How to Raise an Artist

I remember being at a homeschool conference where the speaker asked each parent to think of a single word to describe her child. I could tell many parents were struggling. A lot of the moms said their daughters were sweet. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being sweet. But I felt sad for those sweet girls with nothing else distinctive about them besides being feminine and soft. I immediately knew what word described my daughter, and I have known this word since she was five years old — creative.

I have raised an artist. And this is how I did it.

1. I Encouraged Creativity From an Early Age

When I say encouraged, I mean I invested in it. That’s what encouragement really means from a parent’s perspective — spending money, time, energy, and space on your child’s passion. It’s not merely saying nice things like “way to go!” or “great job!” It’s about demonstrating a value for art by filling your home with artsy things.

I had a well-stocked craft cabinet back when “Sprite” was a preschooler. She had free reign to the supplies because I taught her how to clean up from the very start. Even though we lived abroad where children’s crafts were not common, I prioritized buying crafty materials when we were on trips to other countries or back in America. Glitter glue and sharpie markers were packed lovingly beside chocolate chips and chili powder.

As Sprite grew up, I started buying more advanced art supplies, investing in the tools she needed to develop her talent.

She took lots of weekly art lessons over the years from a variety of instructors. Once we took Chinese watercolors together. And later we took a drawing class together. She enrolled in summer art camp two different years at Memphis College of Art.

I’ve spent a lot of money, time, and energy on art. She couldn’t have become an artist without my support in this manner.

2. I Call Emma an Artist

Instead of saying

• My daughter can really draw!
• My daughter likes art.

I say, “My daughter is an artist.”

What is an artist? Someone who creates art. By this definition, Emma has been an artist for many years. I don’t want to minimize her talent by portraying it as a mere interest or hobby. Instead I want to let Emma and others know that I see her as a full-fledged artist.

3. We Visited Museums and Looked at Art Everywhere

For years we used the page-a-day calendar featuring art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Plus we have toured museums and art shows in many countries and cities. Sometimes they were dinky and rather pathetic. Other times, like our visit to The Met, we were almost giddy with excitement. But the point was that we “did art.”

We still visit our local museums regularly even now that Emma is a high school sophomore.

4. I Appreciate her Creative Ways and Ignore the Mess

Art is messy. Our home has been strewn with markers, pencils, and stacks of artwork for years. But this is part of raising an artist. I made sure Emma had organizational tools like baskets, plastic bins, and cabinets to keep her tools handy, but sometimes supplies have to be left out during a long project. You can’t raise an artist if you’re always stressing about mess. There will be artistic clutter.

As a typical artist-type, Emma is rather disorganized with her room. She’s gotten better over the years, but she says that as a visual person, she likes to see her things (scattered about her room) because when they are put away, she forgets about them. That way of thinking is foreign to me, but that’s because I’m different from her.

In order to raise an artist, you must embrace the entire artist persona, including the messy bedroom. It’s not a sin to be messy. It’s just a difference that can be irritating to an orderly person. I knew that this difference between us could be a real problem, so when Emma was still very young, I made up my mind to not argue about the messes. I did have limits, but I tried to overlook much of the disaster area in favor of nurturing our relationship and her creativity.

My post is one in a group of posts written by iHomeschool Network bloggers about raising a success. See them all by clicking the image below.

Special Invitation to a High School Webinar

My friend Lee Binz, the Home Scholar, is offering a free webinar to my readers. This 60+ minute session is titled A Homeschool Parent’s Guide to High School Grades, Credits, and Transcripts and covers answers to these questions:

• How do I evaluate my children?
• How can I give grades that colleges will believe?
• How should I assign credits?
• Where can I get the answers I need?

It’s free to attend, and I can promise you will come away from the time with a renewed confidence that you home educate your child all the way through high school so he can enter college! You will have practical action steps and leave with a clear plan of action for creating a high quality transcript that colleges will like.

This webinar is live on Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 5 PM PT or 8 PM ET. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of Lee at the end of the event. To attend, you do need to register so you can be sent a special link to access the event.