Building Blocks for Life

Building with blocks is much like building relationships and, thus, involves understanding personal assets that one has to offer.  Helping children to develop skills for personal reflection and social interaction takes time and patience, but results in positive growth for the children and for those who share experiences with them during their lifelong journeys.

These young artists are taking turns to devise a plan and construct it with the available materials.  With support and empowerment, they feel free to turn their ideas into reality.  They set their own boundaries and remind each other of these as they work, in order to achieve a shared goal and agree on expectations.

Every so often, the builders come back together to make sure that they are progressing in the right direction and are using their time wisely.  It takes many attempts to solve the problem, as the technique of trial and error is used over and over to make sure the pieces are lined up correctly and are stable enough to hold others in place.

Committed to getting it right, the two boys try out many possibilities in erecting their structure until they are successful.  Learning how to use their strengths to work more effectively together, they focus on the positive attributes that they each have to offer.  In this way, both have an important role and can maintain control over their self-assigned specialties. 

These skills are important for children to learn so that they can become socially competent and gain a positive self-identity.  The more assets a child has in his life, the more likely he will be able to succeed in future situations and engage in positive behaviors.  Since one of the key elements of asset building is relationships, children of all ages would benefit from having supportive adults, positive role models, and healthy friendships.

  

Art making itself also increases a child's positive identity and forms a personal asset of creativity.  Engaging in creative acts with peers doubles the benefit!  

Building relationships around enjoyable tasks strengthens the individual artists' confidence and the stability of the human connection.  Mutual learning and discovery that occurs within the studio encourages our young artists to look for and find the blocks with which to build, and to use their own unique skills in figuring out how to employ them effectively.

Suncatchers, Funcatchers

 Bringing light and color into the world is an enjoyable task.  It is made much simpler when the right materials and tools are available, and when the creator can work within a loving and supportive environment.

Using contact paper and pieces of other colored papers, this artist and his mother achieve success by sticking down bits of beautiful things.  The activity itself can be altered in numerous ways and skill level is appropriate for kids from 2 to 92.  Incorporating new things that can be found around the house adds an extra layer of meaning to the final result.

The artist engages with the materials by using his fingers to feel the sticky side of the paper.  This helps him to better understand how to use and maintain control over it.  He selects paper pieces of various shapes and colors to lay down, and enjoys the effect of seeing how they do not move, once he puts them where he wants them.

Joined by mom, the artist experiments with using the pastels and drawing on the sticky side of the paper.  Adding this smooth medium to the rougher textures allows more possibilities for making designs.  Layer by layer, the art product is created and the process of learning is conducted, as energy and thought go into the pattern and placement of the materials.

Coming up with the idea to put his creations in the window, the artist gets a new perspective.  He reflects on how the colors and shapes look different, when laid on top of each other.  This is a great metaphor for how humans are influenced in various situations and by a number of factors.

Even on this rainy day, the suncatchers allowed beauty and color to come into the room.  Similarly, even through struggles, a person who demonstrates thoughtful energy and care can bring warmth and light into the life of another.

Finishing Touches

Nearing the end of the winter session, this artist knows that she must glaze her pieces so that they can be fired in the kiln and returned to her on the final day of class.  She has worked diligently to create the sculptures and has patiently waited for them between classes each week.  Now, she is ready to add the final touches and apply color to her creations. 

She has learned to plan her colors ahead of time, so that she can determine which ones correspond with each other and also so that she can have those jars available.  The artist understands that she must put on two layers of the glaze, so that the pieces come out of the kiln with a richer color and a glossy finish.  She remembers to wipe off the bottom of her artwork, so that it is clean and does not stick to the shelf when it is being fired.

 Enjoying the process and engaging in conversation with others about these steps, the artist gives suggestions and gets feedback.  A reciprocal relationship in the art studio enhances mutual respect and individual growth, so that abstract thoughts are shared and visual products are appreciated. 

Throughout the course of the class, this artist and her peers have practiced being patient when working together and sharing materials.  In this way, they have been able to return each week to continue using those materials within the studio space.  These seemingly small steps help to strengthen relationships and to further creative energies.  Both are important for beginning a new activity with increased knowledge and ending a period of discovery on a high note.

Shared Success

Children may not get many opportunities to venture out into the world on their own each day.  It is normal for parents to want to keep them near, protect and nurture them.  In the art studio, however, a safe place is created where children can experiment, discover, learn and master new skills comfortably.  At the same time, parents can know that their children are engaging and thriving, and that they can still be a part of that creative growth.

The artist above was joined by both his mother and father as they built with clay.  Though he came up with many ideas on his own, receiving support and encouragement from his parents allowed him to continue working with confidence and extend his imagining even further.

Wanting to form a specific shape and flatten the clay more effectively, the artist chose to try a new tool.  He was having some difficulty, while trying this on his own.  Before stepping in to solve the problem for him, however, the artist's parents allowed him to think and to figure it out himself.  By making mistakes and learning from them, the artist was able to figure out how to use the rolling pin.

Moving the tool across the clay, the artist asked his dad for some help to push it down harder.  Feeling successful in his own abilities allowed him to ask for assistance when it was needed.  Such teamwork and effective communication improve not only classroom functioning or family relationships, but life skills in general.

Seeing that the artist had almost mastered use of the tool, his mom offered a few other tips on how to keep it steady.  Pointing out her son's strengths, she reminded him of personal attributes that he might have forgotten, and which helped him to complete the task more successfully.

