Making Special

   

Earlier this week, many young artists came into the studio ready to explore and create.  New participants learned about tools and materials, taking as much time as needed to feel comfortable with the new surroundings and plentiful options.

 This young artist shared his learned skills with a visiting family member.  Developing craft in this way, he is also strengthening his fine and gross motor skills, as well as hand/eye coordination.

 

 

 

This young artist rolled the clay into a "snake" and, going onto the next step now, is coiling and stacking it.  She is learning about cause and effect sequencing, while also envisioning what she will do next.  Will she transform this creation into a coil pot or add details to make it look like a real snake, or perhaps a beehive? 

 

 These two creators are working together to figure out their plan for clay.  They are coming up with separate ideas, but then collaborating to put these together and move forward in a shared expression.  Looking hard, with eyes and hands, helps them to figure out where their progress is at this point and where they want to take it next.

 

 Using objects as stamps, this young artist dips them in paint and explores the resulting designs.  She just can't get enough! Her fascination and desire to experiment with more and more techniques continues to grow.

 This artist, too, wants to see what happens when he dips a tool in paint versus applying paint to the tool with a paintbrush.  There are endless possibilities of how to use new and recycled materials to create.

 

Open-ended questions invite young artists to tell others more about their creations and overall process.  Encouraging this sharing helps them to feel more confident in sharing their thoughts and feelings later in life as well.

  Seeing the effects of paint applied to paper allows artists to come up with appropriate words, then communicate their understanding of the observation.  Viewing their own artwork and the artwork of others, and then talk about it, helps them to practice socialization skills.

 Sharing in the art making process with loved ones can be such a rewarding experience.  It allows for bonding and mutual respect, as well as meaningful memory making and confidence building.  Support given by a loved one is very important to young artists, as this encourages them to continue exploring with others and on their own, as they develop more autonomy.

Interaction and collaboration in using materials, exploring environments, and discussing artwork results in a strong community of artists of all ages.  In this way, the studio setting seems more welcoming and children are able to become comfortable in it as they come up with their own ideas and express these to the world.