EXPLORE ART: Sage's 1st Art Video

I've been waiting to share this short video clip of Sage making art.  It was a pretty successful art session, he didn't try and eat the brushes or paint and had fun exploring what they could do. 

Explore Art: Mini Marc Chagall Lesson

I introduced Cy to a new artist this weekend.  Something fun that I knew would inspire a little art making.  Marc Chagall is a modernist painter who dabbled in a little bit of everything from expressionism, symbolism, cubism and fauvism.

Chagall is a great artist to look at with children.  His work is often "fancy free" and at times "childish" it is inspired by his own childhood, scriptures, Russian folk art and icon paintings.  Chagall provokes thoughts of fantasy, dreams and childhood imagination.

wikipedia.org

Chagall's Me and My Village is one of his most recognizable paintings.  It also illustrates a few of his styles, Chagall wastes no space in using every portion of his canvas, he is also well noted for bold, bright and vibrant color reminiscent of the Fauvist.  You can see Chagall's interest in Cubism in this image, his use of multiple view points and geometric shapes to create an image.

wikipedia.org

wikipedia.org

Chagall considered his style and images part of his own personal language, symbols and images that were meaningful to him.  He is also recognized for his everyday scenes and quirky motifs like the fiddler.  

Chagall is just a fun artist to look at with children, it gets down to their level. Images and scenes are recognizable while also being fun and playful.  They provoke creativity and imagination as children see it's okay to express yourself and dream in the world of art.

Google Marc Chagall and take a look at some of the images that come up from his paintings.  Let your child look on and open up an art discussion. 

What do they think of the artwork?

How does it make them feel?

What do they see?  Does it look like real life or a dream?

How would you make a dream/ fantasy picture?

What colors would you use?

-and so on, see where the conversation goes and if they'll be inspired for a little art making when you're done.

Here's Cy's Chagall inspired art work:

His pink circus girl who later turned into the ballerina.  He was using "mixed media" something else new we were talking about- crayons, markers and watercolors. 

You never know where art or life will take you -- enjoy the moment

EXPLORE ART: Crayons article link

So our Wednesday explore art has been on a bit of a hiatus, not that we don't have several projects going or that our fridge is lacking any Cyrus originals.  The process of making art and chronicling our art making just haven't found a good time to mesh. 

I've got to take some pictures of Cy's artwork he's been doing at school.  I love seeing what he comes home with in his folder and even more fun is his explanation of everything.  A couple weeks ago he had a nice series going inspired but the letter H and horses, horses in fields of flowers, a farm scene with horses and a big top tent for a barn.  Yeah, they are great.

If I can get it together I'd love to do a series featuring how to preserve/ archive children's artwork, including taking digital photos, cropping and saving them to make a slide show.  Trust me I need to, Cy's portfolio downstairs has turned into an old diaper box piled with art work.  While I'd love to save it all I really need to turn half of it into digital files or start looking for a storage unit. 

Getting on with today's explore art post it's a bit of a cheat.  Here's the first part of an article I wrote for PG, Parental Guidance Magazine, a monthly magazine distributed through our community. All about crayons, where they came from and how your child can use them to make art.  Here's the start of the article followed by a link to read more:

* If you go on to read the rest of the article on the Post Journal site I've linked, just an fyi some of the titles that were meant to separate sections are in the main part of the paragraphs.  I think it makes more sense if you keep that in mind, not really sure what happened when they posted it? ie, Explore the World of Art is a section title not meant to be in that paragraph*

C-R-A-Y-O-N. Those six letters have spelled out countless hours of entertainment and fun for little and big kids alike. Crayons are easy to work with, not messy, blunt, non-toxic, very inexpensive, and available in a wide variety of colors. Every mother’s dream right?

According to Wikipedia.com, crayons can be traced as far back as the Egyptians who used a form of beeswax and pigment to fix an image on stone, known as encaustic painting. The basic idea of the more contemporary crayon appeared in Europe around the late 1700’s; used by artists like Leonardo da Vinci. It was not until the late 19th century, early 20th century that big companies like Crayola and American Crayon saw the money making potential of marketing crayons to educational/ classroom and crafts for children.

Crayons as we know them became more widely used in the beginning to middle of the 20th century with Crayola becoming the leading crayon brand in the 1950s.

So we know where they’ve come from but what else is there to know about children using crayons?

Outside the Coloring Book
While we all have owned a box of crayolas and a coloring book at some point in our lives, but don’t be afraid to step out of the coloring book a little. The traditional use of crayons is often to entertain a small child with coloring sheets. But don’t stop there, encourage them to go further. A blank sheet of paper will go a long way allowing a child to be creative, use their imagination and express themselves. By encouraging a child to make their own picture you can watch how they view and process the world around us.