Being able to share in the process and the product, the artist and his parents value this time even more.  Parents who nurture creativity from an early age help their child to imagine further possibilities and increase intelligence.  Seeing how their child works on his own, and then how he incorporates available information, helps the parents to understand how to assist him in the future.  Art making is critical for building knowledge and self-esteem, and is that much more meaningful when it is done with supportive loved ones.

Trails of Thought

With a steady hand and determined mind, this artist came into the studio and immediately began painting a self-portrait.  She knew what she looked like and how to depict herself, but had a hard time coming up with a background, which she thought would complete the piece.  The artist thought of many options: she could show herself in her bedroom or maybe at school, or traveling on an airplane or in a faraway land.  

After deciding that she would probably like to be outside, she portrayed herself in the foreground of a sunny day.  The artist was pleased with her happy disposition amidst a colorful environment, and then pondered where else she would like to be, if she could go anywhere.

Concentrating for a moment and still imagining herself outdoors, the artist wanted to transition this thought to paper.  She tried different brushes to apply different strokes.  These varied techniques showed a bright blue sky above with an energetic wind, and still grass with flowers below, allowing the painter and viewer to feel warm as if they were lying in this calm field of color.

Taking the idea even further, the artist created a painting of a tall tower.  She imagined herself as Rapunzel trapped far away, but with the ability to grow her hair very long and still have visitors.  From person to place to thing, the artist connected her thoughts and depicted them in her artwork.  These linking images reveal an interesting tale, highlighted by words and color, both of which allow the artist to share her trailing thoughts more cohesively.

Lasting Effects

Teaching a child how to make her own mark in the world can have lasting effects for the rest of her life.  The skills that she builds in the studio can be used elsewhere and increase her self confidence in the meantime.  This artist is using a dropper to make watercolor paints.

Carefully, she squeezes in what she needs and drips it out onto her canvas.  When she is able to make choices about how much water to use, where to put it, and which colors she wants to create, she has some control within her environment.  By governing her own actions in the studio, the artist is able to become independent in a way that is safe and secure, as well as creative and imaginative.  She can learn to depend on herself and feel empowered to try new things, as she continues to practice newly learned skills in life.

Her mother can help out when necessary to facilitate easier transitions, or she can enjoy the opportunity to focus on her own art making.  This freedom, for both artists, enables further respect for each other as well as for themselves.  They can each enjoy their personal growth, but then also share how they have been able to grow together, side by side.

The impressions made, both on paper and on the relationship between the individuals, will create positive memories within the fun act of exploring through art.  Hopefully, those memories may exist to encourage further art making, increased self-esteem, and strengthening relationships.

Fun and Functional

Thinking of art as something that hangs on the wall or sits to be admired is correct in some situations.  At other times, however, art is also something that is used every day.  Clothes that we wear, dishes from which we eat, toys with which we play, jewelry that adorns us... all of these things are created by artists and serve an important purpose in our everyday lives.  The artist shown here is working to form functional pottery pieces, which she will be able to use each day, and which will serve as a reminder of her creative talents and ability to make something from a mere lump of clay.

Functional art is concerned with how something works, as well as its aesthetic design.  Incorporating these two elements can be challenging at times, and requires the ability to balance concrete and abstract thinking.  Working toward a specific purpose and having a set goal in mind for the product, while also designing a creative pattern or pleasing color scheme for the piece, is how this artist blends the fun and funky technique of hand building into a practical use of the material.

Making objects that contribute to one's daily life or to others', if they are given as gifts, can be very rewarding.  Rewarding not only in the moment of creation, or when the clay is fired and glazed, or even when it comes back with shine, sparkle and color.  But, rewarding when the piece is used over and over again, making further meaning for its user and the connection to the artist who crafted it.  By cradling the clay itself, an artist can pass that gentle feeling as a form of protection, for both the contents that might be held in the piece and for the underlying feelings that might go along with it, from which it was created.

  

This artist has engaged in free flowing creativity and, at the same time, has increased her proficiency in constructing bowls, baskets, and other containers.  Using shape and contour, she has taken advantage of the clay's flexibility and added twists, bends, spirals, and knobs to decorate her sculptures.  In forming these functional pieces, the artist becomes inspired and contemplates how she will glaze them to make them even more fun.

Reflections

Print making with children can result in a time of great excitement and discovery. As this artist chooses different colors of paint and brushes them onto the paper, she creates lines and patterns that will be reflected on the other side. She may not have a specific idea in mind, but has the courage to learn as she goes and to remain curious about the result.

After folding, patting, pushing and squishing the paint around in between the folded paper, the artist opens it back up to reveal the surprise of a design.  Not knowing what the final print will look like increases the artist's interest in the engagement process and motivates her to try making many more.

Using a different tool, the artist has come across a new technique and can compare the result with the images on her previous creations.  This activity allows her the freedom to have fun, without having to follow a set list of directions.  However, it does still teach the necessity of sequence, as the step of folding the paper and squishing whats inside can only be done after paint is applied to its middle.

The most amazing part of this activity is when kids use their imaginations to explain what they see in their painting.  Observing the reflection of colors and patterns on the paper is pleasing, but hearing the stories about creatures or far off places that young artists see in their work is even more inspirational.

This no-fail task is an easy and fun way to spark creativity.  It can be used to learn about symmetry, to experiment with various techniques and materials, and also to understand the fact that there are no mistakes in art!  Reflecting on both the product and the process creates a richer experience for both the artist and the observer, child and adult, amateur and professional.