Running head: CHILDS DRAWING ANALYSIS

Childs Drawing Analysis

Hailey Ragan
University of Missouri

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Introduction
Just as every child develops their motor skills, language, and understanding of fractions
at different rates than their peers, a childrens artistic abilities also grow at differing rates. For
some students, creating art can be a way to further explore themselves and show their personality
to others. For other students however, art can be their main vessel of communication. As Elliot
Eisner (2002) states, the arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor
number exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our
cognition (p. 3). If a child is capable of using an artistic outlet as means of communication,
what can we learn about them that previously was unknown to us? How can artistic expression
let us into the minds of our students? As Pink claims in A Whole New Mind, We are our stories.
We compress years of experience, thought, and emotion into a few compact narratives that we
convey to others and tell ourselves (p. 115). Who is to say that these narratives cannot be told in
the form of an art project or simple drawing? Analyzing a childs drawing and non-verbal
storytelling is a way for teachers to look into a students developmental level in ways that test
taking does not; we will focus on analyzing one students drawing to better explore this idea.
Method
In order to better understand the stages of artistic developmentthe scribbling stage, the
preschematic stage, the schematic stage, the gang age, the pseudo-naturalistic stage, and
adolescent art (Brittain & Lowenfeld, p. 474-479)I selected a child (given the pseudonym,
Tyler) to simply draw a picture for me. He was given the option to draw either a self-portrait, an
outdoor scene, or a scene of his family. Tyler was given full artistic freedom with his creation;
all I asked of him was to occasionally explain to me why he made the choices that he did
throughout the drawing process.

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Findings
Tylers drawing is composed of colored pencil in a variety of colors (see figure 1). The
bottom quarter of the piece is a large block filled light green squiggles, used to represent the lush
grass. As our eyes move farther up the piece, it is clear to see that Tyler chose to represent a fair,
carnival, or theme park related scene. To the left, we see a stack of three small rectangles in
yellow, with the inscription Lemonade within the top tier. Among the middle rectangle there is
a minimally detailed stick person and below him is the label, 5. To the right of the lemonade
stand is a towering red circle. It is placed atop two lines that extend to the grass below. Within
the circle are numerous lines that extend out from a center point to the large circle, creating a
spoke-like appearance. The circle itself is clad with small squares that follows the diameter of the
circle. As confirmed by Tyler, this is in fact a representation of a large Ferris wheel, complete
with his stick family (consisting of his mother, father, and himself) standing below.

(Figure 1) Tylers Drawing Sample

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We continue to see more theme park related images as we move farther right across the
drawing. First, we find a large, blue, figure-eight shape, with numerous lines extending straight
down towards the grassy area. Four small rectangles sit atop the loop, which was intended
(again, as confirmed by Tyler) to represent a roller coaster, specifically Mr. Freeze at Six Flags
St. Louis. Above the theme park attractions, we find a few common elements among childrens
artwork. To the left, we find two puffy clouds, which exemplify a nice understanding of
overlapping. To their right, four small, black, m shapes indicate the presence of birds in the
sky. Finally, in the top right corner of the paper, Tyler drew in a smiling sun, complete with a
large smile and equally large sunglasses.
After a close examination of Tylers drawing and numerous comparisons to Lowenfelds
stages of art development, I have found that he is within the schematic stage. He exemplifies
numerous key qualities of this level such as repeated schema for person, as we see with the
repeated stick people, environment symbolized, through the use of clouds and birds, and the
establishment of a base line on which objects are placed like his straight green line that
separates the grass from the rest of the environment (Brittain & Lowenfeld, pg. 476).
Through my observation of Tyler and his drawing, it is clear that the scenarioa family
trip to Six Flagswas a memorable and positive experience for him. He chose to incorporate
vibrant colors, smiling faces (on some of his characters), and smooth lines and shapes as opposed
to harsh marks. Whether or not all of these decisions were made intentionally or subconsciously
is unclear, seeing as how I have not had access to other drawings of Tylers. However, this
project is still a useful jumping off point for his educator to apply in the classroom.
Conclusion

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If Tylers educator were to apply the ideas and themes associated with his drawing, such
as theme parks, family vacations, or the like, it is likely that Tyler would have a much more
positive response to the lesson. Including ideas that interest Tyler into the common curriculum
would create a more authentic lesson for him, keeping him more invested in the material and
hopefully even more willing to learn. Also, since he included numerous shapes and elements in
his drawing, Tyler shows his ability to think creatively to find ways to represent his experiences.
Surely he could find other creative forms of expression within the classroom in relation to this
memory. Perhaps this scene could be a good topic to choose for a writing activity. Maybe he
would like to create math problems that connect to lemonade sales. He might even enjoy reading
about pulley systems during science to better understand the mechanics of a roller coaster.
The in class connections to be made are limitless with an open-ended assignment such as
simply drawing a picture. In What Education can Learn from the Arts, Elliot Eisner states that
imagination is the source of new possibilities (p. 9), and it is indeed. One simple drawing can
potentially plant the seed of interest and authenticity into a students brain when connected to
other class subjects. Imagine if every student in an elementary classroom were to create their
own art piece with which the teacher could then generate lesson ideas from; the curriculum could
ultimately become just as powerful as the students imaginations. Therefore art, regardless of
which stage of development it resides in, can create a more imaginative, interestingand most
importantlyauthentic, learning environment for children of all ages.

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References
Brittain, W. L. & Lowenfeld. (1970). Creative Mental Growth. New York, NY. MacMillan Co.
474-479.
Eisner, E. (2002). Ten lessons the arts teach. What the Arts Teach and How It Shows, 3. Yale
University Press. NAEA Publications.
Eisner, E. (2009). What education can learn from the arts. Art Education. 9.
Pink, Daniel H. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. New York:
Riverhead books.