What would happen if a chrysalis was forced open instead of being left to naturally transform into a fully- grown butterfly?
In her latest art series, “Cocoon”, Seefoon’s mother helped her experiment with new techniques and methods. Seefoon was very enthusiastic and thrilled to try new things.
“Look at these patterns on the wings, Daddy. I like them so much.”
One night, during our bedtime talk, Seefoon told me that she wished her mother taught her to do realistic paintings. She thought other people’s works are formidable whilst hers look childish and unrealistic. Her mother, however, told her to wait until she is older.
Apparently, her mother is very careful not to interfere with Seefoon’s imagination. She is much more serious with this than anyone would have thought.
When working on new paintings, Seefoon’s mum asks her to sketch pictures and pick some to work on big frames. Seefoon only learns about painting techniques but has never been told typical stuff such as numbers of animal’s legs, human anatomy or colors of things.
There was a time when the international homeschool co-op, which is a collaboration of homeschool parents who interchangeably teach courses to kids, opened a course on animal drawings. In this course, children learned to draw animals according to facts. Seefoon’s mum decisively asked her to enroll in another course as she did not want such practice to affect Seefoon’s approaches and creativity.
Not only Seefoon’s mum, but a homeschool father who is an experienced artist also avoids teaching drawings to young kids as he believes that realistic drawings can narrow kids’ imagination.
Most people may reckon that this is petty. Each subject, however, has their own depth. Parents who place importance on mathematics may not want their children to remember formula. Instead, they prefer kids to understand real-life situations as for them, mathematics is not only about numbers, but it is deeply concerned with imagination.
Everyone possesses different skills and interests. Parents’ values and interests inevitably affect children’s growth, both directly and indirectly. This is one reason why people are different and diverse in terms of potentials and abilities. We are like various kinds of beautiful butterflies in the garden.
The “Cocoon” art series is a reminder of how grown-ups like us can try to understand children and their learnings to protect those chrysalises from premature exposure in this hastening world. Then they can grow, complete, and fill the world with creativity.
Are there any circumstances that you need to protect and wait for your chrysalis to grow and transform? Or have you experienced the immature opening of the chrysalis? Let’s share!
