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Extending Creativity For Children Creative Resource for Teachers and Families
1 Introduction to Lismore Regional Gallery Staff & Programs
4 Discovery
Kids — the Great Explorers
8 Inspiration
Introducing Children to the World of Art
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14 Colour Theory
Red Yellow Green and Everything in Between
18 Art Terms
Key Words for Talking About Art
20 Activities
Fun Things to Make and Do
28 Resources
Information to help extend creativity
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Introduction to Lismore Regional Gallery: Staff & Programs
From the Director When I first started in this role, it quickly became evident there was a strong hunger for children’s programming at the Gallery. In 2011 we instigated the monthly Art Station program, which later morphed into Peggy Popart’s Chartered Tours. The benefits of these programs are many and varied. Essentially, of course, they are about providing children and their carers with a fun and educational experience, and an opportunity to understand, harness and express creativity. And we all know the many benefits that brings. But it also means kids feel like they ‘belong’ and are welcome here, and for the adults that are present (whether they are attending the program or not) it shows the Gallery off as an enlivened space and not a hushed, austere environment. For us who work in and frequent galleries, it can be easy to forget that for many others a visit to an art gallery can sometimes be a challenging experience. Through creating a space that is welcoming to young people, with interpretive material, events and programs that speak to them, we are creating an environment where everyone can feel that little bit more welcome. Brett Adlington Director, Lismore Regional Gallery
Acknowledgements Written by Claudie Frock for Lismore Regional Gallery. Design by rangestudio.com
This publication was supported by the NSW Government through Arts NSW.
ISBN: 978-0-9579312-8-2
Big thanks to all the children, families, educators, artists, community members, volunteers and staff for their participation and assistance in creating this book. Lismore Regional Gallery acknowledges the people of the Bundjalung nation, traditional custodians of the land on which we work.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
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Introduction to Lismore Regional Gallery: Staff & Programs
Our Lismore Regional Gallery Team Brett Adlington Gallery Director
Brett Adlington has been Director at Lismore Regional Gallery since early 2010. He has worked in the regional gallery sector for the past 15 years in positions in Townsville, Gold Coast and Lake Macquarie. He is currently President of Regional and Public Galleries Association of NSW. His role at Lismore is to oversee the strategic direction of the Gallery including programming, partnerships and funding. He also has 3 young kids so understands that parents are always seeking out opportunities to further their kids understanding of the world they inhabit.
Kezia Geddes Curator
Kezia Geddes has been Curator at Lismore Regional Gallery since May 2006. Prior to this she completed a Bachelor of Visual Art (Honours) at the Australian National University and a Master of Art Curatorship at the University of Melbourne. Curator means “a keeper or custodian” and in her role Kezia manages the Gallery’s ever-changing exhibition program. She puts exhibitions together so they can be appreciated by visitors to the Gallery and so the ideas behind the artworks and their context can be more easily understood. She also looks after the works in the exhibitions and in Lismore Regional Gallery’s permanent collection so they can exist well into the future.
Amy Miller Public Programs & Administration Manager
Amy Miller oversees the day-to-day running of the Gallery whilst assisting the Director and Curator. She manages openings events and public programs. Amy works with the Gallery’s volunteers to provide customer service to visitors. She develops promotional and marketing material and manages the gallery website and e-news. Amy is also an artist, she studied a Bachelor of Visual Arts at Southern Cross University with a major in painting and minor in graphic design.
Claudie Frock Learning Officer & Tour Guide Peggy Popart
Claudie Frock began work as Learning Officer at Lismore Regional Gallery at the beginning of 2013. Her role is to develop creative educational programs for the Gallery that extend the experience for schools and community organisations who are seeking to connect further with the Gallery. Also an artist and performer Claudie created the tour guide character Peggy Popart for the Gallery in 2012. Peggy Popart takes children on interactive tours of the Gallery. Claudie is passionate about nurturing and inspiring children’s creativity and appreciation of art and is always open to enquiries from educators and members of the community about ways to engage with and extend creativity.
