Encouraging my young artists

My kids are very interested in art.  They love to study art and artists.  They spend hours creating masterpieces.  They plan to be artists when they grow up.  My daughter says, "I'm going to be an artist, a house builder, and a mommy.  I'll be very busy!"  And my son says, "I'm going to be an artist and a super hero!"

Did your parents ever discourage you from doing what you truly wanted to do?  Stories of parents directing their kids away from certain careers, especially those in the arts, are certainly common.  I vividly remember stating some of my aspirations as a child and instantly being told why such and such was not a good career choice, or not a good idea for me to attempt.  I'm trying not to do that with my kids.  I'd rather help them explore various careers and gain further information and skills.  Whether they become professional artists, enjoy art as a hobby, or leave it behind as they get older, I plan to cheer them on.

At the moment, we are enjoying learning about various famous artists.  We learn about their history, the country they came from, their style of art, etc.  I think it is pretty neat that my kids are able to recognize the works of a number of artists.  And I love how our studies lead to fun art projects.

 

These paintings were inspired as we read the book "Math-terpieces"  by Greg Tang.  (A great book, by the way.)  My daughter's favorite painting in the book was by Georges Seurat.  We learned about Pointillism and how Seurat's ideas as an artist were based on science.  We tried it out.  Such fun!  And the concepts we learned are now firmly imprinted in our minds.