Coloring is a great release of emotions and feelings. Have you as an adult ever sat down and felt the therapeutic benefits of making a picture? Therapists who specialize in art therapy use the process of creating art as a way to approach and talk to children. Once engaged in the process of creating art a child will relax and open to guided conversation. Give it a try with your children, not that you have to give them a therapy session; but use art or coloring as a tool to bond and talk together.
Read More......

Explore Art Class

Working on this Saturday's EXPLORE ART class: Jasper Johns

at Infinity Performing and Visual Arts Center

Cy's alphabet painting inspired by John's work

full post coming next week

EXPLORE ART project with BABY

While I think it is important to incorporate art into childrens' lives, I will admit it is more difficult to find appropriate material/ projects for babies.  Babies younger than 12 months or even 18 months will not be able to grasp the concept of how to use materials, especially without putting things in their mouths.


Now don't get me wrong, this does not rule out including art in their lives altogether.  When they are still too young to use art materials you can still be building their visual dictionary by showing and talking to them about art.  


But back to the dilemma of art projects with babies.  Sage just turned 1 year old and we, my art partner in crime Mr. Cyrus, have decided to start including him in on some of our art projects.  Sage is usually entertained by snacks in his high chair while Cy works.


Our materials are still a bit limited because not only does everything go in Sage's mouth he even eats it.  We've caught him a few times with crayon pieces all over his mouth and in his teeth.  Yum.  He also likes to get a hold of (clean) paint brushes and put them in his mouth. 


So we went for finger painting, which did end up to be more like full body painting.  A few tips: make sure to use non-toxic paints, get baby in play clothes or just a diaper, pick a room where the floor will clean up easily and block all exits.

Materials:

• Crayola washable, non-toxic paint
• Large paper or paper roll
• Tape
• Optional found objects- we used cars and hair picks to drag through the paint

I taped a big piece of paper to the kitchen floor, and laid out the paints for Sage to investigate.  Cy then helped me pour different colors of paint directly onto the paper.  We worked fast to keep Sage's interest.  

Cy got right in there, showing Sage how the paint can be spread all over the paper using their hands.  

At first Sage did put his hands in the paint and then directly into his mouth.  It took a few tries then he got the idea it was to paint on the paper with and not to taste.

Sage liked exploring the feel of the paint, smushing it in his hands and at times rubbing it on his body. He really got into the idea of running the cars and hair picks through the paint.  I tried to think of "tools" he could use that wouldn't go right into his mouth.

They both had a blast, rubbing, smushing, smearing, rolling and walking through the paint.  Sage's attention span lasted about 10 minutes for the project, which is expected.  As he gets to play and experiment with more art materials his attention span, interest and understanding of materials will grow.
Luckily Sean came home just in time to help grab one kid while I got the other and we carried them right up to the bathtub.

So we are still working on the concept art materials are to paint/ draw with and not to eat, but we'll get there.  In a couple months there will be so many more materials/ projects we'll be able to all do together.  Stop by Friday for a few of my favorite baby/toddler art materials and project ideas.

And keep on EXPLORING ART- Baby!

EXPLORE ART: DIY coloring sheets

Coloring goes over big in my house.  Cy will sometimes color/ draw pictures for hours on end.  I am a big supporter of everyday art with children, including making art in some way everyday with them and using everyday materials.  I don't mind using coloring books for art expression.  But they do come with limitations, most importantly limiting expression and creativity to the picture at hand. 

So why don't you make your own.  Cy started this project today after Sage got into a big bucket of 101 cookie cutters.  Using cookie cutters to trace outlines make your own coloring sheets.  Your child can determine the subject matter, the composition and how they will color the shapes. 

Cy made his own "chickens" using a duck cookie cutter, adding the legs and crown.  He also added a few flowers that he then went back in and colored each petal.

While he finished up his chicken picture I arranged car, truck, plane, house and tree cookie cutters for a cityscape coloring sheet.  Add in a few extras when your done tracing the cutter shapes, markings for grass, a road, clouds and the sun for your child to color in.  Or leave it up to them what they'd like to add to the picture when they color it.

As we worked on our DIY cookie cutter coloring sheets Sage entertained himself by sitting on the floor in a big pile of the shape we weren't using putting the empty bucket over his head.  A win for everyone this afternoon!

Keep it simple art doesn't always have to be an elaborate project.  Let your child explore daily the endless opportunities for self expression and creativity- no matter the materials they use.

