For about six years now, my daughter has considered herself a mouse. Not like one of those weird furries that act like some kind of animal, barking at strangers, but in a cute kid way. It has been developing over time however and she has created a her own imaginary world called "Mouseland", which as she gets older, is evolving into a more complex story, with lore, culture, social structure and magic. I found out the other day that Mouseland doesn't have a monarchy, but Mouse Island (which is joined by a bridge) has a Queen, and on the island they speak a slightly different mouse language.
Today is CheeseDay.
CheeseDay is an annual holiday that is five days long, with the main day being the Friday, with Saturday a recovery day. The first days are for organising the events and inviting all the guests to the five tables filled with different cheeses, nuts and a few biscuits to celebrate. But no eggs. Eggs are okay to have in the morning, but if an egg is cracked after the sun goes down, all the eggs magically hatch into chicks. It happened once and according to Smallsteps, it was a disaster.
And since we can't make it to Mouseland tonight, we are going to hold our own CheeseDay celebration tonight after dark. So once Smallsteps has finished school, we will go to the shops to buy supplies.
It was also an open morning at the school.
Parents were invited to spend half an hour going from class to class looking at the artwork they have done throughout the autumn. It wasn't compulsory for parents, but Smallsteps was excited about it and since my wife was working and couldn't go, I went. About half the kids had a parent there, which wasn't too bad a turnout. It is always good to see what the kids get up to and we went through classes from the 1st to 6th grades, and there were a couple pieces that indicated that the child might actually have some talent. Most of it was more like Smallsteps's work, okay, but not gifted. Art is one of those funny areas though, as it isn't about technical ability as much as it is about having the eye and hand to express a perspective. Technical ability can be easily learned, an artistic eye is far more difficult to acquire.
But not impossible.
Smallsteps has plenty of creative ability, but at this point at least, she doesn't have the touch for image creation. I think for her, it mostly comes down to impatience, where she is a lot like me and wants to get a result relatively quickly. For her, this comes through story telling and music, where she can take a feeling or a prompt and create a melody that fits in moments. She is then willing to go on developing the piece and adding layers of complexity in the same way my dad would block out a painting that would eventually be filled with depth and fine detail.
This isn't to say that Smallsteps doesn't have an artistic eye though, because she does. It just doesn't translate into the hand skill required to create it. She tends to make unconventional choices in what she does, often surprising me (the audience) in what she attempts, even if it doesn't completely work. And this is another thing that frustrates her with image art, because it isn't like on the piano where she can just go back a couple bars, and try something else. But I think everyone could do with practicing physical art, because there is a permanence to it, unlike digital art where it is possible to just undo a number of steps and adjust. A mistake on a painting isn't as easily corrected.
To learn from a mistake, the error has to carry a cost.
Which is something I have been thinking a lot about lately due to the "personal" environments we are creating that provide us with what we want, without us having to make a mistake. To make a mistake we can learn from, we have to do something, but most of what we do is passive now, so the learning potential is also heavily reduced.
Which is a massive mistake to make.
Because we don't feel it enough to learn and grow.
Taraz
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What a beautiful mind your child has <3I hope she keeps it with her forever.
I've always had a bittersweet relationship with physical art also, precisely because of that reason. with photography, I see I've improved thanks precisely to this - the stream of tangible mistakes I've left in my wake. With art, more or less.
Smallsteps sounds like a wonderfully creative child (and smallsurprises there). I believe in time, expressing herself through varied artistic mediums could be extremely rewarding towards the one art she'll choose (maybe) to focus on more specifically.
Happy CheeseDay.
Do you keep trying with physical art too? I think there is something about it that can help open other creative pursuits. Artistic cross-training.
I think she will explore a bit, but I suspect over the next few years, music will dominate.
Happy CheeseDay to you too!
I do, and agree. I realize photography and drawing will never be major areas of focus for me, but see the value in having another creative medium (beside writing) and what positive effect it can have on my writing. :)
Hurrah for cheese day. We'll do a video chat Sunday night and celebrate it together. Hopefully she's around. (If Saturday works better that's ok too.)
I think Saturday will be best! We will call you around our lunch time.
She has that musical gift though as you have said, so that is its own kind of art. Sounds like a pretty vibrant world she has built. She might want to think about publishing a kids book series some day! Maybe be closet writer like her dad!
