Is it the positive or the negative?

This week we had fun with felt tipped pens or Koki's as we call them in South Africa. The children could choose any container to draw. We draw them first in pencil to get the shape and then each child chose one colour ( and their shades or tints) to decorate the back ground or negative space. These were the end results. Enjoy!! I think they are great.

 I loved this one. The boy who draw this chose glass containers and you can see how he made them look transparent!

 These are all part way through!! The more the artist added colour and pattern, the more the positive space - the container stood out.

 Words as pattern worked well and were fun!!

 This is my four year old champ. He is a delight to have in the class. He observes carefully and works with such care. What a great little picture!!

 These are also part way through. Older girls who really got stuck into the pattern process. Wow!!!

Let your shoes do the walking

 This week we celebrated The Shoe!! These are our beautifully executed drawings in coloured pencil.

 The Children each chose their own shoe style and using the 'ant walking along the shoe idea', they set to work.

 These are some of their creations. They also included some fun and experimental words and the odd leg appeared too!!

 I think these are really great shoes. They are very carefully drawing with care taken on observing details like shoe lace eyes and stitching. Well done!!

The Starry, Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh

 This week's art lesson involved taking a good look at Vincent van Gogh. What an interesting , sad man he was. Do you know he only sold one painting in all of his life time.

 The children had an opportunity to mix and spread paint in the style of Van Gogh. Although he worked in oils and we worked in acrylic, the end results were splendid.

 See for yourself!

 One of the pleasures I get in teaching art to children is watching them begin to explore. One young man really began to thoroughly enjoy mixing his colours together and creating new ones on his pallet.

 The forgroung and background created some problem solving as we only used a limited pallet.

 Some of the children that painted these are 5 and 6 and one is only 4. Others are 11. The end results are beautiful.

What a great art time we had.

The Spiral

This week saw the first art lesson of the year. We began in pencil. I have small groups at The Studio - no more than 8 and the children rage in age from 6 -12. This year I have a budding 5 year old in the group.

 We talked about spiral shapes in nature and then played a bit with the different hardness of pencil. Then off we went.....

 learning to really observe is a huge part of the way I encourage children to 'do' art. Switching the eyes back on to draw what we really see and not what they think they know, is a very real part to these lessons.

 This child was fed up with his spiral although it was turning out really beautifully, and so he switched to an insect drawing.aaah. much better!!

 Another insect emerging from its lava. The different use of pencil here is great.

 This little girl is 6 and she really began to grasp the idea of shading and creating a shape within a shape. Beautiful!!

 The process of creating a work of art is the beautiful, learning part of the art lesson. The parents get to see the end product which are in themselves really lovely, but the process that the child took to get there, is the exciting bit for me as the teacher. The planning and starting process is often the most difficult and a child might take forever to settle on the right spiral to use as information for their work.

 Then the boldness and bravery it takes to begin to put the pencil marks onto the paper often take real courage.

 There is the temptation to begin to 'stop looking carefully' that might defeat a few and so I really need to help these children press on and so really perseverance is developed.

 Confidence is the friend we hope to grow in each child as they have fun and enjoy trying new things.

 One child asked me ,' did I do good, Caren?' and this is the real question that most children ask of the adults around them. 'Did I do good?' . I love that these art classes are really a way for children to experience doing good and feeling good about themselves.

 Enjoy these works of art just as I have.