A familiar item in many an art or back to school supply case, the standard rectangular or shaped eraser may not be as popular as in years past. Abrakadoodle co-founder Mary Rogers, MA.Ed, made this observation during a recent visit to a children’s art class. She held up a large pink eraser for the students and asked what it was used for, and to Ms. Roger’s surprise, the children did not know.

Perhaps, children see erasing as a negative, perceiving that they need to correct a mistake, as opposed to believing that they are making improvements. On one hand, children may become frustrated and bogged down as they liberally erase in pursuit of perfection. On the other hand, erasing is a valid and important part of the process of creating original art that pleases the artist. For working artists, the eraser is an enormously important tool that enables them to shape and sharpen their design in a way that communicates the subtleties and nuances that best reflects their vision.

Abrakadoodle believes in a process art methodology, because children learn by doing. From discovering what happens when mixing paint colors to exploring brush strokes and making decisions about design and dimension, children express their own creativity and experience cause and effect while creating their own art. Part of this problem solving is evident as children assess and sometimes modify their work by using an eraser as a tool for constructive change.

How do you see kids using erasers while creating art?