Through the eyes of a parent

Twelve stages in the development of children.

The first human act of leaving a mark is the drawing.

Children’s drawings tell the story of the unfolding brilliance of the human mind. Explaining it in speaking or writing is impossible; observing it and drawing conclusions is futile…

…Yet, I will try the impossible and taking tiny steps I will precariously approach the space which my three boys, with attention scattered into infinity, slowly discovered and through drawing found their home into our family; through their drawings their first earth landing was completed. This period of joy and struggle lasted from age one to three, after which, at the ages of four and five they again started taking off the ground by leaps and bounds, making their vigorously winding way into adventure in their imagination and in drawing alike, thus making a shambles of the conclusions I drew in my twelve stages in the development of children model…

The miracle of children’s drawings is that they create sounds, word-seeds, form concepts, erect shapes, sketch space and tell tales. And they do so with in an unfaltering move and condensed into a single line. What awesome elevation! For the eye of the adult the mere observation of children drawing is tragic: honest adults are overcome by feelings of mediocrity and fitful anxiousness driven by the inner urge to attain such freedom.
The most profound realisation I made was that children recognise their early drawings months after they made them, and the memories connected to these drawings are evoked anew at a higher intellectual level.

There is no entry to the world drawn by a child. The way to get in is by invitation only. In drawing children become autonomous beings and the radiant power mediated by their drawings can neither be damaged nor adjusted by parental care. Seeing the loneliness of a drawing child is utter desperation. At these times a separation between children and parents takes place. There is no way back…

The child embarks upon his own journey. When he runs up to me and presents me with a drawing I am still hoping he will stay with me a bit longer…

This is the inexplicable power of drawing.