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Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Introduction to Lismore Regional Gallery: Staff & Programs
Peggy Popart for Schools Tour Program at Lismore Regional Gallery In 2013 Lismore Regional Gallery was awarded a Young People grant from Arts NSW to provide guided tours for schools in our region. Lismore Regional Gallery played host to 30 tours and had over 800 school children and their educators visit us. This publication in part grew out of some of the wonderful exhibitions, activities and interactions from Peggy Popart for Schools Tour Program. This book has been designed for Educators and families to get ideas about how they can explore art with children. The team at Lismore Regional Gallery hope this book inspires you and your students/children to make, see and do more with art. Claudie Frock Learning Officer, Lismore Regional Gallery
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Miss Peggy Popart is the ultimate art tour guide. She is an encyclopaedia of knowledge, has a sharp wit and a banana phone to cross check her facts with artists and arts aficionados, living and not so living. Lismore Regional Gallery 131 Molesworth St, Lismore NSW 2480 | 02. 6622 2209 Go to lismoregallery.org for details and program updates or join our Facebook group Auslan Interpreted | Magnifier available Galleries 1, 2 & 3 and toilet are wheelchair accessible
Miss P’s themed exhibition tours and art activities for children take place monthly. 2ND SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH 10.30AM - 11.30AM Entry is free. Donations appreciated. The gallery also offers Peggy Popart for Schools Program Please contact Learning Officer claudie.frock@lismore.nsw.gov.au
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Discovery: Kids — the Great Explorers
Active Arty Kids The period of early childhood and primary school is a time when children’s sense of discovery and imaginations are wonderfully active, a perfect period of time for them to engage further with art.
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Discovery Kids — the Great Explorers
Art making and art investigation are great ways to stretch children’s imagination. It allows them to explore the world through their different senses and increases their motor and cognitive development. Art making and art appreciation also improves children’s visual literacy skills, their listening and comprehension as well as the more traditional literacy skills of reading and writing. Art allows children to develop different ways of expressing themselves, gain skills to represent the world around them and increase their confidence and self-esteem. Including physical activity into the art experience by linking play and exploration of the environment into art activities also makes for healthy active kids. Plus, art can also be a bundle of fun!
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
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“Children need the freedom to appreciate the infinite resources of their hands their eyes and their ears, the resources of forms, materials, sounds and colours.� Loris Malaguzzi Founder of the Reggio Emila Educational Approach
Discovery: Kids — the Great Explorers
The Great Explorers Children are Great Explorers. Allow them to guide you in creating art experiences that link their exploratory play time with art making. Allow them opportunities to discover the world with their different senses. Talk to them about the 5 senses:
Sight + Hearing + Touch + Smell + Taste
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Explore the differences between these senses in the environment around them. Discuss different colours they see: the colour of the sky as it changes throughout the day, the colours of leaves on the trees as the seasons change and the different colours of the clothes they are wearing. The textures they feel, such as fabric, bark, sand, rocks, water and wood. The different smells, sounds, tastes around them. How do they make them feel? What do they like or dislike about them? Make collections of objects children find at playtime such as stones, shells, leaves or stones — to draw, paint or make sculptural constructions. Create art experiences that extend out of play and the investigation of the playground into different art projects. Look at everyday things and artworks from different angles and places, from upside down laying on the floor, from the left side and the right, with one eye open and one eye closed. Mix it up and make it a fun game.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Inside Outside Upside Down » Sand play extends into sand paintings,
sand sculptures or archaeological mould making.
» The garden inspires drawings of
plants throughout their different life cycles.
» Favourite food inspires a drawing project, that expands into creating an illustrated menu for an imaginary restaurant. » Water play becomes a paper
marbling activity
» Exploring the park or playground
expands into rock painting and tree bark rubbings, pictures of bird’s nests, butterflies and other insects.
» And if it’s raining outside, those sticks, shells and recycled materials you collected with the kids are useful for creating dioramas, mobiles and sculptures. » An Artist who works with nature and
ephemeral art is Andy Goldsworthy. The photographs of his works can be used to inspire children to make art based on nature. You can find a web link in the resources section of this book.
Discovery: Kids — the Great Explorers
Kids, Arts and Open Ended Experiences Providing children with open ended art and learning experiences acknowledges children as capable to learn, imagine, create meaning express ideas and represent their own experiences. By encouraging children to lead the art play you are allowing them to explore problem solving and collaboration with others. It is also a wonderful opportunity for educators and carers to see how a child might create in their own unique way. Allowing you to see how you can support support a child’s wonderful individual artist. Open ended art experiences may include use of natural materials such as water, mud, sand, shells, sticks and other found objects that allow kids playful exploration. Creating spaces set up for art play that are non-proscriptive to an outcome provides kids a place to make and do under their own steam. Some of the artwork created may be ephemeral and not last forever but this is also a great way to explore the passing of time with children. Recording open ended art experiences through photographs, video or written accounts are an excellent way to capture the experience for your own records or for the children to engage in the artform of photography and review the experience later. Many artists who create ephemeral artworks photograph their work as record or to exhibit later
Before every Popart Tour at Lismore Regional Gallery, I like to start with some stretches and balancing games. I like to get tricky and ask the children to do some moves that cross the midline of their bodies, to really get both sides of the body and brain working together. I ask them to switch on their senses and get ready for the art experience and activities to come and to think of their senses and brains as a camera so they can record their experiences in the Gallery and recall them later.
