Play Drawing with Children, or Escher in a Children’s Manner

The creation of something new takes place thanks not to the intellect but to a play instinct based on inner necessity. The creative mind plays with objects which it likes.

Carl Jung

Children are little magicians. Just by their presence, they make impossible possible. For example, absolutely any adult is able to make a toy from nothing in the presence of a little child, and during a couple of seconds!

Look how we played today:

We’d got only animals and nothing else. And then everything appeared. You create whatever you want, you go wherever you want. The limitlessness of opportunities makes you stunned!

Wherever we find ourselves: in a hospital, in some transport, in any situation of waiting – in a moment you can create a small world on a piece of paper. And no boredom, no kilos of toys taken with you. Here is the magic – the magic to be (near) a child.

Being a designer, I am amazed at the lightness of the transition from plane into volume and back – there is something intriguing in it, Escher to be given as an example:

What is the benefit of such drawing? Complete freedom when choosing the subject for the play. We are not bound to any certain toys, things; any “prosperities” are always at hand. And the simpler our drawings are (even if they are made by an unskillful hand), the more life, play and art we find there.

We can go to any direction. And there appear so many developing opportunities while moving along the plot of our game – in unexpected places! Here is the game we played today with our little Arseny:

First we fed all the animals and then put them to bed – for each of the animals we “created” a personal pillow with a logo .

Meanwhile we studied letters, tried to utter new sounds and words, trained our memory (as the animals wanted to eat again after their sleep ), etc.

Of course, you can bring all the necessary stuff. But you need time for that. And the child’s attention is like a butterfly – one moment and it has gone. So, sometimes it is easier to draw. And it also gives both of you lots of fun And develops imagination (including the one of the mother )! To cut the story short, Arseny and I liked this activity very much!

P.S. Such play drawing can accompany any activity of the child. One of these days we were reading a book in the same way drawing all the characters in action And Anastasia with Soniya even were making a diary

Natalie

Illustrations to the article:

photos by the author of the aticle

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