The Complete Guide to Children's Drawings: Accessing Children‘s Emotional World through their Artwork. Michal Wimmer

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ so some parents cannot bear it anymore. Beside her obsession with her appearance, she also adopts the mannerisms of older women, giving orders and bossing other children. Often she would find a boy who will be willing to kowtow to her every whim.

      In children’s drawings, pink refers to pleasing. Such behavior is common and normal at ages 5–7, but at older ages, a child who uses pink excessively may be characterized as having a strong need to please others, willfulness and a sense of esthetics.

      Blue

      Unlike pink, which is associated with femininity, blue is associated with masculinity. Blue is also associated with royalty and divinity. In ancient Egypt blue symbolized protection against evil, with the Pharaohs wearing blue clothes. In India, blue symbolizes the creation of the universe and divine wisdom, and the Buddha’s body is often painted blue.

      In nature, there is a lizard which can change its head’s color to blue during sexual excitation periods. Toads see blue as water and a safe haven, hurrying to reach it in time of danger. Tamed chicks also associate blue with safety, so they tend to follow a blue figure.

      In western civilization, especially in the US, brides traditionally wear a blue accessory as a sign of eternal love. On the other hand, blue is also associated with sadness and glumness, as in the blues musical genre.

      Blue is also associated in the western world with the working class, as in the term “blue collar” worker. Some experts recommend wearing blue shirts to job interviews, because blue has a good and soothing effect on the interviewer. Blue affects our nervous system and causes a decrease in breathing rate and blood pressure.

      Lüscher associated blue with tranquility and content, as well as a need to be physically or emotionally relaxed. Psychologically, blue represents the tendency to be sensitive and easily offended. According to Lüscher, blue symbolizes the relationships a person has with his surroundings and his sense of belonging.

      Goethe differentiated between the various blue hues. On one end of the scale, it gives us a cold impression, and on the other reminds us of a pleasant shade. Kandinsky referred to blue as a color which creates a sense of loneliness, melancholy and daydreaming.

      In children’s drawings blue represents relaxation and calm behavior patterns. Children who tend to use blue in their drawings will search quiet social interactions and will try to achieve harmony and pleasant atmosphere in their relationships with others. In their family relationships these children behave logically, demanding logical explanations and refusing to accept answers such as: “Because I said so...”. Children who tend to use blue are also characterized by a rich inner world, and it is important for them to express it.

      Exaggerated use of blue represents cold, distant and restrained communication. It may also symbolize the child’s lack of confidence, oversensitivity, vulnerability and even his tendency to suppress his feelings.

      Figure 2-7:Excessive use of blue

      The following example was made by a 4½ year-old child whose parents contacted me because he had social and emotional difficulties. One of the issues that concerned them was that he didn’t have many friends at kindergarten because he was offended easily and when he met them in the afternoon, he insisted they meet only at his home. The excessive use of blue in his drawings represented his restrained communication pattern and social difficulties, as well as his low self-confidence and vulnerability.

      You should note, however, the amount of blue used in the child’s drawing as well as graphic indicators in it. The parents of the child who made the next drawing contacted me because his kindergarten teacher reported that he was having a hard time, which made him nervous and caused him to beat other children.

      The boy’s decision to use blue in this drawing is very clear, as it is spread over the entire page. In addition, he draws in an angular line, rapid movement and various pressure levels.

      Figure 2-8:Extreme use of blue, combined with rigid, fast line movement and variable pressure level

      Integrating all these factors indicates that this child has some emotional difficulty, which he tries to overcome by using the cold and relaxing blue. In other words, blue was used in this case to compensate for fears and anxieties that the child has but are unspoken, yet causing his unpleasantly distancing behavior, which is expressed either actively (aggression), or passively (withdrawal or detachment).

      Purple

      Queen Cleopatra of ancient Egypt loved purple. She loved it so much she forced her servants to immerse 20,000 snails for 10 days, so that they would secrete enough purple mucus. In Christianity, the pope and cardinals wear purple – perhaps the most expensive dye in the pre-modern world.

      In human color psychology, purple is considered symbolic of royalty, nobility and gift. In one of his letters, Leonardo da Vinci wrote that he found meditation to be ten times more powerful when performed in a purple-colored room or under purple light. Similarly, Wagner used to compose his operas in a purple room which he called “my inspiration room”.

      Lüscher described studies that associate purple with emotional and mental immaturity. In his opinion, preferring purple represents emotional fears, which cause people to create an imaginary world, while ignoring their surroundings. Such perception of the world as an imaginary place matches children’s natural view. In other words, purple is associated with escapism, usually caused by hidden anger or sadness. Another meaning purple has in our culture is the wish to charm others. Kandinsky noted that purple is created when red withdraws into blue. Therefore, purple is more related to blue in its meaning and associates with sadness and distance.

      In children’s drawings purple is symbolic of imagination and intuitions. These children demand others to be particularly patient with them and are sensitive about managing things in their own pace. They have principles and ideas from an early age and it is important for them to keep them. In addition, children who tend to use purple may be characterized as daydreamers and generally confused.

      Figure 2-9:Excessive use of purple

      This drawing is an example for exaggerated use of purple. The excessive use of purple symbolizes the girl’s connection to her childhood experience, in the simplest sense of what it means to be a child. Note that although this girl is very in touch with her intuition, this connectedness to her childish side clashes with daily demands by her parents who think she is not grounded enough in reality.

      Green

      Green often appears in children’s drawings as it is also common in nature. Children are aware of the green color of tree and plants, but do not always use it when drawing them.

      Historically, green symbolized victory. Green bay leaves were laid on the victor’s head in ancient Greece. In ancient Egypt temple floors were painted green as a sign of success and victory. In addition, green was considered symbolic of resurrection and immortality. Nowadays, green is often used symbolically in many African countries to represent natural richness, but also in Islamic countries, because it is considered by Islam to be sacred, as it is symbolic of the lushness of paradise. Green is also associated with prosperity, as in the dollar bills.

      Since green is a cold color, it is usually considered calming and harmonizing. For example, green is used in billiard or card games tables, because it СКАЧАТЬ