» Look at Artist such as Andy Goldsworthy, Christo and Jeanne
Claude, Yoko Ono and Berndnaut Smilde to find out more about ephemeral art.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
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Inspiration: Introducing Children to the World of Art
Interesting Art
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Inspiration Introducing Children to the World of Art
One of the ways to children’s Art Heart is to ask them about their favourite things, their favourite sports, super heroes, books. The games they play, the music they listen to, their families and friends. By engaging children in conversation about the things they like, you are opening up a rich treasure chest of ideas and subject matter for children to make art about. And by making it a personal exploration of the child’s interest it also becomes an authentic experience of self-discovery for the child. Nurturing their creativity and self expression allows them to begin the journey of discovering and how they might represent themselves and in the world.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Inspiration: Introducing Children to the World of Art
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“Friedrich Froebel, the father of kindergarten, believed that young children should be involved in both making their own art and enjoying the art of others… making art and enjoying the art of other people and cultures are very important in young children’s learning and development.” Art in Early Childhood: Curriculum Connections, By Jill Englebright Fox, Ph.D., and Stacey Berry, M.Ed. Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Inspiration: Introducing Children to the World of Art
Roland Harvey, Illustration from his book, In the Bush: Our Holiday at Wombat Flat. Exhibited as part of Roland Harvey’s exhibition at Lismore Regional Gallery, 2012
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Introducing Children to Art
Book Book Books
Nurturing children’s appreciation of art is a great way to encourage their knowledge and love of many different art forms, artworks and artists. As well as exploring different cultures of the world and the way they see and represent themselves.
The first place many children experience art is in picture books. Introducing children to the concept that an artist/illustrator creates the pictures in a book is a great way to develop ideas around the kinds of jobs artist do and the different ways they are inspired to make art.
Children’s understanding of the world around them and their own creative process can be extended through the use of reproductions of artworks in the form of posters on walls, pictures from books, the internet, exhibition catalogues and models of artwork from around the world and throughout history. Allow the children to choose artworks they want to put up on the walls. Open up discussions about the artworks and how the children feel about them. Create a gallery space for the children to exhibit their own artworks as they create them throughout the year. Label works and allow students to act as curators discussing where they might like their artwork to hang. Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Telling stories with pictures and linking pictures to words and meaning are stepping stones towards important visual literacy and listening skills in young children. A project where children make picture books, telling their own stories and creating the drawings harnesses imagination and creativity and supports the development of motor skills and cognitive skills of concentration and decision making. By creating a place in your home or school’s library for these books to sit and be shared, children can develop a sense of pride about the work they have created.
Inspiration: Introducing Children to the World of Art
Peggy Popart and children at the exhibition of Roland Harvey, Lismore Regional Gallery 2012. Photographs: Natsky
We All Are Art Experts
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Children use their senses to experience art in a myriad of different ways. The feelings and ideas that come to children when they engage with artworks guide their unique interpretations.
they like or are interested in. Whether it be within a gallery/ museum setting or when looking at artworks in the home or classroom.
As they become more aware of the world around them and begin to develop a greater sense of themselves and their place in the world, connecting with art allows them opportunities to see how others represent the world.
Here are some examples:
By encouraging children to talk about the feelings they have when they engage with an artwork and scaffolding the experience with use of prompting questions and some key art terms (see the Art Terms section of this booklet for key terms) you are helping them to build a vocabulary around art, develop self-expression and build confidence in their understanding and interpretation of the world around them. For example a great way to scaffold or support the art appreciation experience is to ask children to choose an artwork
» Talk with the children about why they choose a
particular artwork. » Was it the colours? The subject matter? The materials used
by the artist? » Did it remind them of someone or something? » Have they ever seen another artwork similar to it? » If they were to create an artwork about the same subject how would they choose to make it? » What materials or methods would they use?
Drawing? Painting? Sculpture? Printmaking? Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Inspiration: Introducing Children to the World of Art
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Peggy Popart and children at the exhibition of Steven Giese, Pictures that Think, Lismore Regional Gallery 2012. Photographs: Natsky
Extending understanding and appreciation of art in young children There are many books and websites that have interesting material on helping children to gain an understanding of art and its meanings. Look in the resources section of this book for material to explore more about art appreciation with the children. Lismore Regional Gallery has developed the Peggy Popart art tours for the very reason of engaging children in the art experience. Also Lismore Regional Gallery now has an online archive of our past exhibitions if you would like to look at further images from our collection or past exhibitions. Many galleries big and small have excellent children’s programs that also provide associated website access and activities.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Inspiration: Introducing Children to the World of Art
I find the best way to engage kids in a conversation about art is to ask them to choose their favourite artwork on the wall at the Gallery. Let’s pretend this image opposite by Australian artist Thea Proctor, The Tame Bird was chosen by one of the children in your group.
