Cookie sheets, for more than just baking...

Cookie sheets can be a staple in a studio environment with young artists. Finger-painting, often a messy and somewhat risky activity, can be given boundaries and easy clean-up when done inside a tray.

 Finger painting alone can satisfy that kinesthetic need to put our hands in the paint, but these creations can also be captured onto paper when we make prints. 

Materials can be added to experiment with textures, shapes, and positive & negative space.

Try anything flat like jar-lid grips, those mystery keys you've had forever, popsicle sticks, string, old puzzle pieces, leaves, or try your own paper cut outs.

This is a great activity to bring home and share with the family. And if you are worried about sacrificing your kitchenware, reusable cheap cookie sheets can be found at the local dollar store, and the disposable aluminum kind are at most grocery stores (but paint wipes out easily - so don't throw them out right away!)

Seasonal materials...

 

Found objects in nature can be collecting and brought into the studio during any season of the year. Leaves, sticks, rocks and flowers offer endless options for sketching, tracings, rubbings and printing.

During our Fall session, we took advantage of the leaves and dried plants we collected locally, and gave them to our artists to see what they could do. 

Leaves can be pressed and rolled into clay...

   and used with paints and watercolors.

 Here, artists use the materials as part of building constructions, and in rubbings with pastels and crayons.

Incorporating these earth materials helps bring an awareness of nature to the classroom. As found objects, they offer inexpensive options and new twists to the typical studio directives.

Light Table Collaborations...

In our studio, the light table has been a constant source for enhancing group cohesiveness, helping children build social skills as they learn to work together and share ideas.

"Butterflies"

 With a variety of building-block materials you can create opportunities for problem solving in construction...

 and allow for lessons in color-mixing and filters.

Offering a station for building in the open studio design, with a light table or simple wooden blocks, can give children a needed break from product-driven artwork while still challenging their creativity. Here, it is understood that no creations are permanent, but any constructions these artists are proud of we can document with photographs for them to keep and share with their families and fellow artists.

Changing Skies...

  This artist begins her landscape with drawing or painting the familiar stripe of blue at the top of her artwork to show the sky. This is a very common technique for a lot of young artists. Although always starting with this familiar method, she has begun filling in her background and continuing the sky to ground level. Filling in background spaces is something we challenge all of our artists to do, and is an important step in their artistic development. This 5 1/2 year old has been working at the studio for a while and has now made this challenge the routine in all of her artwork, without any prompting from adults.

  

Not only is this young artist embracing new concepts, but her efforts are an example of what children can do to push their imaginations when they take the lead and challenge themselves.

Coil collections...

  Over a period of several weeks, this artist has been showing a fascination with the construction and connecting of clay coils, or "snakes."

Colorful plastic cylinders, normally used as building blocks on the classroom's light-table, are often incorporated into the snake creations with clay threaded through the hollow centers.




He and his mother work as a team each week to build a new snake with focus and dedication. Collaboration is supportive and follows the creative inspirations of the child as they explore the art materials.

Care of craft and planning ahead...

 

In learning the craft of clay, older artists explore the glazing process, and patience. In this classroom, students have been waiting two weeks from working in wet clay before glazing their bisque fired pieces, and another week until the final results return from the kiln. 

Using test tiles, they are asked to make a plan and choose their colors carefully. The tiles allow them to see what glazes will look like after firing, which is often very different.  

Working in clay can be a difficult process from beginning to end as there is little instant gratification. Well thought-out plans need to span several weeks, but this has several positive results. Because of the extra effort and time young artists are putting into their work, stories and attachments to their pieces can be very deep. This, and a building of commitment to craft and patience are great reasons to use clay in the classroom.

Alternative tools...

These artists are testing out alternatives to the typical paintbrush. One is using wood and foam blocks to stamp pigment onto paper, while his neighbor uses a ball style caster wheel. The addition of tools into painting can bring a renewed interest for to the budding attention-spans of young artists.

Found objects around the house can make excellent stamps and tools: corks, wood scraps, popsicle stickes, caps, lids and broken furniture wheels.

Old ice cube trays become steady paint palettes. With stamps, parents and facilitators have the opportunity to educate about different kinds shapes.

Exploring clay from all sides...

Before beginning clay work, this class of 4 & 5 year olds was introduced to the material by first being asked to lift a larger block, one of many ways to give children a greater understanding of the characteristics clay. A well-rounded introduction to a sometimes unfamiliar material can help to spark a new artist's interest. At this age, most clay work becomes more about exploring the qualities and possibilities of a material as opposed to subjective creations that they become attached to.     

Several weeks later, one of these students continues exploring the material by lifting it. Here she made several attempts and learning how to successfully wrap the string clay-cutter around the clay to lift it without it falling. Success at achieving her goal brought smiles and a wish to share her technique discovery with her peers.

Embracing mistakes and changes...

These two artists began a joint painting on the wall with the intention of painting eachother. As the artist on the left continued, she became unsatisfied with her creation after making some mistakes. Instead of giving up or becoming upset, she was able to recreate the story behind her work with excitement and enthusiasm. Her portrait of her friend has now become a "pink tornado" embellished with purple "hot lava" on either side.

Through a supportive open studio environment, children can learn to embrace the concept of "Mess up: Fix up," a phrase my elementary school teacher drummed into my head over 20 years ago. Here, the facilitator has an opportunity to encourage deeper creativity, problem solving, and learning how to roll with the punches and to accept the unexpected outcomes with an open mind.