Observation Of Child Drawing

For children, drawing involves both a process (making of art) and a product (the completed art expression). These drawings need to be considered within the context of the child’s developmental, social, cultural and emotional experiences. (Malchiodi, 1998). I have chosen to examine three drawings by C, an 8-year-old girl I have been having therapeutic play sessions with. She was referred to me by her father, due to her inability to concentrate at school, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, which cause her to get into trouble at school, and in social situations. C is an only child, living at home with her parents. She is Taiwanese, and her mother tongue is Mandarin.

According to her age, C’s cognitive abilities should be at the beginning of Piaget’s concrete operations stage, which lasts from 7 to 12 years of age. At this stage a visual schema for art expression develops, and children become able to symbolize objects in relation to each

She was very quiet and involved while drawing, unusual as she is generally quite talkative, and predominantly fully involves me in all of her play. When she was finished she wanted me to write my name in the cloud beside ‘me’. I found it interesting that she didn’t just ask me how to spell my name and write it herself, but wanted me to write it. Perhaps she wanted to somehow involve me in the process of creating the image.

My initial feeling when seeing the image was that it is very bright, and seems warm, idyllic and lively. According to Furth, ‘Different theories on color interpretation do not always agree on specific meanings, but theorists agree that colors can symbolize certain feelings, moods, even the tone of the relationship.’ (2002, p.97). He goes on to say that orange may indicate ‘rescue from a threatening situation’ (Furth, 2002,