Sometimes I Need Time To Get Ready

To little kids, there are lots of new things in the art studio. Being in this kind of "fun" place sometimes makes them hard to focus.

 A 2-year-old little boy was lingering everywhere during the session. At first his mother was anxious and wanted to keep him seated. Later on she tried to follow the child's lead and be supportive. At times he came back and observing. When he was ready, he also made art as other children!

Children might linger everywhere, starting their brand new adventure. While exploring, they also observe what others do in art. As smart as they always are, children later on notice the atmosphere of engaging among others.  Sometimes they just need a safe place to take a break. It is fine we adults play a role of supporting and then assist them to explore in art when they need. Give our children a bit faith and watch their growth in art !

As Patient as a Child

 

"Can I paint this paper with you?" she asked politely.    

A piece of paper is a small and safe world. Children can always create the possibilities of art. They are not hesitate to explore themselves, thus they are willing to try and see what happened. I saw the process that they have been growing in art. More over, they influence each other's world and grow up together. It was amazing that I was able to see these two children together making one artwork. The girl who joined later painted on the spaces of the paper. As the spaces became smaller and smaller. She painted on another girl's painting. Their painting stokes melted together, growing into a whole new art piece.

Children embody their free ideas through making art. 

 Children are patient. They know the core value of "If at first you don't succeed, try again." As their assistant, I observe and provide what they need in order to promote their expression through art. In the end, I am the one that felt surprised by their amazing artwork and beautiful thoughts.

Make A Sketch Book Your Own Style

 

    Collage, drawing... or Both! We provided a variety of materials this time. Children seemed to have individualized preference picking the materials. In order to make a special one, they got to know different textures. They learned to put more glue to get the thread and fabric stick to the paper. On the other hand, they had to be careful putting the glue on a thin, fragile tissue paper. Through exploring with these diverse materials, they never felt bored by repeating the skills. It was a process of mastery.

Knowing colors by Mixing and Creating

    This week we provided the mixing color activity. Starting from yellow, red and white, children practiced how those colors worked together. They created the warmer color  as a result built more successful experience. After they got familiar with the mixing process, they had blue to mix together. I saw every children focusing on their own cube box, creating the color palette by themselves. They were just small kids but some of them really followed the rule to make the color pure and bright.  

 There were also many creative names that were hard to imagine by adults like ice cream pink, snow...Through naming the color they created, we were able to see from children's point of views. What images those colors bring to them? How do they sort colors from their experiences? Every color could be meaningful related to how they know the world.