If you are a parent who is raising an up and coming artist, you’re probably wondering if it’s worth the expense to enroll your child in art classes to aid in the development of his or her natural talent. The answer to that is, unequivocally, “Yes!” Children who attend art classes are not only able to develop the mechanics of their arts, but they also reap many additional benefits.
Sadly, as public and private schools across America face budget shortfalls, the first programs that they look to cut are arts-related. They appear blind to the loss they create when the trim drama, art, music, and other fine arts from their budgets.
This cutting out of the arts leaves kids unexposed to disciplines that help broaden their horizons. Parents who want to foster their child’s aspirations to become an artist are forced to seek private art instruction.
We reached out to Amanda Lee Jones, a successful painter and art instructor to learn about the value of enrolling kids in art lessons. You will be delighted to discover the many benefits of art instruction.
The 6 Best Things Children Learn from Art Classes
1 – Practice makes perfect
Children enrolled in art lessons learn quickly that practice makes perfect. They see the fruit of their labor and study continuously to see how they can improve—which is most often by doing until they get something just right. As they mature, they value the challenge of mastering new skills and aren’t afraid of failing. After all, they know firsthand that practice makes perfect.
2 – Wise management of time
If you are considering private art lessons, give serious consideration to a group art class. In a group studio setting, children learn invaluable lessons about time management. They will pick up on the fact that their studio time is a finite resource; how they spend that precious hour or two is determined by their own choices.
So, if they idly socialize with other students, their time will fly by, and they will not have accomplished anything. However, if they work while interacting constructively with other students, they will enjoy both their work and the camaraderie of the studio setting.
Sounds vaguely like an office environment, doesn’t it?
3 – Maintaining a more positive attitude
If your child embraces perfecting her art, she learns these necessary skills by trial and error. She learns to maintain a positive attitude every time that makes a mistake and must retrace to the root of the error, start fresh, and try it again until she perfects it. Child artists understand fully that a positive outcome is only possible when they maintain a positive attitude and keep on trying.
4 – Accepting coaching and feedback
Art students will learn (rather quickly) to accept coaching and feedback as part of their lessons. Both their art teacher and other art students will critique their work and provide feedback to help them improve their skills.
Student artists learn that, rather than having their feelings hurt or feeling offended by this feedback, they should roll with it and use it for inspiration and continued growth and mastery of their art skills.
The lesson of accepting coaching and feedback will stick with them throughout their education and careers and make them more resilient.
5 – Accepting other viewpoints
Gather up a group of artists and set up a tabletop vignette for them to paint. Immediately, you will note that no two artists in that group will interpret the subject matter the same. Most likely, you will see very different outcomes. Perhaps one artist renders a realistic painting and another an abstract or cubist version. Plus, they will select different colors, shadings, and light—depending on the angle from which they view the subject.
Do these fundamental differences make any one of these painters wrong? No, they do not. That’s because every artist views the world uniquely. Moreover, they accept each other’s viewpoints without passing judgment.
Wouldn’t such a lovely openness be awesome in all adults, as well?
6 – Working well with others
Because student artists do learn to embrace the coaching and feedback we mentioned previously, they also adapt to working well with others. So, they not only will they accept coaching, but they will also learn to seek it out! These are students who place a premium on the input of others in the pursuit of achieving a goal. They grow up to become team players, particularly if you enroll them in group art lessons.
Summary
As the parent of a budding young artist, paying for art classes for your child may be an expense. However, if you choose to make that investment, you are doing more for him or her than just spending money for them to learn their art. You are, indeed, investing in lessons that will set your child up for a successful and balanced life.
Also, check out the online art gallery, the perfect place to buy original paintings for sale by artists from around the world. You can go here for more information.
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