Children's Art

Yesterday, the family and I went to the Art Festival, a new tradition we started four years ago. The weather was perfect, overcast to block out the sun without a drenching downpour that would have kept us indoors, and the display of artwork was much better than last year, which my wife and I agree was the worst of the past four years. We even made a purchase - and wanted to make two more, but the price was too steep for a still-growing family. Then it was time to hit the "big tent" where they display kid's artwork.

This tent has quickly become our favorite portion of the Festival, because our young children can best relate with, and be inspired by, these young artists. It struck me this year, however, that this display is similar to every display I have ever seen of kid's artwork. Why? In a world full of technological advances, why do we continue to display the Crayola and Macaroni art that every child has been doing since the 1950's? My own 2-year old can tear through Angry Birds levels on my Droid phone with as much ease as he can build with Lincoln Logs, so why are we limiting the art form for our children? Just imagine what they could do if we actually gave them the opportunity to explore the creative potential of technology. One day soon, I want to go to a kid's artwork display that makes use of iPads, iPhones, Video, and Photoshop. Now that would be inspiring!