Wednesday 9 July 2014

Imagination... What is it good for?

I did this picture recently for my little boy. It was a deeply personal piece of work for me as my son has been having a bit of a tough time at school. 



He's only 4, he turns 5 at the end of this month, and his first year at school has been one of many ups and downs. He struggled to settle at first, and managed to convince school that he couldn't cope with a full day... I resisted and he proved he could, with a little persuasion, make it through a whole day. 



From then we've battled with resistance at every turn, not wanting to do anything remotely connected with learning... He'd rather be sat in the corner making something amazing with masking tape and drinking straws. I must admit it's got me thinking a lot about creativity and how being creative is not something that is valued in our schooling system. 



If you're a square peg it seems the aim of school is to knock off your edges and make you fit that round hole. But what if you're a triangle or a diamond? It seems there's no place for you and you're labelled as having 'special needs' taken away from doing the things you love, and made to sit and do even more reading, writing and 'rithmetic. 



My son has the most amazing imagination I've ever come across. He inspires me every single day and being his mummy is my greatest privilege. So this little piece of artwork was my way of letting him know how valued his imagination is here, no matter what his teachers may think.