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Give them a little background information Explain that this artwork is an etching, a printmaking technique that is made by scratching into a metal plate or using acid to corrode away areas on the metal plate to create the image and then applying ink to the print plate, and printing onto paper or some other surface.
Ask them some Questions about the artwork » What do you like about this picture? » How many people can you see in it? » Who do you think the people in the picture are? » Do you think they are a family? » What animal can you see in the picture? » Where do you think the people are in the picture? » What are they doing in the picture?
Thea Proctor, The Tame Bird, etching, 1916
art activity Ask children to think of a time they had an outing in nature with their family or friends, such as a day at the beach or a picnic. Ask them to draw a picture from memory or a photograph of this event in black and white pencil or graphite (lead pencil) on white paper to get the same kind of graphic quality that Thea Proctor’s print has. Image: Thea Proctor, The Tame Bird, lithograph, 1916 — kindly donated by Elsin Carter. This work was exhibited as part of The New Charge — Australian Women Modernists exhibition at Lismore Regional Gallery 2013
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Colour Theory: Red Yellow Green and Everything in Between
Colour theory is an exciting concept and It’s good to introduce it in terms of things that children experience in their everyday lives. The colours of the foods they eat, the sky, the grass, the colour of their clothes, and favourite toys.
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Colour Theory Red Yellow Green and Everything in Between
Rainbows The Rainbow is a perfect way to introduce ideas about colour. There are so many songs and story books that talk about rainbows, that there is an endless supply material to work with and let’s face it — we all love a rainbow. Rainbows are created when light is refracted through water, producing an arch of the colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. You can create rainbows by spraying water with a spray bottle by a sunny window or using a hose on a sunny day during children’s water play or gardening time. Rainbow paintings are also a great way to introduce the concept of colour mixing. Starting with the Primary colours talk with the children about how they can make the colours of the rainbow by mixing the primary colours together.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Colour Theory: Red Yellow Green and Everything in Between
The Primary & Secondary Colours
Colours & Colour Mixing
Introduce the concept of Primary and Secondary colours to young children by naming the colours around them and talking about how the Primary Colours of Red, Blue and Yellow can be mixed together to create the secondary colours of Green, Orange and Purple.
Primary Colours
Begin a painting exercise with just the primary colours made available to the children in your class group. Ask them to mix different colours together to see what colours they can create. Later down the track ask children to make different tones of colour with black and white and lighter or darker colours mixed together, to create different hues.
Yellow
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» Ask the children make a Primary Colour Picture
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+
+
=
=
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Orange
Green
Purple
Preston, Vincent Van Gogh, Yayoi Kusama, Mirka Moira. (See resources page for links to these artists)
colour activity with the theme of food.
Blue
Secondary Colours
» Artists to look at for colour in art: Henri Matisse, Margaret
Red
Tones
» Ask them to name 3 fruits — one that is yellow,
one red and one blue.
» Ask the children to paint these fruits using their
primary colours.
» Extend this activity to a Secondary Colour Picture
using Green, Purple and Orange fruits.
Black
White
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Colour Theory: Red Yellow Green and Everything in Between
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The Colour Wheel
Colourful Meanings
Colour wheels can show you how colours mix together. They are a great tool to have in the class room for you and children to look at. They can also help children understand how colours can work together in artworks, complementing each other to make harmonious work or working against each other to create interesting tension.
Colours can represent many different states of emotion. We talk about feeling blue, being red with anger and green with envy.
» Complementary Colours lay exactly opposite each other on
the colour wheel. Such as blue and red, yellow and purple.
» Harmonious Colours are closely related hues that sit next to
each other on the colour wheel.
For example orange and green are harmonious colours as they both sit either side of yellow on the colour wheel.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Talk with children about what different colours mean to them. » What is their favourite colour? » Which colour makes them feel happy?
Colour is used in particular ways in society. We have red danger signs and green lights mean go and road workers wear bright yellow vests. Open up discussions with children about how and why different colours are used in these ways.
Colour Theory: Red Yellow Green and Everything in Between
Encourage children to mix colours together, naming the colours as they are mixed. Talk with them about their favourite colours, about the colours of things in the classroom or playground. Colour experiments such as dropping food colouring into jars of water are a lovely way to see how different colours mix together. This exercise can also assist numeracy skills, with the measuring and counting of drops. Another exercise is to use colour cellophane on the windows of your classroom or home to layer and make new colour mixes.
a colour activity
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Flags
Extension Activity
Different countries and cultures use colours in many varied ways. An art project based on the flags of other countries is an interesting way to look at colour while including a wider theme of cultural difference.