I reckon she would be a pretty great writer one day, if she put her mind to it. Though, what do I know! :D
Such an interesting daughter you have sir.
From your description of her, she has such an inquisitive mind, and such minds that are not only inquisitive but willing to try out new things always come out with new results that are ground breaking and always find their path in life, not dictated by the environment around them, maybe a modification of it or the best version of it.
Even if her art appeal may not be perfect at the moment, her willingness will develop a passion that will refine her art taste.
I love it when I see children who are willing to try new things especially handy skillful attributes.
I guess she took a lot from you, and she's definitely going to be really creative going forward in life. I pray she has the best experiences.
I think far more focus should be put on building practical abilities across all disciplines. If there is any way to save humanity in the future, it is in being able to create.
Very well said, Absolutely true 👍🏽
Smallsteps has an avid imagination, for her age. Mouseland sounds like an interesting place and you can tell from her creation of MouseLand that she's got an artistic eye. I think getting her to learn the technical aspect will be a huge advantage.
She seems to be a multi-talented young girl, and as such, a bright future surely lies ahead of her. You, her parents, are doing a fine job of helping her hone her skills and expresss herself through them. Hopefully when she grows, she can make an excellent living from her skills, and even create positive changes in the society with them.
It is so hard to say what happens in the future at the moment, since the future also looks so bleak from a human perspective. Hopefully she finds a rewarding place in the world.
I can believe it. I've had the same problem myself 😁
:D :D
What made me laugh, is she actually used the word disaster. In the last month, her English vocabulary has expanded again. I have to remember that her Finnish skills are very, very good.
When I was in secondary school, I had a classmate who certainly didn't fit in. For most people at school, he was “effeminate”, and some classmates made his life miserable. I didn't see him at school or on the street for a week. I stopped by his house, but his mother wouldn't let me in. Days later, I found out that his father had beaten him up to ‘cure’ him of his effeminacy. He had beaten him so badly that he couldn't even go outside. Time passed, and today, that man who was considered ‘effeminate’ in the 1960s and 70s is a great fashion designer in Spain.
My response to his statement, ‘Because we don't feel it enough to learn and grow,’ is that society changes us at will, and if we stray from the norm, we are considered weirdos…
Most parents teach their kids to fit in, so it is natural that they also learn that those who don't are weird. n my opinion, average means having no competitive advantage. If you aren't different, what are you bringing to the table except a comfortable reflection?
Seems the world of Smallsteps has evolved over the years, featuring its unique language and traditions. I think celebrating her creativity through music is the ideal way to honor her ;)
It makes it far more interesting for all involved. And who doesn't like cheese (and some wine) :)
This was such a heartwarming read. All this small step creativity is impressive, especially the lore she's building. I must say, not every child can express their talent through drawing, and that is fine.
Storytelling and music are other forms of art, too, that children can express themselves. But I also agree that mistakes are very important. When we do things physically, without an "undo" button, it teaches us patience and also resilience.
We have to fail more as kids, so we can have much higher-level failures as adults. I think a lot of young adults today are failing at things they should have learned as kids.
Children think about the world in their own way, they find a new world in their imagination where they can be very free and happy. The mouse kingdom that Smallsteps has imagined here, along with the five-day event and the main day, Friday, and the food that is organized in that kingdom, is truly extraordinary and I hope it continues to expand their horizons of knowledge.
More kids should have an imagination that empowers them, rather than one that belittles them.
While reading I could tell the happiness and anxiety surrounding small steps, knowing that her parents especially you the dad is present, do you know how fulfilled she is? Oh my! It feels like heaven knowing you're present. To me this is beyond the arts or painting but the "moments". They're priceless. @tarazkp indeed she's talented, common look at this mind blowing painting. Wonderful.
And you know drawings ain't just painting on papers, a whole lots of meaning abides with it, either emotionally, educational and histories. I love this.!
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STOPOur daughter is into Art big time. Despite me heavily advertising Digital art as having a higher future and scaling potential she is took digital art lessons, learned the tools, and did some great pieces, but have basically abandoned it for now. She calls physical art "Real Art" as opposed to the digital :)
I am OK with that as she is preparing for creating big canvas art for the new place, that would give her opportunity to create some giant pieces that she has never done before. I am pushing for colorful abstract pieces, but will have to see what will be created :)
She doesn't have the drive to the piano even though we have a high end piano at home and my wife was really gifted winning many competitions in her youth... I guess you can't have both :)