The Cult of the Spiral

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
The Cult of the Spiral
6
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 12:47pm

I don't know whether to laugh or cry about this one, I am mostly amused but a little disturbed, in my NT kind of way!

Eric has become obsessed with spiral shapes. Last night he took his blocks and lined them up in the shape of a spiral. All the triangle blocks made one spiral. All the square ones another spiral, etc. About 6 different spirals on our living room floor.

He requested we make a pinwheel, as a craft, in a spiral shape. So we did. He has them displayed in the living room as adornments to our house plants.

He only wants to draw spirals. He has pages and pages of them in his drawing pad. He decided to do chalk drawings outside on the patio. All spirals.

I feel like I am living in some weird cult! I hope this is just a phase that will pass.

I'm letting him do it for now, hoping it is just a passing obsession. It arose from his interest in space and seeing Hubble pictures of galaxies that are spirals.

Any thoughts? It doesn't really hurt anything, but someone coming into our house would probably raise their eyebrows! But that just makes us unique, I guess!

Katherine

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 1:21pm

I could have a lot of fun with wordplay on this: (...spiralling out of control...)

But I won't. OK I just did!

I try to channel obsessions into learning, and use them as much as possible to my advantage. An obsession with spirals can be a very good segueway from space into say- nature, where shells and many other natural spirals occur.

Another learning opportunity may be the math of spirals; seguing into fractals, and their aplication to nature and space, but that is probably one for a few years from now.

I HTH

-Paula

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2004
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 2:45pm

Katherine,

I don't have any advice really....but am having a good time picturing your house!! lol

michelle

Avatar for kathy_in_ga
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 3:01pm
LOL I can see it now, all the spirals all over the place. What a wonderful idea, how many ways can you use the spirals? How can you incorporate that into learning? You could look at Architecture, spirals in nature. that sort of thing. I don't see any harm in it, and see it as an opportunity to use as a learning tool.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 8:48pm

I am glad you all see the humor of it. I guess Eric will either be a NASA guy or the next Andy Warhol! LOL!

He does seem to relate the spirals to space and galaxies, since this all started when we saw some Hubble photos (after has already was in love with the solar system). Space and the planets kind of tie in all his obessions/stims, but that is ok. It motivates him, planets spin and rotate around the sun, galaxies look like spirals etc. The math will come later, since he is only 4.

On the other hand, the artistic part of him shines out to me. Although he does have fine motor problems, he definitely has "a vision" of what he wants to draw and gets frustrated when it doesn't turn out the way he sees it in his mind. I understand that too, as does any artist, he just has to work with it and let it evolve, which strangely, I think he will be able to do in time, despite his challenges.

But I digress. I'm living with spirals for now. There could be worse things!

Love,
Katherine

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-16-1999
Mon, 05-08-2006 - 12:41pm
Haven't we learned that Aspie's go on these kicks? My 17 yo, when he was about 5 or 6 would draw everyone in his pictures as a skeleton. Even the dogs had tails made out of bones. He's gone through lots of different obsessions since then. They're always purely innocent. Just enjoy them as long as they last. You'll be saying, "you remember when.." to him someday. And he will remember.
Avatar for googolplex
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Mon, 05-08-2006 - 5:26pm

I wouldn't worry. Spirals are interesting, pretty, and fun to draw. Enjoy.

If you go to www.art.com and look at some of the works of Vicky Brago-Mitchell, it's a spiral-lover's paradise. Eric might see something he likes. (Just don't tell him the stuff is for sale.)

Evelyn