Children create their own personal flags of the country where they are the Queen or King.
Ask children to choose a country and its flag to make.
This activity can expand into story-telling and other art based activities, such as collage, painting and drawing.
Using books, maps and atlases to look at the flags of other countries, they can recreate the flag they have chosen on fabric or paper, choosing from art materials such as paint, crayons or pencils. Later they can fly their flags somewhere in the classroom or playground. This activity can also work within a wider theme of cultural difference and help children to learn about other countries of the world. It could extend into looking at national dress, different foods and cultural practices as well as the different geography of the countries.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Art Terms: Key Words for Talking About Art
Elements and Principles of Art Line: Lines are the first element of art and are continuous marks that are made on any surface with a moving point. Lines can be used in various ways to create different compositions. A line is a simple element that defines the shape of a two-dimensional piece of art. Different types of lines are vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved or straight in addition to either thin or thick. Tone: The degree of lightness or darkness in an artwork. Value: The value refers to the changes in the base colour. This is also determined by how much light is reflected or absorbed by any surface. Values mean the various intensities of the tones or colours. Lightness and darkness also known as tints and shades are essential elements in defining a work of art. Colour: Always has three characteristics, which are hue, value, and the intensity. Hue means the shades, value refers to the lightness or the darkness and intensity refers to the brightness or dullness of the work of art.
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Art Terms Key Words for Talking About Art
Form: A form typically has three dimensions; length, width, and height. Examples of such would be cubes, pyramids, spheres or even cylinders. Therefore, form has depth as well as height. Sculptures and decorative arts serve as good examples for form. Texture: The texture is the quality of a surface or the way a work of art is represented. There are three kinds of basic textures; actual, simulated, and the invented texture. Lines and shading can be used to create different textures. For example, if one is portraying certain fabrics, one needs to give the feeling of the right texture so that it closely resembles what the artist is trying to convey. Shape: A shape always has two dimensions, length as well as width. This is represented as an enclosed area that is defined by colour, value, space, texture and form. When lines come together, they form shapes. Shapes can be geometrical, rectangles, ovals, squares, etc. Space: is the creation of visual perspective and this gives the illusion of depth. Space can also mean the way an artist uses the area within the plane of the picture. Real space is actually three-dimensional. The way an artist uses the combination of positive and negative space can have a great effect on the entire composition. Three-dimensional space can be created with the help of shading and perspective to give a feeling of depth. Composition: The placement or arrangement of elements in an artwork.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Art Terms: Key Words for Talking About Art
Mediums & Materials
Different Subject Matter or Genres in Art
Painting: an artwork that uses paint or ink to make an image. Usually paint is applied with a paint brush but sometimes people use their hands, sticks, spray cans or other tools to apply the paint.
A Portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic image of a person, especially one showing the face and its expression as the main focus.
Print: a form of visual art in which a mark or impression is made in or on a surface by using pressure. Artists put ink onto the surface of a piece of wood, printing linoleum or metal etching plate that has been scratched or cut into, then press onto paper to make a print. We can also make prints with our hands or our feet they are called handprints or footprints. Drawing: a form of visual art that uses any number of drawing instruments to make marks on a surface such as paper. Tools you could use to draw include graphite, pencils, pens, charcoal, chalk and pastels.
A Still Life artwork is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic image that displays mostly inanimate subject matter (something that is not alive). Still life artworks often feature everyday objects which may be either natural or man-made. Such as flowers, shells, teapots, glasses, bowls and fruit. A Landscape can be a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic image of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, forests, paddocks and hills.
Sculpture: a three-dimensional work of art made by carving, modelling, casting, building or constructing with various materials, such as clay, stone, wood, cardboard and found objects.
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Photograph: an image created with a camera device, made by light falling on a light-sensitive surface. Photographs can also be produced through a process of digital photography that uses an array of electronic photo-detectors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. Mixed Media: in visual art, refers to an artwork in the making of which more than one medium has been employed. Such as an artwork that combines collage and drawing. New Media: is a genre that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, video games, computer robotics, and art as biotechnology.
Definitions sourced from: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/elements-of-art.html & http://drawsketch.about.com/od/drawingglossary/g/tone.htm
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Activities: Fun Things to Make and Do
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Arts Activities Fun Things to Make and Do See the resources section of this booklet for internet links on step-by-step instructions of these activities.
