The battle of expression and end result

So as I go on lamenting on my attempts to relax and let go while painting, I hold a class with a serious theme of portraits a la Matisse. Kids have fun painting to music, they get crazy to 'Loca Loca' and start dancing to Spanish rhythms while throwing paint onto their paper, arms swooshing, whole body moving and everything. I, in the meantime, totally freak out that my portraits are going nowhere and soon enough their abstracts will also turn into mud. I'm so dead set on my idea of how this class's project is supposed to look, that I can't appreciate these children's pure enthusiasm and excitement about simply painting. And yet, isn't this why we're here in the first place? To let them express their emotions in productive ways, to allow them to unleash their creative juices and simply enjoy the process?

We as adults are so programmed on end results that letting those shift is exceptionally tricky - so difficult in fact that many of us end up doing the work for the kids, just to make sure it comes out "right", in accordance with our  standards.

My son brings home ceramic plates, jugs and animals that they supposedly make in day care. Except he doesn't even recognize them as his, and we both know he's not at that level of sculpting - his art teacher does everything for him. And what is the purpose of such an art class?

What about you - can you appreciate the process or do you get upset when the end result is nothing to write home about in works by your kids?

Or in general, can we as adults simply relax and enjoy the act of doing something without it having to result in something grand?
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photos copyright Anna Kreslavskaya

Art Basel Miami for kids

I just returned from our annual trip to Miami. First week of December is the week of Art Basel Miami, the largest art fair in the country, and a time for art craziness, inspiration galore and an opportunity to somehow connect in my head everything that I am and would like to contribute to the art world. Earlier in the fall I launched a website for Plein Air Art Academy, and am now promoting it and waiting on enrollment. Therefore, this time Miami wasn't just a research on dealers and their offerings, or new talent discovery, or pure art appreciation for personal inspiration. It was also an opportunity to view a child's reaction to contemporary art. It's certainly an overwhelming affair but while the attention span was still there, sculpture was incredibly captivating to my four year old, much more so than two-dimensional art. Discussions were very engaging and some incredible interpretations were offered by him that I could not have arrived at on my own. Though absolutely spent in two and a half hours, he demanded on our way home that we return year after year, as he enjoyed this activity of art watching and discussing so much.That of course was pure music to my ears.This statement is also very much in line with his stage of development where imaginative play is at its height. It is quite fascinating though to let his creative mind roam and I'm thrilled we could be on the same page while engaging in my favorite activity.