Permission to Play! Posted July-14-2006
What I Learned at Kids Art Camp — Lesson #3: Creativity Doesn't Always Need to Be Serious Business
In June I had the privilege of helping teach a week-long kid’s art camp for a group of 6 to 9-year-olds, my second year apprenticing under two amazing professional women art instructors who together have more decades of teaching experience under their belts than I’ve been alive.

One of the most humbling experiences of the week came for me when the master art instructor, who is well-known in the community for teaching art at various schools during her career (she is a vivaciously creative 70-something), took me aside and asked me to demonstrate my cartoony drawing lessons to help “loosen” the kids up after a tiring hour of drawing serious fruit and vegetable still-life.

I accepted the challenge and sat myself down at the table in front of a blank piece of paper with the swarm of children buzzing around me, eagerly looking over my shoulders waiting to see what I’d do. I went with the theme of the day and drew a cartoony apple-shaped head … with a celery body, flexi-bendy arms and legs, a big toothy-smile, and of course, googly eyes! And then I proceeded to admonish the kids that there were no rules to this except to have fun and be creative. I left them with the idea that “Whatever you can imagine, you can draw,” and “anything is possible” before sending them on their way.

Over the next hour I walked around the art studio and realized what seeds my cartoony demonstration planted in nearly 20 little creative minds. I saw masterpieces of googly-eyed fruit, smiling ninja sharks, and surreal summer scenes — some of the stories being acted out by the young artists as they invented them on paper. The drawings were prolific and energetic, imaginations were engaged, and creativity was juicy. These kids were truly inspired!

Since that day in the studio I’ve been musing over the unleashed creative energy that was expressed by the children when rigid still-life models were put away and ‘permission to play’ with their art was allowed. I wonder if we can all benefit from less rigidity and more play in our creative lives. What do you think? •

© 2006 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com. All rights reserved.