Who are You?

Many of the most successful drawing projects have to do with telling something about yourself. Yesterday we did coats of arms. We drew shields, and then divided them up into fourths. You could put your favorite animal or pet, food, superhero, plant, whatever in the spaces.

All I can say is, if we were back in medieval times right now, there would be a lot of knights riding around with pictures of ice cream on their shields.

I've mentioned before - when I draw with kids a whole lot of it is me seeing and hearing them, and making a safe environment to be seen and heard. Putting your thoughts in visual form is a risk - you are externalizing your ideas, and you are trying to make a drawing that shows what you mean. Both of those things are risks. You risk being misunderstood, you risk being made fun of, you risk messing it up, you risk having people think your unicorn is a turtle. So it's vitally important to pay attention, watch, ask questions, and acknowledge the artist's effort. It's all about acknowledgement and feeling safe.