‘Young children feel a sense of emotional satisfaction when they are involved in making art, whether they are modelling with clay, drawing with crayons, or making a collage from recycled scraps. This satisfaction comes from the control children have over the materials they use and the autonomy they have in the decisions they make. Deciding what they will make and what materials they will use may be the first opportunity children have to make independent choices and decisions.’ Art in Early Childhood: Curriculum Connections Jill Englebright Fox, Ph.D., and Stacey Berry, M.Ed.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Activities: Fun Things to Make and Do
Setting up a Gallery Setting aside a gallery space in your classroom for students or children at home to display their artwork, develops a sense of pride and self-esteem for children around the artwork they create. It is also a great way to teach children about galleries and the ways art is exhibited. You could visit a local art gallery to see the ways that curators hang artworks on the walls or place sculptures and other kinds of artwork within the gallery space. Have children give their works a title and create labels with artist statements. Make frames from black or coloured cardboard, buy or collect frames (put a call out to families and the community for old frames) that can be used to temporarily frame artworks till they are taken home by the children or changed exchanged for different artworks. Hold an annual exhibition for families and friends of the children’s favourite artworks of the year, curated by the children.
Setting up an Art Space
Your Brain is a Camera. An exercise to enhance children’s visual memory. Ask children to use their senses and brain like a camera to record events that you would like them to remember for later art activities. Encourage the children to use all their sense organs to record events or re-call memories, for example sounds they hear, textures they feel, smells they experience and things they see.
In your classroom art area or at home set up an accessible art station for children where they can make choices about the materials they will use to create their artworks.
Recently at the Lismore Regional Gallery’s exhibition of the Northern Rivers Portrait Prize, during the Peggy Popart Tour, I asked the kids to lie down on the ground, close their eyes and think about someone very important to them.
Your art station might have a selection of different art materials or be changed as you do different projects and to give students a choice of different materials to use.
I asked them to imagine what they looked like, their face, clothes, how tall they were, the colour of their hair and the fine details of the person.
It may be a shelf, table or trolley, stocked with paper, and drawing materials. Magazines and coloured papers, fabric, glue and scissors for collage. Recycled boxes and other materials for creating sculptures. Paint, ink, brushes and other painting tools. As well as assorted found objects and materials, such as bark, rocks, sticks, and leaves to incorporate into art making activities.
I then asked them to take a picture with their Brain Camera of the person in their head. Later the kids recalled the memory and made a portrait of this important person. You could use this exercise to start a portrait or self-portrait project, a landscape or still life painting activity.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
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Activities: Fun Things to Make and Do
Activities based on Art Genres Portraits » Ask children to draw or paint a picture of one of their friends
or family members. The friend or family member can model for the artist or they might prefer to use a photograph.
» Offer different kinds or art materials, such as pencils, ink, paint, chalk and oil pastels. The children will gain an understanding of how different art materials can create different images, moods and finishes.
Other Fun Things to Make and Do Create a Collagraph
Landscape » Create a landscape painting or drawing of a place the
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children have visited or take the children outside and have them draw the landscape around them. Talk with them about the different things they see around them, the colours, textures and sizes. » Children can also create a landscape collage using cut outs
from magazines creating an imaginary landscape from different pictures being stuck together.
Still life » Set up a still life scene on a table in your classroom or home.
You can use different objects such as pots and pans, flowers in a vase and cups and saucers.
» Ask the children to draw these objects, they can choose
what angle or direction they want to start their drawing from.
» Ask them to look the different colours, the angles and
shapes the objects make together. Talk to them about the way the light hits the objects, reflects or casts shadows. Representing reflection and shadows in still life paintings or drawings shows viewers the 3 dimensional aspects of the objects in the still life set up.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
A collagraph is a very simple form of printing that uses collage techniques to produce a textured surface on a flat plate that is then inked and printed onto another surface. It is a project that takes a number of steps and processes and can happen over a few sessions. It is a good way to introduce children to the art of printmaking. Children can use materials they have collected in the playground or different textured materials available in your art materials supply. You can use recycled cardboard or plywood as the collagraph surface and craft glue to stick on the textured materials. When the glue has dried, a teacher should lacquer the surface or paint with some layers of watered down craft glue to seal the surface. When surface has dried children can roll water based ink onto the collagraph and make prints onto pieces of paper. The collagraph boards are also great for using as texture boards for children to learn about different textures and sensations. They are also an excellent tool for turning visual artworks into textural representations for children who may have a visual impairment or other sensory disabilities.
Activities: Fun Things to Make and Do
Collograph
Scratch Board
Heads Bodies and Legs
Make your own Scratch Board Create your own scratchboard with your class. Using card ask the children to colour the card in with different coloured oil pastels like a rainbow of colours. When they are finished, they can paint the surface of the card with some black poster or acrylic paint that you have added a little washing up liquid to. (A foam brush or roller is best to use but a soft bristle paint brush will also work) When the black paint has dried the children can start scratching the paint surface off to unveil the colour underneath. Provide them with scratching tools that have different widths and shapes, so that they can create different kinds of lines and textures in their drawing. You can guide the students’ drawing with a theme or let the children free draw.
