The Scream
Yesterday my art class studied Edvard Munch’s iconic painting “The Scream”. As I was contemplating this piece, I thought of several ways I could relate to his compelling expression of emotion.
Children also have a lot of big emotions right now. Some kids are able to talk about them, some act out, and some keep their fears to themselves. Piling the stress of the never ending pandemic on top of high stakes testing, bullying, teacher shortages and just plain growing up, is impacting the well being of an entire generation.
In class we talked about the range of human emotions, those that feel good, and those that don’t feel so good. I asked the students to think of an emotion they wanted to illustrate - any emotion.
Some children chose emotions such as joyous and funny, but most kids chose emotions like fear, anger, and anxiety.
Their work (shown below) is very powerful. Anyone who wanted to explain their artwork to me had the opportunity to do so, and almost everyone wanted to. They were so grateful to have an outlet to express themselves. One child, who is often the first to be done, spent the entire lesson on his "angry" piece, and after class came up to me and said, "Thank you Ms. Stein for doing this lesson today." My heart melted and broke at the same time.
Art heals.
I provide space and opportunity for children’s creative expression. A secure place for students to express authentic visual ideas about themselves, their world, their observations, their hopes and dreams.
Through interest-driven learning experiences, we can move in the direction of restoring children’s equilibrium as well as increasing their capacity for resilience. Visual storytelling through artmaking is a healthy way to express thoughts, work through them, and learn from them.
Because each child is unique, supporting their creativity cannot be done on an assembly line with predetermined outcomes. The real value lies in the child’s internal experiences.
The Kid’s Creative Choice Club is now open for enrollment.
In this individualized live class, children receive my personal support to express themselves visually, explore their ideas without fear of failure, and experiment with new ways of learning about themselves and their world. Within small peer groups of like-minded creatives, children understand and encourage each other.
Twice a year, in January and August, I open the KCCC to new students, ages 5-12ish. You will not find another art program like this anywhere.
Learn more here.
Please forward this page to a friend who might benefit!
Spread the importance of creativity!
