into basic shapes. Many people are familiar with a child drawing a picture of their family or their favorite person and providing a detailed explanation of who and what is represented in that drawing. These types of pictures are usually the first ones to be hung up on the family refrigerator or saved in a scrapbook. This type of are begins to happen between the ages of three and four when children start to realize that a drawing can represent something they see in the world. Most children start out drawing basic pictures of people. As they continue growing they begin drawing pictures of other things they see in the world like their family or pet. At this stage children begin using art to express feelings. By the age of six they begin to express spatial relationships in pictures. Most pictures will feature the ground and the sky with objects and people in the drawing. At this stage drawings become more representative of reality and children begin to take more care in making sure everything is drawn just right.

Between the ages of eight and ten children begin to focus on creating realistic pictures of objects. At this stage details become very important and children struggle with drawing pictures that look like what they see. Most kids also become more critical of their work. They struggle with perspective and have a difficult time recreating the spatial relationships on paper that they see in reality. By the age of twelve children start to focus on light and shadow and other more complex techniques. At this stage they become extremely critical of their work. The inability to figure out certain techniques may cause so much stress that they give up on drawing completely. By this time art is no longer childlike exploration. Art becomes an attempt to create realistic depictions of what they see. This is the stage where children can really benefit from structured art lessons. As children grow older they become more obsessed with creating realistic drawings and lack of skill can be very frustrating. This is a great time to introduce alternative art styles such as abstract art. This can enable kids to express themselves through art without being consumed by perfectionism.

Helene Goldnadel believes that by paying attention to the stages of art development parents and educators can add structured art lessons that address what children experience as they grow. Adding the right types of structure at the right time can make a world of difference when it comes to developing a child's art skills.

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