I have the privilege of teaching art masters to my son, Jack’s, kindergarten class. I learn how to create a piece of artwork that is an homage to a famous artist and attempt to teach it to a class full of twenty five 5/6 year olds (all while keeping my 18-month-old from escaping the classroom). This past week was a challenging lesson for the kids. The teacher who taught me the lesson explained what my kids might try and do and where they might get the artwork wrong—and wrong it went. Jack’s teacher left me alone in the class to help another teacher. Somewhere between the kids questions and Eden eating a crayon I lost control of the class.
I couldn’t keep the kids focused on what I was asking them to do. I asked them if they were even listening to me. I wasn’t my happy self. I was frustrated. And then I looked… I looked closer and saw that what they were creating and coloring was way cooler then what I was teaching them.
For once in my life I broke the rules. I said, “Ok kids, free style. Finish the artwork however you want, ask me if you need help.”
How often do we try to create a carbon copy of someone else’s artwork? God made us with the creative gene inside of us, but from an early age it gets pummeled out and we are forced and taught to do things a certain way. We lose our ability to create instinctually. These kindergarteners didn’t need me to come teach them how to create something unique. They didn’t need to look at their neighbors art to copy it. Art was inside of them.
How often when we go to create something do we turn to Pinterest for help? We continually copy what has already been done before instead of using what is already inside of us, letting our unique creativity come out.
Breaking the rules is good sometimes. Sometimes you need to look at the rules and ask why they are there. Do they REALLY need to be there? Are the rules making you miserable? In this case, the rules were keeping me from enjoying these kids and their unique God-given creativity.