As we enter the small-sized hall of a drawing centre located in Porur, Chennai, we can hear the kids say “Miss, I am done.” “Can you teach me how to join these lines, miss?” The place was filled with enthusiastic students.
“These children are my world. Every time my students excel, I get immense pride,” says Anita Dhanasekar, a resident of Iyyappanthangal. She conducts drawing classes for school and college students.
Anita (30), who gave up her job as an animation designer after her marriage, spends her quality time by teaching drawing and other art forms to the residents here. Currently, she is training 300 children at her centre.
JOB SATISFACTION
“I had to quit my job after I got married. Still, I wanted to spend my time usefully. I developed affinity towards sketching and painting, and I thought of teaching it to children in the locality. I started the centre with a handful of children, and now almost 300 students are getting trained here. I love what I do, and it gives me satisfaction,” says Anita.
CARE & AFFECTION
The graphic designer says, “Be it drawing, sketching or painting, it should ooze out from the children naturally. We cannot force it into them. In that case, we should treat the kids with much care. Love and patience are the key factors one should adopt while teaching kids.”
“When it comes to drawing, not everyone is the same. Some draw pictures and characters accurately, while some take their time as they are slow learners. So, teaching them accordingly is important,” says Anita.
TO MAKE THEM SIT
“Children nowadays tend to get distracted easily. The gadgets have made them lose their patience. They want the result immediately and are not ready to give anything a try. Once they feel they cannot do it, they just give up. So, to make them sit and keep them engaged, I make their drawings into a story. I give them some famous characters from Ramayana and Mahabharata and ask them to draw and make their own story. Sometimes, it is important to draw the same picture twice or thrice to bring out perfection. With this, they learn the art better. These are some of the techniques that can be adopted while teaching drawing to young children,” explains Anita.
ADOPT INNOVATION
Anita states, “Children always go crazy over cartoons. So instead of asking them to draw a circle or straight lines, I give them dots and ask them to join those dots perfectly. In the end, they are amused to see an animal as the final outcome. This keeps them engaged.”
THE RIGHT TIME…
The artist says, “It is important to find the right time to engage your wards in the field of arts. After the age of seven, children tend to slowly lose their interest in colours and shapes. So, making them work and explore with different colours will help them become a better artist.”
Anita Dhanasekar can be contacted at 99621 38670.