We Play

Blindfold painting to music, left;

London's"Goo Man", above (I call it, " fun with hot glue")

Adults don't play enough, if at all. Children truly play. A child with paint may begin with an image, then they add color...more and more color..until the original intent has become what adults deem, "ruined" or an unclear mess. Having completed what he set out to do (experiment and play), the chld may no longer care what becomes of his work. he is finished. The adult focuses on the product and the child on the process.

I often espouse that drawing is a technical skill that we are all born driven to do.At some point, someone, perhaps ourselves, teaches us that we "can't draw" or are "not creative". Developmentally, this is at about age 8 or 9. As adults, we may try again, but with limited success. As I ask my students, "If you stopped walking when you were 8 and tried again now, how would that work out for you?"......

The writers of "Life, Paint & Passion" draw a parallel from when children stop focusing on process and start getting hung up on product, to to when they begin to stop playing. I think it is a valid conclusion and worth pondering....perhaps this is why so many artists are not taken seriously by our society and don't seem to "fit in"....when was the last time you painted? Did you let yourself have fun and explore or did you beat yourself up over the end result? when was the last time you truly played? Something worth thinking about.....?