EXPLORE ART projects: Robert Delaunay Collages

Children's art collage project inspired by Robert Delaunay. Focusing on circles, primary and secondary colors.

Robert Delaunay  was an abstract artist that used orphism, a form of abstraction and cubism.  He focused on circular shapes and qualities of light,  using bold colors in his work. 

Ask your child what they think of his work? What kind of colors do they see? What shapes?  
To have your young child understand how he represented light in his paintings make the analogy when light comes through a window.  On a bright, sunny day light might shine threw your window reflecting different colors just as Delaunay did in his paintings.

Today's art project collage will focus on circles and how primary colors (red, blue, yellow) make secondary colors.  Red and blue make purple, red and yellow make orange and blue and yellow make green.  Using Delaunay's work as inspiration talk to your child about how he represented color and light in his images by using different colors and sizes of circles. 

Materials:

• Tissue Paper (red, blue, yellow)
• Contact Paper
• Scissors
• Circular shapes to trace and stamp with
• Glue Stick
• Paint (red, blue, yellow)

-First layer your tissue paper together and trace several different size circles.  Holding the pieces of tissue paper to together cut out your circles.  This will save you a little bit of time from tracing and cutting out circles on each sheet of tissue paper.
- Next roll out and cut a piece of contact paper.  Then fold it in half and cut it again.  This will give you a front and back that are the same size without having to measure.  Set one piece aside for later and with the one you are going to use peel the paper off.  Leaving the only the clear sheet lay it on the table sticky side up.

-Gather all your tissue paper cut out circles in a pile or a plate and have your child begin to lay them on the sticky contact paper.  I had to remind Cy the paper was sticky so not to get his arm stuck on it.  After they have experimented and stuck several circles down encourage them to start layering their circles.  They can use the glue stick to glue circles on top of other circles.
Talk about Delaunay's work and how they saw different size and colored circles and how he arranged them in his picture.  Ask your child to explain how they are arranging their picture.

-One of the key lessons of this project is to illustrate how primary colors make secondary colors.  Have your child try and few different colored circles on top of each other and then hold up your paper to the light.  The will be able to see how layering the blue and yellow make green, blue and red make purple and yellow and red make orange.  This project focuses on the process of making art and gets your child thinking in the act how they are making these colors. 

-Once they have finished putting on their circles you can peel off the paper of the second piece of contact paper, that you had put to the side, and lay it over the finished picture.  Tip for working with contact paper start at one corner and slowly lay down the sheet smoothing your hand over it as you go.  This will help to not create any bubbles or bumps. 

-A second option we did with our next picture was to add paint to the tissue paper circles collage.  We stuck with the primary colors and used cardboard circles to stamp onto the contact paper sheet. You could also let your child paint over the tissue paper circles with a paint brush using the primary colors.  Remember to stop along the way to see what colors you are making by mixing your primaries together.  

Art with children is all about the process.  Let them explore art materials and express themselves. 

Friday Finds: Creative Art Article

I came across this great article from earlychildhoodnew.com and it had me at hello.

 Creative Art Activities Promote Development 

 The article starts off with an example of a young boy who drew a picture for his mother.  His excitement to show his mother his picture of buttercups was met by "what is it?" and a critique of what color he used.    

Reading the example you can feel the disappointment of the little boy.  But how many times do we often critique our own children's art work?  I know I've used the "what is it?" question.

The article explains the importance of the process of art work over the final product for young children.  A beautiful painting is not the goal for a child but rather to express, explore, experiment and be creative.

A great alternative to the "what is it question?" might be "can you tell me about your art work?".  This will not only show your child you are interested and place value in their artwork, it will also let you connect with them in a dialogue about their work.

The article goes on to discuss art promoting creativity, self- confidence, and how art teaches task analysis.  It outlines the stages of art development from 2-6 years old: 

• Ages 2 -3--scribbling. All children, regardless of their culture, make the same markings, in the same way at approximately the same age. 
•    Ages 2-4--scribbles take shape and look like circles, ovals, squares, triangles and crosses. 
• Ages 3-5--children begin to make designs from the shapes they have been drawing. 
• Ages 4-5--designs take on the form of people 
• Age 5-6--children are at the pictorial stage

I found it interesting regardless of their culture children make the same markings, in the same way at the approx. the same age.  Talk about a universal language! 

 The creative art, article, ends with saying creative art isn't for a specific time it should be a part of your child's everyday.  They included art materials list, art activity ideas and even recipes for play dough.  

So what's stopping you connect with your child and  EXPLORE ART!