Do you have a teen who is creative, imaginative, and artistically talented? Embrace your imaginative teen and even encourage creativity with these tips.
Do you have a teen who is creative, imaginative, and artistically talented? Does he or she have a whimsical flare when it comes to just about anything, if not everything in life? Do you find him or her doodling or daydreaming when their attention should be elsewhere?
If so, why not embrace your imaginative teen and even encourage his or her creativity? In the words of artist, Henri Matisse,
“Creativity takes courage.”
Become proactive in encouraging your teen’s creativity. Give them a little more freedom (within certain boundaries, of course) to explore their artsy/quirky side. Allow them to discover for themselves if the artistic path is one they would like to pursue later on in life.
They don’t necessarily have to pursue art as a career but if they’ve been gifted with such talent – and are quite passionate about it, it could become an outlet that brings them a great deal of pleasure throughout the course of their life, or even a ministry with which they can be a blessing to others.
The late Pope John Paul II once said,
“Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.”
Encourage them to begin seeing themselves as an artist. But what exactly is an artist?
An artist is generally defined as,
- a person who produces art, especially paintings, drawings, or sculptures.
- one who professes and practices an imaginative art; a person skilled in one of the fine arts
- a person skilled at a particular task or occupation; a person who is extremely good at something
Maybe your teen’s skills don’t necessarily fall within the general definition of “artist.” Perhaps they see life through the lens of a camera and are swiftly becoming a skilled photographer, or are more inclined to express themselves with a musical instrument or poetic words. They might prefer just experimenting with various types of handicrafts. Maybe they don’t quite know which area of “the arts” is for them and are content right now to display their uniqueness through their clothing and/or hairstyle.
Whichever category your teen falls into, I believe that you should be there encouraging them and cheering them on.
What your kids and teens believe about themselves will determine whether they succeed or fail in their endeavors in life. And you, as a parent, are one of the most important voices in their lives.
In this five-day series I will give you several ways how you, as a parent, can cultivate and nurture your teen’s love for art and help him or her blossom into a serious artist by developing good habits and certain artistic disciplines, as well as apprenticing themselves under the masters, learning to nourish their inner artist, and more.
And check out this post to find out 10 ways you can nurture creativity in your teen.
This is Part One in a series of five posts to assist you in Cultivating Your Teen’s Love of Art. Click here to read the entire series.
Want a FREE art lesson to stimulate creativity in your child or teen
(or even you)? Just click on the image below:
