Taking Cues

Enjoying the feeling of paint on his hand, this artist decided to explore how paint feels on his face. 

The sensory quality of the material was too much to resist! 

Observing close by, this young artist decided to mimic 

his actions and feel how the paint  felt on her own skin. 

The explorations of both children were welcome and accepted by

parents and caregivers, as they understood the importance of this sensory exploration. 

Limits were set, of course, and the paint was washed off before they moved on 

to the next great adventure. This gave the children a feeling of safety and 

encouragement to explore their environment and the materials 

within the boundaries of the adult facilitated studio.

 

Later in the morning, the young artist observed another girl using scissors to cut colorful tape for her art work. She insisted on a pair of scissors herself and began exploring these new materials in her own way.

In this way, children learn from observing other young artists in the studio and feel free to take the lead and explore materials with the facilitation of their supportive caregivers.

June's first paintings!

Artists excitement grew as they mixed paints, making new colors from the primary colors red, blue, and yellow (along with some white), and discovering endless color combinations.

 After mixing, artists painted with their unique and personal color palette. Observing these artists at work, it is interesting to note the various styles of painting and stages of development of each child.



 

 A bit younger, this painter is very intrigued by the sensory aspect of the material. He uses all of the colors that he mixed, and is more interested in covering the paper with paint than creating shapes or designs.

This young artist had an imaginative story to go along with her painting when she was finished. There are trees on the right and an orange and yellow backpack in the middle. The backpack has a big bow on it because it is a present for the people who are resting on the ground near the tree.

Her neighbor  created a painting of a rainbow along with other details. She often used two brushes loaded with different colors simultaneously.







This young artist was a little shy when sharing about her painting, but she explained to the group that there is a bug inside a box!

The collection at the end of class was greatly admired and each artist shared a little bit about their process or the stories that accompany their paintings.

Creating more than art

The first day of our two week June class kicked off this Monday!

Artists began with mandalas to introduce themselves, telling

everyone their name and what kind of art they enjoyed creating.

 I noticed much of the remainder of the time was spent getting a

 feel for the studio as well as getting to know each other.

This young artist enjoyed building a complex structure with clay. He was very focused 

and engaged during his creation.

These builders worked together to create with blocks
a jail/dungeon for the tiger and dragon that
live at Art at the Center.

As different materials were introduced, artist explored familiar 

and new ways of creating, sharing with others as they painted, drew or built.

 The artists created works of art that reflect their observations and exploration,

 but also began to create relationships with others and the studio. 

We are excited to see these relationships develop over the next couple of weeks!