Nature Collage

Sketchbooks & Black, White and Gray

                                                      

Sketchbooks  are a wonderful place for young students to practice anything. In this case it is
drawing. The children will be able to draw in the sketchbooks and explore specific  things or
what they feel like doing. Basically they can feel free to make mistakes and become more confident with their skills. I am linking to a website discussing this. http://www.accessart.org.uk/sketchbook/
and http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

                           

                           

                     Painting with black takes lets the child focus on line and shape. Color can be distracting
at times. The children painted with black and then added white . They experienced that it made gray.

Nature Inspired

Our atelier is filled with goodies from my walks around town

and a recent trip to Connecticut. Pine cones of all sizes, bark from trees , acorns,dried flowers, wood stumps.
It's amazing how many interesting natural objects can be found in a large metropolitan city. One just has to go out to walk and look. The Pre-k artists did "observational drawings". Some wanted to trace. But, we  encouraged them to look at their nature item and try to draw what they see. This takes practice but  the more they do it the better they will get. I tell them that just like learning to whistle or blow a bubble, they must do in order to learn.

Fig Leave Printing

Printmaking  is a magical process for young artists( and old). The fig leave was painted with white paint and flipped over onto a natural brown paper. The printmakers
put a cover sheet over the leaf and knuckle-rubbed it.
The magic happens when they pull the print. Lifting up the leaf they see a print of the leaf.

Circles

Circles are abundent if your eyes are wide open.

The children explored ciclres on the light table and

tape on round plated. Their desire is to be able to cut the

tape on their own. As they practice their skills will build.

Each time they come to the atelier they are able to

move about choosing different areas to work. But, at two years old

they like sticking together.

Bobbles into a Face

A variety of items placed on the light table. All of the artists

squeezed around holding one thing. We went around the circle

as I asked the children to place their bobble down representing

a facial feature. Eyes,nose(two nostrils), ears, neck,

mouth ,head were the facial features. They added earrings, a hat,

hair and a necklace to it.

They then went and drew a picture and watercolored their

face. Just the beginning of explorations in seeing.