I have been meeting many new participants and young creators at Art at the Center over the past couple weeks. Some days, everyone comes in ready to work and share the space, just focusing on their own ideas and inspiration. Other days, there are power struggles, where some artists may feel like followers and some may feel like leaders. This past week, a young artist came into the studio and was ready to go! She knew immediately what she wanted to do and began using pastels to draw. Smiling and talking, she continued to work hard on her pieces and share her thoughts with everyone nearby. After a while, she became interested in what I was doing and wanted to join in. I was happy to work together on a drawing. My little co-artist was also happy cooperating and having a team approach for a while, but then wanted to be the leader. She had some specific ideas about how she wanted things, what colors to use, and when to use them. Being the flexible individual that I am, I went along with some of her requests. However, I also held my own when I wanted to use specific materials and go with my own ideas. When I asked my co-creator about using certain colors and making specific designs, she agreed. But she didn't like when I just reached for the material and started on my own. She wanted to be in control and say when it was okay for me to act. I had to remind her about everyone having their own goals for a project and how, when working with someone else on a project, there has to be some mutual agreement, some give and take. Sometimes you have to pick your battles, but this was a good place for a lesson to be taught about cohesion, cooperation and consideration meshing with creation.
This is an example of how control is very important for some individuals when in the studio. For me, personally, I do like to have control over materials I am using and a piece that is very important to me, when I'm working from deep within my psyche and place of heartfelt emotions. Young artists often want to take control of anything and everything that they can, once this possibility is offered. It may because they don't get to have much control at home. Or it may be because they were bossed around by someone else earlier that day at school or the park. Even adults may feel like this at times, and those feelings might end up being projected at other people in other situations then. As opposed to taking control in areas where it is appropriate, control is then taken over the entire situation and environment. We are more able to recognize this as adults, but we often need to remind children (and, sometimes, other adults) about this fact. It is much more stressful to make efforts to gain control over something that is not within reach, than it is to keep in mind what is controllable and to focus on that instead.
Control is also relevant to autonomy. Children should be autonomous and feel independent enough to do things on their own, make choices about what they are doing and how they are doing it, and to feel secure in those decisions. However, children still need some direction and guidance from adults, and must balance understanding of this time to follow with their intermittent ability to lead. It was clear that my young artist friend was independent and autonomous. She was very skilled at manipulating the materials, expressing herself freely, and coming up with great ideas for her art. I appreciated her free thinking and determination. I could also see that she was capable of sharing, cooperating and using nice manners. So, because I could see that she was capable of many things, I could also see that she is capable of knowing when to lead and when to follow, when working individually will make her more satisfied or working with someone else might lead to new discoveries. Understanding these various perspectives and finding a balance between the two is essential for all individuals and all artists, and especially so that Art at the Center can remain a fun, comfortable, inviting place to learn, create, and engage!
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