Clay and Sticks and Standing Objects

In our studio practice, when interest in working clay with hands begins to wane, we bring out our popsicle sticks. There are many uses for this simple tool and it quickly becomes a favorite activity to stick the sticks in the clay. Children dicover that they can make birthday candles, forests, porcupines and all kinds of things with the sticks stuck in a lump of clay.
In our Friday Art Explorers class last week, things took a bit of a different turn as the children explored turning the lump of clay over so the sticks served as legs holding up the clay.

What began with the delight in holding a lump of clay on a stick (above) turned much more complex when more sticks were added and arranged as legs for the clay (below).

Interest in this process caught on with a nearby artist at another table.

Here she explores balance rocking the clay on its legs and getting the feel for how to make the clay stand up on the legs.

The stability of the legs of this creation allowed the artist to press spikes into the lump of clay without threatening the balance.

And here's a creation from our Tuesday class; it's a spider and it's scary!

Studio Thinking: Envision and Express

In our earlier post we wrote about the first two habits of mind: Developing Craft and Engaging and Persisting. This week we'll take a look at Envisioning and Expressing.
The researchers at Project Zero defined Envisioning as "Learning to picture mentally what cannot be directly observed and imagine possible next steps in making a piece." While we don't think of young children as thinking into the future, it is a skill we want them to learn. And they are delighted with the process.
The printmaking process connects well to envisioning. Children place objects and make marks in the fluid painted surface of the printing tray. They experience the wonder and surprise
of seeing what emerges in the finished print. Working in collage, children practice making choices to make meaning as they select items for their sculptural creations. Mixing colors they discover that the primary colors create a huge range of colors--not just green, orange and purple.
With experience even young children begin to know what to expect. Then they begin to plan what they want happen--they envision a goal.

The fourth Habit of Mind is Expression--learning to create works that convey an idea, a feeling, or a personal meaning. Creating art gives children an opportunity for self expression. In a group setting there is also the opportunity to share their work with others-- practicing socialization skills and developing relationships with adults and with peers. Children build vocabulary by talking about what they see, how they feel and what they do as they create and view the artwork of others.
Art is a key to expressing understanding and ideas at a young age. It provides an accessible non-verbal vocabulary for the youngest children. The materials themselves become their languages for expression.

Greater Good Magazine | Everyday Art by Christine Carter

A great article for parents on encouraging creativity.

Greater Good Magazine Everyday Art by Christine Carter

Posted using ShareThis

Wheels and the Wonder of Motion

Working on a large group piece of paper, we decided to explore painting with wheels and see what kinds of lines and designs we could add to the group piece.

The group exploration at the table was extended by working individually on large paper on the wall. The marks made by the wheels stood out more on the fresh white paper.

This young artists found a favorite tool, a caster with a ball for a wheel and a 360 degree rotation from its base.

She was delighted with the arcs and loops recording the motion of her hand and the rotation of the wheel as she moved it across the paper.

The design left in the paint palette.

Exploring Tape and Making Connections

In our second week of using tape to explore color and line, we began by working on black paper.

Working beside his mother, this young artist was inspired to add "connections" between their pieces.

He noticed how the connections could bend and change shape.

He eventually separated the papers again by cutting the tape but not before inspiring a fellow artist...

This young artist added connections to her mother's paper, then took the idea a step further by painting the pieces side by side with her mom, creating visual connections in the broad brush strokes.
This reminds me of George Szekely's idea that an art class is a place to work alongside the other artists of one's generation to share process and ideas. For the very young here, the sharing is about their connections to their parents as well as to each other as they work in the studio.

Blocks, Drawing and Building

A regular feature of the studio is an area for construction. We keep blocks out, varrying the materials with the addition of recycled objects and find that this area is a favorite with our students as well as with visitors and siblings coming in to the studio before and after class.

In our afternoon class, the four and five year olds often move to building toward the end of the session, here the group gradually moved from their paintings to block building. They created a variety of individual and collaborative structures, working through sharing materials and listening to each others' ideas.

The class was almost so we sugggested drawing their sculptures as a way to remember them. This idea caught on quickly and students settled in with black pens, diagramming shapes and positions of the pieces in their structure.

The act of "drawing what you see" is a complex one and the geometric shapes and familiarity from handling and stacking the pieces seem to lend themselves well to beginning this kind of drawing.

This young artist added a texture to her lines and cut out the drawing so it would look more like the shape of the sculpture.

Drawing, Collaboration and Storytelling

Drawing with young children very often leads to storytelling. Here both the drawing and the storytelling took on a collaborative nature as two artists drew a family of houses. There was a mom and a dad and a baby and a grandpa house.

They drew together, even adding details to each other's drawings to expand their story and further develop the characters.

Painting brought color to the story and the family, sparking more ideas for developing the personalities and color choices. On the right is the head of a large caterpillar created collaboratively in a previous class by the same group.