Heads Bodies and Legs Two or more players take turns in drawing a head, a body, and a pair of legs, without letting the other player see them. The point of the game is the fun of seeing the resulting pictures. Each player starts with a blank piece of paper — A4 paper is fine. Each player begins by drawing a head in the top third of the sheet, and then folds over the paper so just the neck is showing. The players then exchange pieces of paper, taking care not to let the other player see their drawing. Players then draw a body in the centre third of the paper, joining the neck lines, folding over the paper so just the legs are showing. Again, the players exchange pieces of paper. Each player draws legs and feet, joining the leg lines, and folds the paper so nothing is visible. Finally, after exchanging again, each player opens their piece of paper to reveal the whole drawing. Variations. An amusing addition is to add an extra stage in which each player folds the page to leave a blank strip at the bottom of the paper. After exchanging, each player writes a name for the drawing in the blank space. Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
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Inspiration: Introducing Children to the World of Art
DUO: learning the ropes 2014 studio shots. From left to right: Jesse Mackintosh & Corey Bruggy, Joanna Kambourian & Audrey Bush, Christine Willcocks & Katie Hunter, Michelle Dawson & Lucy Murray, Michael Moynihan & Alby Moran. All images Michael Moynihan & Alby Moran, Michael & Alby photograph by Katie Hunter
DUO Learning the ropes mentoring program, 2014
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In 2014 we ran an art mentoring program for children and young people culminating in an exhibition. Pairs spent 4 months working together, sharing knowledge and creating amazing artworks. Artists Michelle Dawson and Lucy Murray (7), Christine Willcocks and Katie Hunter (11), Joanna Kambourian & Audrey Bush (11), Jesse Mackintosh & Corey Bruggy (12), Michael Moynihan & Alby Moran (14) worked together in the artist’s studios creating prints, paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs that explored their common interests and shared skills. It was wonderful to see young people learn new skills, gain confidence and create outstanding works of art, while professional artists communicated how DUO gave them opportunity to engage in the play of art and see their work in a new light. Strong connections and artworks were produced for the final exhibition. Activities to encourage collaboration and intergenerational exchange » Create activities that encourage collaboration and side by side work. This is a great way for kids to learn through osmosis and be
inspired by those around them.
» Invite artists in your family or community to do projects or activities with your class or children. » Ask children to collaborate on a group work, such as a mural. » Play drawing games like ‘heads, bodies and legs’ (page 23) requiring 3 people to work together. » Nominate a child to bring an artwork to school, scaffold questions for the child about the artwork then ask others to make their
own artwork inspired by the work.
» Invite Aboriginal elders and artists from your region to talk to your class about the art and stories of your region. » Visit your local Gallery and learn about different artists and how they create artworks. Try experimenting with the artists’
techniques and styles.
» Look at programs such as the Reggio Emilia-Atlelier program which engages atelierista, a “teacher” with an arts background in
residence within the preschool setting.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Inspiration: Introducing Children to the World of Art
Peggy Popart, Tuntable Falls Community School
Peggy Popart, Tuntable Falls Community School
Peggy Popart, photograph: Abby Turner
Not Quite Square The Story of Northern Rivers Architecture Exhibition, 2013 Not Quite Square was an exhibition of photographs, film, mementos and stories of alternative home owner builders of the Northern Rivers from the 1970s onwards. The exhibition included a space for young people and the general public to draw on the walls and leave messages about their life in the Northern Rivers region and a space to building model houses from cardboard, recycled objects and craft materials. Some models created by children had water tanks, solar panels and some futuristic inventions. After visiting Tuntable Falls Community School, students were inspired to create structures from recycled materials in their playground. Activity: Design your Dream Home Materials: Paper, drawing materials, scissors, cardboard, sticky tape » Discuss with children the homes they live in. » Did their family build or design their house? What are their houses made from? What does their home look like? » Introduce the concept of architects, designers, blueprints and design plans. Stick up pictures of different houses in your art space. » Talk about the different materials people build their homes with. Look at environmentally friendly renewable materials and energy
saving designs.
» Ask children to describe what their dream home would look like. It might be a futuristic house or environmentally friendly house built
from renewable materials.
» Ask children to draw their dream home and then build a model of their home. Materials such as aluminium foil make for great solar
panels, toilet rolls create excellent water tanks. Cellophane can be used to make beautiful stain glass windows and paddle pop sticks are great for giving the house a wood finish.
» Exhibit the dream houses in a special place in your art room.
