kids art Anne Smerdon kids art Anne Smerdon

How to encourage your child to draw more:

Sometimes you may see a change in your child when it comes to drawing. The creative child who once loved to draw may now be critical of their work or avoid drawing all-together. So how can you encourage your child to draw more? Here’s my top tips:

Read More
kids art Anne Smerdon kids art Anne Smerdon

What your child’s drawings reveal about their personality:

Art is one of the purest forms of self-expression. What we put on paper or canvas often stems from our deepest desires, fears and beliefs. So when it comes to your child’s drawings, it's no surprise that what they put on paper can reflect their personality.

Have a look through this list and see if any of these ring true for your child:

Read More
kids art Anne Smerdon kids art Anne Smerdon

Does gender affect the way we draw?

In today’s world, gender roles and gender identities are changing. But does our gender affect the way we create art? Well, to answer that question, a group of scientists studied 216 children from toddler to high school age, to see if they could observe any gender-based patterns in their drawings. This is what they found:

Read More
kids art Anne Smerdon kids art Anne Smerdon

What your child’s drawings are telling you

Sometimes children can have difficulty expressing their feelings through words. Drawing gives them a forum to express their emotions, fears and hopes through a non-verbal form of communication. So drawings can be a great insight into your child’s mental state.

Interestingly, studies of the drawings of refugee children have shown that violence/war appears significantly more times than in drawings by non-refugee children. This suggests that children’s drawings can be used as a tool to assess their emotional state. So what are the elements we should be looking out for in our children’s drawings? We’ve compiled a list.

Read More
artory alumni Anne Smerdon artory alumni Anne Smerdon

Artory Alumni: Liv Bonnor

Since the Artory opened its doors in 2016, many students have drawn, painted and created with Anne in the Kingscliff and online art classes. Many have gone on to have creative careers. So where are they now? Well, we’ve interviewed former Artory student, Liv Bonnor, now a professional tattoo artist and fine artist! Here’s her story:

Read More