Personal stamp on a group project...

Our preschool class has gathered to begin a group circle painting - a project of learning how to share ideas, materials, and space: the boundaries are not always clearly defined between working artists and they are lead to problem solve when their design meets a neighbor's.

 

This artist has decided to bring out a collection of rocks from her pocket and find a way to incorporate these into her painting. She experimented with brushing on paint and stamping these rocks on to the paper. In the true spirit of group sharing, she then asked her classmates who else would like a rock to try and handed out the rest of her stash to fellow artists. What followed were more unique uses for the rocks - some became the center of flowers, others, active painting tools. Afterwards, the rocks were carefully collected back up, washed and returned to the pocket from whence they came. New contributions to the studio can come from anywhere, and when they do, allowing young artists to continue to think outside the box and create their own methods can result in exciting discoveries for the whole group.

Clay + Collage = a true mixed media collaboration...

 We began this morning with a new collage directive, and as usual, clay was available for artist's to explore.

Big Sis works diligently on her collage, on which Mom has drawn the outline of a dress for her.

Meanwhile, younger sister works with another artist to create the clay family you see here. Great care is taken in adding the hair and sizing each family member satisfactorily. 

At the end of class, it was decided by the older sister that she wanted the figures to wear the paper dress. We then had the figure "try out" the outfit and rested it in front of the clay.

Willingness to share ideas and working together in a small space fosters a lot of creative flow between areas and unexpected collaborations for children in the open studio environment.

Story Telling...

This team is collaborating on a clay work, under the direction of the young artist. Her story begins with a box she needs help making for "a pet." As the story progresses, "the worm" becomes a butterfly who needs to be protected from "the wolf."

Here they are working together to make breathing holes and a window viewer, all the while, following the child-artist's freely flowing storyline and letting her take the lead.

These moments are great opportunities to problem solve and learn the ins & outs of a material, when the artist is engaged and driven to have her story heard. They are also great opportunities to help the child feel they are being heard and can take the reigns in their creative journey, with the knowledge that adults are there to support and assist along the way.

Making tracks...

 

I can't begin to explain how much I love this photograph. It captures some wonderful things: art making (with unconventional tools), learning through play, a tactile mess, and a story.

 

 This artist and his caretaker are using old toy cars to create lines and textures into their paint. 

Adding new tools, beyond the simple paintbrush, into the art making process can extend interest in the activity and spark imagination. Offering process comments (not compliments) about the textures, lines and shapes created with these tools can help the child to link their actions to the marks made on the paper.

Reggio Workshop

 On January 31st, I had the privilege of attending a Reggio Fundamentals workshop held at Beverly Hills Church Preschool in Alexandria, VA. The morning began with an open tour of the preschool, which has been following the Reggio model for over 15 years. Reggio Emilia is a style of early childhood and preschool eductation developed in post-World War II Italy by Loris Malaguzzi. It focuses on the natural development of the child, with a style of learning that uses all the senses, endless opportunity for self expression, and an additional focus on building community and relationships with classmates and the world around them. Here, the environment becomes the third teacher.

In my observations of the classrooms that morning, I noticed the amazing use of space, organization & labeling, and family focused environment the school had created. The halls and classroom wall were covered with artwork, process photos and artist statements, and pictures of the families who help create this Reggio community.

 Our guest speaker was Ann Lewin-Benham, who started out with Montessori schools and moved on to founding and directing the Capital Children's Museum in Washington, DC. Reading from her 2008 book: Powerful Children: Understanding How to Teach and Learn Using the Reggio Approach, Ann related stories of her own experiences running the Model Early Learning Center for Head Start-eligible 3-6 year olds in an area of DC she said had been deemed "the slums in the shadow of the Capital."

During the lecture she offered a hypothesis: that today, in many of our schools, we are doing mainly remedial work because in our preschools and elementary schools we are doing the wrong kind of work: teachers are forced to teach a certain curriculum which results in killing motivation, curiosity, and love of learning. Ann gave six points on what she felt early education should do:

• Foster kids' innate drive to learn.
• Nurture children's natural curiosity.
• Keep children's joy alive: the foundation for motivation.
• Build self-regulation: work won't happen if it's not based on interest. We move from interest to motivation to concentration. If you can't self-regulate you will learn little, this means an individual is watching and controlling how they think and behave. With empathy and structure this is possible at any age.
• Provide language-rich experiences: this is the primary tool for social exchange. So try turning off the media and engaging your child in a conversation.
• Provide BIG Challenges: we tend to infantilize too much but instead we should be preparing them to succeed for themselves, while making sure the environment is manageable. This can feel renewing for teachers and parents because you are also challenging yourself.

But parents and teachers don't feel overwhelmed! As Ann Lewin-Benham told the group that day, "your lack of knowledge as an adult is your own best gift," because you can step back and not always give the answer, "look it up together in a book!"
Listen to what your child/classroom is interested in and go from there.

For more on Ann's work, the Beverly Hills Church Preschool program, and an overview of the Reggio approach, check out these links:

http://annlewin-benham.com
http://www.bhcpnet.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

Disappearing act...

 

Before turning to glue, we begin to introduce collage to our students along with the paintings and color mixing they have been working on for the past few weeks. Here are two examples of these mixed media paintings. 

  Some of our artists simply stick these paper strips to the wet paint as finishing touches, while other artists choose to completely paint over the strips.  The painting on the left is a finished piece: layers of pastel and cut paper are hidden away with a deliberately thick layer of paint.

 Below you can see the artist hard at work, enjoying the process.

Here, another artist in a separate class is compelled to do the same thing without prompting from adults...

Her strips were carefully laid out and subsequently painted over completely, each in turn. Artwork becomes more than just a final product, it is a map of each child's process and discoveries, which may not be evident if we aren't paying attention.

Sticks & Mud....

We find with our younger artists, there often tends to be a fascination with stick and clay sculptures. The designs vary, but there seems to be a consistent quest to see "what will happen if I add one more," and "I wonder how many I can fit?"

At this age, clay creations are more about kinesthetics and manipulating the material. Figuring what you can do to the material, as opposed to what you make it into is a necessary first step for all future clay work as they grow.

That being said, another natural step as artists get older is to begin to name their creation (whether or not this was their original goal). Not surprisingly, we find a lot of "porcupines" in our studio. :)

Mixed media...

This artist began her painting by asking if she could use both pastel and paint in her picture. Given the go-ahead, she began experimenting with the two media with a new technique. She would draw on a small section of her paper then proceed to paint over that designated area, then start again with pastel on a new section.

 Normally in our morning classes, the pastels are offered as an option to revisit dried/finished paintings or as separate drawing material for the class to center around, so we were all please with the transparent effects these two mediums created as this artist continued to experiment.....

...a technique that stuck with her as she continued to explore it in her next class two weeks later.