Emerging Artist

Hansel & Gretel

Letter to Elsie

The artist at work, even before she gets out of her pyjamas

Mother & child fight an invasion of ants

Those pesky ants....

House - with letters and chimney

Ruby and Nina were prolific and talented drawers from what seemed like birth. They had their own entirely different styles, and drew constantly. They always seemed confident in their ability to draw anything, and any resemblance to reality was a secondary concern. Grace took a little longer before she too started drawing all the time but certainly by the time she was in 3 y.o. kinder she was bringing home reams of paper decorated with drawings and paintings and collages.

Lily, however, was different. She never drew much and she didn't increase her output at 3 y.o. kinder. She would get easily frustrated trying to draw the image in her head and would give up quickly. She was a harsh critic of herself, and had to be coaxed to complete anything, or to not scribble out something she had drawn.

But, quite suddenly, she has emerged into her own. I'm not sure whether it is the fantastic art program at her current kinder, or whether it is just a consequence of being 4, or whether it is the growing confidence I see her developing by spending two days a week outside the house without her sisters around, but suddenly she is rarely to be seen without a pen or pencil in hand.

She has hit that stage where the distinction between drawing and writing is blurred. Why would you not populate your drawings with the letters and numbers you have learned? And when combinations of those letters actually spell a real word, it is as if you have cast your own magic spell. I love seeing the rapid leaps children make, the clicking of mental gears as concepts fall into place and their own delight in themselves.  Lily takes a little sketch book with her wherever she goes, practices her alphabet, draws cats.  It's pretty nice to witness.