Risks and Rewards

Risk taking is what the arts are for.  Human beings must take risks to find what else is "out there" and at what we might excel.  Additionally, risk taking increases the resilience of children, as they make and learn from small accidents.  The artist shown may appear to be only painting, but he is also taking a risk.  Trying something new can be scary, but is necessary for inner growth.

The artist is painting a landscape for the first time.  Leaving his typical schema of floating shapes and swirls behind, he is putting together more in depth concepts and arranging them cohesively.  This occurs both in his mind and on his paper, as he thinks on his feet.  He adds more details while he works from moment to moment, and this leads to advanced decision making skills for a variety of situations.

Taking this personal risk and engaging in possible failure, the artist sacrifices his pride for possibility.  However, he still achieves a reward.  The artist is finding out more about himself, as he challenges his skills and asks questions of his ability.  Only he can answer those questions, after engaging in exploration and discovery.  He is learning not only by doing, but by risking.  

Risk taking is a major component of leadership.  It increases one's confidence and drive to try more things, encourages a sense of adventure, and allows one to revel in the spontaneity of the world.  Such leaders tend to have energy and determination that is imparted to their peers, as they challenge themselves and inspire others to do the same.

The artist continues to fill in his entire paper.  He is caught up in the act of trying new things and seeing how far he can go with this challenging but enjoyable experience.  Though taking the risk to stray from traditional modes of working may cause a slight bit of discomfort for a person, the benefits of trying and succeeding at something new are everlasting.  Confidence increases, social supports are formed, and inner growth allows a better understanding of preferences and priorities.  Thus, an individual is better suited to live life to the fullest and be ready to handle whatever risks might come along in the meantime.

Creating a Safe Place with Clay

Natural clay is a great material for children to use, as it is easy to manipulate and also very safe.  It is antibacterial and non-toxic, as well as soft and malleable, so cannot injure its molder.  Tools are not necessary, so hands can be used to shape the medium with more control.  Clay comes from the earth and is like mud, which many children find and play with in their back yards.

Similarly, artmaking is a naturally safe and healthy activity.  The role that art plays in creating a metaphor, and in articulating concepts that are often difficult to communicate through words, should never be underestimated.  Art is used to commemorate losses and victories, and to define real and imagined space.  Thus, artists create a safe place for ideas or experiences that are sometimes unsafe in their daily world.

  

The purpose of the open art studio is to provide a sense of safety and protection for young artists and their thoughts and feelings.  By creatively engaging within a non-judgmental atmosphere, they can gradually become emboldened, as both their personal self-esteem and confidence strengthen.  This artist seems to already feel safe within the studio.  He is comfortable enough to play with the tools and joke around a bit, as he continues to use them appropriately.

With the open studio functioning as his safe place, the artist is able to bring his imagined ideas to life.  He rolls the clay in his hands to make "a family of snakes", then forms it into balls and uses a press to create "spaghetti with meatballs".  The artist explains to his mother that the snakes are coming after his spaghetti dinner!

Feeling supported and encouraged by others, he knows that he can explore on his own and experiment with the materials, and is able to keep a light-hearted perspective.  Inviting his mother to work with him, the young artist is creating further safety for himself.  She serves as a protector in the artist's every day life, so acts as a model for his own personal security as well.  Feeling more certain and in control within the situation, the young artist is able to alter the events of his story and conquer the potential threat in his art.

Creating that feeling of safety in three-dimensional form, the artist reports that the snakes have changed their minds and are merely keeping the spaghetti warm, as they bring it to him.  As seen here, flexible materials, an open environment, and supportive peers allow a fulfilling experience to unfold for a child.  Offering a safe place for artists to work results in the opportunity for them to establish safe spaces of their own, through the act of art making and expressing themselves freely.

A Playful Palette

Before artists are ready to paint, they must become comfortable with mixing colors so that they can trust themselves to always create the exact colors that they want or need.  By drawing a color wheel and filling it in with the spectrum of colors, this artist creates a sort of visual blueprint for herself.  This will be used as a reference for how she can create secondary and tertiary colors from the three primary colors of red, yellow and blue.

Working from her drawn blueprint, the artist is comfortable as she starts to blend paints.  The more practice that she has with mixing colors, the more control she will have over purposefully deciding how to make those colors, and the less likely she is to become frustrated when performing such a task.  Building these skills leads to increased confidence and skill building in other areas, which allows the artist to continue to take risks and learn on her own by actively engaging.

After producing a variety of colors that please her, the artist experiments with them all.  She first creates a Spring-themed painting, based on the variation of hues and tones in her mostly pastel palette.

Continuing with that theme, the artist uses a smaller piece of paper to hone in on contrast and focus on how different colored brushstrokes looked on top of and next to each other.  This miniature piece serves as an example of how the artist can use her paints a bit more playfully.

