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Art Stages
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To the right, you can see stages of development, beginning with "named scribbles." Many examples
of "disordered scribbling" preceded these drawings. They were usually made with colored markers on big
sheets of paper taped to the floor.
All of the drawings shown here were created independently at home over a three year period, beginning at
age two. I couldn't fit the work of all four children into the space, so I chose a boy and a girl. I
think you can see which is which.
Both children went through the same stages of development:
Disordered scribbling
Controlled scribbling
Naming of scribbles
Symbolic representation
Attempts at visual representation
At the bottom of the page are examples of "controlled scribbling" in which the children named images
that they discovered in the marks they made on the paper. They didn't attempt to form images; they found them.
In the stage of "symbolic representation," the children began to express thought, feelings, and perceptions
of themselves and their environment as they gained small motor control.
Although both children moved through the same stages of development, their individuality emerged
at an early age. With every dot, line, and shape, they were involved in a process that was uniquely their
own. From my own children I learned that when they are allowed to control the process, their art is a
reflection of themselves. I find it fascinating to see the path of development in each child when the
drawings are placed in chronological order.
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