Ten Reasons Why Art Is Good For Kids

•photo by Alexandra Childs

www.reenchantingtheworldthroughart.org

I thought I'd post these again.
~Mark

Ten Reasons Why Art Is Good For Kids

1) Art Teaches Problem Solving. Making art teaches that there is more than one solution to the same problem. Art challenges our beliefs and encourages open-ended thinking that creates an environment of questions rather than answers.


2) Art Prepares Kids for the Future. Creative, open-minded people are highly desired in all career paths. Art and creative education increases the future quality of the local and global community. Being creative is a life long skill and can be used in every day situations.


3) Art Generates a Love of Learning & New Ideas. Art develops a willingness to explore what has not existed before. Art teaches risk taking, learning from one’s mistakes, and being open to other possibilities. Kids who are creative are also curious and passionate about knowing more.


4) Art is Big Business. At the core of the multi-billion dollar film and video game industry are artists creating images and stories. Every commercial product is designed by artists from chairs to cars, space stations to iPods. A Van Gogh painting sold for 83 million dollars.


5) Art Develops the Whole Brain. Art strengthens focus and increases attention, develops hand-eye coordination, requires practice and strategic thinking, and involves interacting with the material world through different tools and art mediums.


6) Art Improves Holistic Health. Art builds self-esteem, increases motivation and student attendance, improves grades and communications, nurtures teamwork, and strengthens our relationship to the environment.


7) Art Supports Emotional Intelligence. Art supports the expression of complex feelings that help kids feel better about themselves and helps them understand others by “seeing” what they have expressed and created. Art supports personal meaning in life, discovering joy in one’s own self, often being surprised, and then eliciting it in others.


8) Art Builds Community. Art reaches across racial stereotypes, religious barriers, and socio-economical levels and prejudices. Seeing other culture's creative expression allows everyone to be more connected and less isolated - "we see how we are all related." Art creates a sense of belonging.


9) Art Awakens the Senses. Art opens the heart and mind to possibilities and fuels the imagination. Art is a process of learning to create ourselves and experience the world in new ways. Arts support the bigger picture view of life: beauty, symbols, spirituality, storytelling, and helps us step out of time allowing one to be present in the moment. Art keeps the magic alive.


10) Art is Eternal. Creativity and self-expression has always been essential to our humanity. Our earliest creative expressions were recorded in petroglyphs, cave paintings, and ancient sculptures. One of the first things kids do is draw, paint, and use their imaginations to play.

Mark Wagner © 2008

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Another Recent Photo

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Aero-Geodetic Corp. recently was so kind and generous (donation) to take a photo of our chalk drawing from their plane flying above 1000 feet. S0 cool, the file they gave me is 125 MB. Click on this image to see a larger one.

There has been industrial truck traffic over the tail area of the drawing and if you look really close you can see someone standing on the salamander's left front toes.

The KIDS' CHALK ART PROJECT is beginning to think about what's next. We are looking into creating a book about the year in chalk and a documentary film. Stay tuned.

www.reenchantingtheworldthroughart.org
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Two Months Later

Words & Images

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I am just returning to the blog. After such a big push in making this epic chalk project happen I have been catching up on things that I let go of and beginning other work (concept art on a Pixar/Disney project).

The chalk drawing is still there out on the Base, it will be there for months until the rains come. I recently visited the site and took some photos. One thing I am really glad of is that we kept words off the artwork. I'd tell the kids, "no words, pokemon, or spungebobs."

Some kids would moan when I said this, especially the pokespunge kids. I'd say, "I am sure you are great at drawing them, they are cool and were actually created by other artists just like you, but what we would like here is for you to use your own imagination."


Even during the last day of the event when we had 1800 come and work on the piece, we got on the sound system and reminded people to not use words or these other images. But after we were done and gone, people have come out and drawn and there are words all over the place, mostly on the outside areas of the drawing. Mostly personal names, some words, and a few political

My creative hit about words and images is that words are easier. Take teh fact that there are NO ART TEACHERS in the elementary schools and math and reading are focused on. We are not supporting our kids to think visually in a world that is image driven. Vision is our primary sense. I think of the Waldorf schools and how they keep movies and TV and advertisement away from kids in their early development and emphasis stories, myths, songs, movement, and art to educate the child's soul.

