“Every child is an artist,

the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”

– Pablo Picasso

Do you know what CEOs consider the most valuable ability of their employees?

Creativity.

Did you know that according to research by Dr. KH Kim, one of the world’s leaders in creativity research, creativity has decreased in the US since 1990.

Do you know the most watched Ted Talk video of all time?

Ken Robinson’s “Do schools kill creativity” with over 37 million views.

We NEED creative people more than ever to find new ideas and solutions in our increasingly complex world. However, we are developing fewer and fewer creative minds.

If you Google “Creativity Crisis” you will find an overwhelming amount of studies and articles that try to find answers about why we are losing our creativity. A Newsweek article asserts that screen time and the lack of creativity development in our schools are the main causes.

http://www.newsweek.com/creativity-crisis-74665

Even though ideas about the causes are divergent, there is a consistent refrain about our ability to develop creativity more fully;

1. Creativity can be learned and trained.
2. In everybody.
3. The best time to foster creativity is when people are young children.

Children are naturally creative. Our job is to make sure they don’t lose their creative ability.  This is why we created The Dirty Easel Fine Arts Camps.

I realized that although Austin offers many great camps for art, drama, or music, there are none that combine all the arts with the purpose of developing creativity overall.

Our Fine Art Camps stimulate children’s creativity by exposing them to a variety of creative approaches. We will sing together, make music, play rhythm games, draw and paint, listen to and act out stories, create costumes, and expand our imaginations and sense of fantasy.

The focus of the Fine Arts Camps is less on improving artistic skills and techniques (although it is inevitable) but to encourage creative expression to boost self esteem and awareness. For example role playing and acting out characters help children understand thoughts and emotions. They also increase a child’s ability to see situations from different perspectives.

Let’s work together in keeping our children artistic and creative!

kids and creativity