Kid’s Canvas

I spoke with an artist who shared that he is inspired by children. He described how children are not influenced by fixed ideas and concepts and are able to express original creativity. This is something that is often lost in adulthood due to repeated exposure to themes and frameworks that define artistic design. We become familiar with popular styles, established techniques, and proven formulas. While this knowledge can help us develop skills, it can also create invisible boundaries around our thinking.

Children approach the world differently. They are not yet constrained by established expectations. They do not worry about whether their art fits into a particular style or whether a color combination is considered “correct.” They create from a place of curiosity and imagination rather than conformity.

His observation reminded me of a concept in psychology known as functional fixedness. Functional fixedness refers to our tendency to see objects, ideas, or systems only in terms of their established purpose. For example, a spoon should be used for eating and not to build a sand castle. Someone may struggle to use a common object in a new way, because they are accustomed to thinking about its conventional function.

While this concept is often applied to problem-solving, it can also help explain what happens to creativity as we grow older. Instead of seeing endless possibilities, we begin to see familiar categories. A cloud becomes a cloud rather than a dragon. A shirt becomes a shirt rather than a canvas. A blank page becomes a task to complete rather than a space for exploration.

As adults, we are exposed to countless artistic themes, design frameworks, and cultural patterns. Over time, these experiences become mental shortcuts that help us interpret the world. We learn what a tree should look like, how perspective should work, what colors belong together, and what constitutes “good” design. These frameworks are useful, but they can also create a form of creative functional fixedness.

In this sense, children’s creativity can be viewed as the absence—or at least the reduced influence—of functional fixedness. They approach objects, stories, colors, and concepts with an openness that allows for novel combinations and unexpected solutions. A child may draw a fish flying through space, a rainbow-colored elephant, or a house balanced on a flower. Their creations often reveal possibilities that adults overlook. They remind us that originality frequently comes from questioning assumptions rather than following them.

This may be one of the greatest challenges of adulthood: learning from experience without becoming limited by it.

There is something to be learned from children’s creative freedom. They offer a glimpse into a mindset that exists before functional fixedness takes hold—a mindset where possibility is greater than convention, and where creativity is limited only by imagination.

Check out the Kid’s Canvas Collection at The Lavender Store!