The final pieces show the artist's ability to fill in space on the page as she discovers various techniques and color combinations.  Possibilities are endless when mixing colors, and a paint palette can become a fun learning experience each and every time that primary colors are introduced.

From Trash to Treasure

Whoever first said that one man's trash is another man's treasure knew what he or she was talking about.  Many things that would otherwise be headed to the trashcan are transformed into unique masterpieces.  Teaching children to recycle and make something new out of those found objects can be one of the most important lessons that they ever learn.  That knowledge can be applied throughout their lives, as they become more skilled in resourcefulness. 

For artists with boundless imaginations, the experience of searching through the collage tray is often filled with wonder.  There are glittery pink flower petals, yellow painted papers, stretchy green netting, red pieces of fluff, and rainbow-colored string.  The artists here are shown rethinking the potential that lies within such items that are often overlooked.

Being able to sift through the papers and fabrics, this mother and daughter are attracted to various colors and seek specific ones that complement their creations.  Textured pieces also grab their attention and add a whole new dimension to the collage when layered with smoother items.  In selecting unique pieces of "trash", each artist adds layers of meaning to their resulting treasures.

Through engaging in hands-on learning, children and adults alike can use their curiosity to discover and experiment with new pieces that they find.  While collage may be an enjoyable art making activity, it also helps to instill ingenuity and inventiveness within an individual.  This allows for greater confidence to grow within that individual and teaches the ability to find clever ways to overcome difficulties.

Fusion: Past, Present, Future

Every successful artist must live in three dimensions simultaneously: the past, the present and the future.  Too much time spent in one results in neglecting another.  The three must merge into one beautifully intertwined, balanced creative energy.  The artist pictured above returned to the studio and used her past knowledge of building with clay to create a form from an idea.  

One may argue that there is no point to living in the past, but the past holds a wealth of information that can shape the future.  By continuing to collect information and make decisions based on that new knowledge, more thorough evaluation can take place and skills can further develop.  The artist recalls feedback, from herself and from others, as she molds the clay.  Identifying experiences where something may not have quite worked out in the past helps her to rethink her current actions, and to feel more confident in applying those techniques.

Focusing on the task at hand, she aligns what she has previously learned with what she hopes to accomplish in this art making session.  She balances the physical aspects of cutting, shaping and attaching the clay with the mental aspects of keeping the clay wet enough that it won't dry up, but dry enough that it won't fall.  Past performance or mistake making allows her to generate ideas that facilitate more efficient work in the present.

Analyzing as she works, the artist plans for her next steps and continues to be inspired to reach her goal.  She takes risks and brainstorms as necessary, as she cuts away or adds more clay.  Yet, she automatically uses the skills that have become an integral part of her being an artist, so the experimentation isn't quite as intimidating.  By actively engaging with the medium, she moves forward just by making progress happen, instead of wishing or hoping for it to happen.

Coming to the studio and joining a creative network with her peers also encourages the artist to share her ideas.  This presents a challenge for her to continue trying new things and developing the skills that she already has.  Spending time on thinking of ideas must be balanced with spending time actually making those come to fruition.  By just sitting down and doing, the elements of past, present and future are merged harmoniously and energy builds for the next opportunity to create.

Aspects of Art (& Accompanying Benefits)

As our spring session begins, young artists enter the studio with wide eyes and high spirits.  This young artist experiments for the first time with watercolor paints and realizes that mixing blue and red together make purple.  As she continues to paint, she also learns that only a bit of water is necessary to make the paint work, and that too much water will drown out the brightness of the colors.  Learning through creative play allows her to develop critical thinking skills, while still exploring and having fun.

Here, another artist experiments with materials by splashing, spinning and swirling his brush in the paint.  He is actively using the muscles in his fingers and hand, building them up and becoming more comfortable with moving the larger parts of his body.  In this way, he is constructing a visual rhythm of sorts and getting both his body and mind in tune through color and movement.

This girl is creating a soothing place for herself, as she works to complete her painting and feel an accomplished sense of pride.  Seeing others' positive reactions to her work is an added bonus, but she is focused on her own personal expression and how this can take place without words.

By trying something new and learning to explore with an open mind, these young artists also learn to look at situations differently.  Thus, they learn to gain many perspectives and apply this new knowledge accordingly.  Making these connections is how we, as human beings, reach our full potential.

The artists are able to play and enjoy themselves, while making beautiful paintings.  Such intimate involvement with creative activities allows them to further appreciate the world of artistic expression.  While these aspects are very important, the benefits of brain development, critical-thinking skills building, and learning a stress-free method to increase self-esteem are everlasting.