Most weekends in my studio, especially as winter settles in, I offer art and craft activities designed for kids. Parents can bring their littles in, and I have a project or two all lined up and ready to go. All supplies are ready, and I’ve done a dry run during which I make the craft myself to ensure I know how to help. Everything is in order. Then the kids show up, and that’s when the fun starts—but perhaps not in the way you, or I, for that matter, anticipate.
Sometimes, we do the craft as planned, with the child choosing colors and other preferences to make it their own. Most often, however, despite parents telling them the project I’ve planned, kids come in, imagination guns blazing, with something completely different in mind to make.
It’s currently the Christmas season, so usually I’ve got the color schemes right. Red, green, blue, white, and sparkly whenever possible. But, that’s usually about it. The conversations typically go like this:
Me: “Hi! I’m so glad you’re here! Do you want to make a tree, a sweater, or a wreath?
Them: “I want to make an elf (or Santa Cam, or Christmas House, or Fish)!
Me: “Perfect! I’ll be right back! *heads to supply closet with wheels turning, though most of the time they tell me how to do the project*
You see, as much as it would be easier for me to stick to my guns and insist on the project I’ve planned, whenever possible I want that child to bask, undeterred, in imagination, whenever possible—and for as long as possible. We will eventually do the thing I planned, too, but if someone shows a spark of passion about an artistic project, even if I need to take a beat and figure out how to accomplish it, I want to ignite that spark and indulge that passion. I want imagination to be celebrated. I want messes to be made in appropriate places (like the studio), and I want that child to make as much as possible, with as much joy as possible.
I want that all for adults who come in, too. But, as adulthood sets in, people generally have been told that their creations are somehow wrong or weird or unrealistic or impractical so many times it’s a long road walking them back to joy in creativity. If I can get my hooks into kids and encourage them to create with wild abandon, they will be better problem solvers and more mindful, and have one more healthy tool at their fingertips for processing tough moments in life in healthy ways.
I wholeheartedly believe that art and creativity can save lives, or at least make them a whole lot better. So, when someone walks into my studio ready to make something, whether art or crafts, whether planned or off-the-cuff, I will do everything in my power to make it happen for them if possible. There is magic in imagination at any age, and the power it has to make lives better is very, very real.
Sara Middleton is a freelance correspondent and columnist and resident artist/owner of Studio Sol Gallery & Creative Space in Eagle Grove, Iowa. Email her at sara.studiosol@gmail.com or find her at: http://studiosolllc.com