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When You Have Dream, Come Find Me

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Ken Duffy (Frank Synopsis on Flickr) took this shot from a commercial airline and tracked me down to send it my way. So cool, what a great photo, highest and best so far. It's really wonderful for me to see this, a vision come true, a vision come into this world.

I may of mentioned this before, but as I talked to all the kids that came to the event to help over the two weeks, I thanked them for helping a dream of mine come true (something that I couldn't do by myself). I also told them that when they had a dream that they should come find me and I'll help them do it.

I've been reflecting on the community creation aspect of the project, that an entire community (approx. 6000 people, over 1/2 of them elementary school kids) helped to create one large piece of art together - big enough to be seen from outer space. I am inspired!

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Fading Away Into All Animal Mountains

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The colors and the event are fading away. Hard to believe it finally happened after so much time and energy and people, and now something on the other side of doing, it's done.


Today we are submitting the Guinness World Record material. We have been gathering photos, witness documents, filling out paper work, attaching survey reports, and making eveything easy for the Guinness people to just say - looks great, congratulations!


There are now tire tracks on the drawing. For two weeks we had the keys to lock the gate to the site which only had one gate in and out. Now it basically belongs to the people, though the Navy still officially owns the property.

I am excited to now have some freelance work as concept artist with Pixar/Disney working on early development for a feature film. The summer is here, school is out, my kids are scattered about with friends and summer camps coming up.

I know we did good by all of this. We touched a great many people, especially kids that is a powerful way to invest creatively into the future. It was such an epic adventure. Like climbing a mountain, not sure if I/we could actually do it, then it happens, we do, we did.... and this then becomes something of the past but more importantly, it becomes something internal for everyone who worked on it.

I think it's a seed that is planted inside that grows into all mountains, into all climbers, into other big animals, big art, big creative spirit energy that we all put into everything we do, into our other dreams, into this moment and the next.

Creative Blessings,
~Mark

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STORYTIME: The Journey Home, Remember?

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STORYTIME: The Journey Home, Remember?

Once upon a time there were two kids who were exploring beyond where they had ever been and… they got lost. They couldn’t remember how to get home, and as your storyteller – I can’t remember how this story ends, so I need your help!

For three days and nights they walked, and finally came across an old house where an Old Lady and Old Man lived. The children stay for several days and helped out around the house. Imagine being one of the kids and helping out old people, what would you do?

Would you do the dishes, lift heavy things, garden, paint the house, what color? Would you chalk draw for them, tell them stories, would you listen to their stories?

Then the children were finally ready to leave. The Old Man gave them a FIRE SALAMANDER, which is one of the oldest living creatures on this planet. It is described as a living dinosaur. There is new salamander in this millennium, it’s called a Tiger Salamander, it’s an endangered species that lives right here in the wetlands of Northern California.

The Old Lady gave them a leaf from a GINKGO TREE, which is one of the oldest living plants on this planet; it’s 270 million years old! There are gingko trees here in Alameda. Some gingko (ginkgo biloba) is used to help us think well – it’s a plant that helps in remembering.

The kids put the salamander and the leaf together and guess what happened?
Yup… the salamander ate the leaf and must have remembered something
because it took off running the kids followed close behind.

Then, one by one, each of the elementary schools’ mascot/totem animals
shows up to help the kids remember how to get home.

The Edison Otter helps them have fun and not worry.
The Washington Tiger helps them be courageous.
The Otis Owl helps them to see at night and be wise.
The Bayfarm Dolphin helps them cross the water and learn about love.
The Henry Haight Eagle flies high and helps them see the big picture.
The Franklin Falcon helps them communicate to each other
The Lum Bear reminds them to rest and learn about dreaming.
The Paden Pelican teaches the kids about working together.
The Ruby Bridges Star lights their way at night and points the way.

And Saint Joseph reminds the children that they are “already home because
they are connected to nature.” (said by a child)

And how does the story end? Remember, I can’t remember, it’s up to you using
your CREATIVITY & IMAGINATION.

Told to the elementary school children of Alameda CA
Mark Wagner © 2008

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