Introduction

Our relationship with the world around us begins before birth. From in the womb, we learn to recognize voices, respond to touch, and react to light. The moment we are born, sensory input continues to influence our experiences and abilities to replicate them.  As soon as children can grip an item for mark making, they are impulsed to do so. This is evident through the eyes of parents and caretakers as scribbles emerge everywhere; from marks on walls with lipstick to finger painting on tables with pudding. Mark making is the first form of graphic expression for children on their artistic journey as they discover themselves and make sense of the world around them.  “Graphic expression or an expression through fine art is from the historical and ontogenetic point of view one of the first spontaneous expressions of individual’s spiritual life” (Supsakova, 2017, p. 6).  Spirituality focuses on finding the meaning of life and this meaning is differentiated between everyone based on personal context. Context is formed in relation to the environment. A child is an “inherently active, exploratory, curious organism” with an interest and the growing skills to achieve new structures for understanding the world (Feldman, 1987, pp. 245-246). How children replicate the world around them is often an abstracted experience of place rooted in a personal spiritual context.