This exercise can also assist in the development of cognitive skills such as it incorporates shape and spatial recognition, construction, memory and mapping skills. It also helps to develop personal decision making skills while engaging children’s imaginations. Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
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Activities: Fun Things to Make and Do
Image: Karla Dickens, Forever in my arms (detail), 2008
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In Loving Memory Karla Dickens, 2008 Collage/ Painting/Mixed Media Contemporary Indigenous artist Karla Dickens lives and works in the Northern Rivers. She is a mixed media artist who creates colourful artworks with fabric, paper, beads, glue, and paint on canvas and board. She also weaves fabric and other materials together to create sculptural works. Her work told stories of important life moments. A Drawing and Collage of a Happy Memory Ask children to think about a happy memory in their life and draw a picture of this time on a piece of paper with coloured pencils. They may also want to write or tell the story of the happy memory or have you write it for them. Children then make a collage version of this picture, using images cut from magazines, coloured papers, fabric, beads and found natural materials such as bark and feathers.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Activities: Fun Things to Make and Do
Image: Warren Thomas, Box World, 2011
Box World
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Warren Thomas, 2011 Sculpture This exhibition showed the artwork of Warren Thomas who spent two years building a model city out of boxes; using recycled and found objects he constructed and painted. His amazing Box World included shops, roads, signs and cars and covered the floor and viewers towered over the box city like giants gazing upon a detailed miniature city. Make a Box World Ask children to construct their own town from boxes, recycled and found materials. They can paint and draw signs, make cars, people and animals. They could add elements from their own home town and make their own house and suburb. This is a great ongoing project that can be added to over time. This activity can be beneficial for a child’s gross and fine motor-skills through the use of tools such as scissors, paint brushes and pencils and engaging different building and construction techniques. Talk with children about shapes, colours and the way they work together to create different structures. This exercise can also assist in the development of cognitive skills such as it incorporates shape and spatial recognition, construction, memory and mapping skills. It also helps to develop personal decision making skills while engaging children’s imaginations.
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Resources: Information to help extend creativity
Activities described in this booklet Portraits: » http://www.examiner.com/article/self-portraits-for-kids » http://www.tolerance.org/lesson/painting-beauty-creating-self-portraits Box World: » http://www.education.com/pdf/recycled-box-city/ Collage: » http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/collagesartscraftsideasprojectskids.html Fabric Collage: » http://victoriarestrepo.com/2013/02/12/art-project-for-kids-how-to-make-a-fabric-collage/ Collagraph: » http://huggerboo.typepad.com/hugger-boo/2010/09/collagraph-capers-1.html » http://www.swanseaprintworkshop.org.uk/printmakingprocesses/collagraph.htm » http://www.californiapapergoods.com/collograph_printing.shtml Scratchboard art: » http://www.craftprojectideas.com/index.php/how-to/rainy-day-projects/1213-make-your-own scratch-art
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Resources Information to help extend creativity
Crayon Scratch Drawing: » http://littleartmonkeys.com/Projects/Drawings/CrayonScratch1/CrayonScratch1.php Heads Bodies and Legs: » http://www.papg.com/show?1TNH » http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/make-your-own/animal-maker Printmaking: » http://m.pinterest.com/lcancelleri/children-s-art-printmaking/
Other Activities Styrofoam Printing: » http://www.kinderart.com/printmaking/styro.shtml Leaf Rubbings: » http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/Nature/Leaf_Rubbings/Leaf_Rubbings.html Wax Crayon Rubbings: » http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/26965/wax-rubbing Painting with Marbles: » http://www.ehow.com/how_2193973_marble-painting-kids.html Marbling: » http://www.show.me.uk/site/make/Art-and-Design/STO953.html Salt dough sculpture: » http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/27718/salt-dough » http://www.incredibleart.org/lessons/early/grade_level.html » http://www.letthechildrenplay.net/
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
Resources: Information to help extend creativity
Colour theory: » http://www.kidscraftweekly.com/colour_issue.html » http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory » http://www.ehow.com/about_5366742_color-theory-kids-terms.html » http://www.perpetualpreschool.com/preschool_themes/colors/colors_science.htm Colour meanings: » http://www.mariaclaudiacortes.com/colors/Colors.html » http://pinterest.com/pin/190417890466589481/ Colour template: » http://lauraspector.hubpages.com/hub/Color-Theory-Made-Easy Colour wheel templates: » http://www.mrprintables.com/printable-color-wheel.html » http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/cellophaneartscraftstideaskids.html » http://mamaslittlemuse.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/cd-color-spinner-basic-color theory.html » http://2me4art.com/2012/03/23/sophies-art/ » http://makezine.com/2011/02/07/lego-color-wheels/ » http://lawnim19artisticfreedom.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Primary%20colors » http://lawnim19artisticfreedom.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/love-winter-or-want summer-tint-lesson.html Suggested Artists for colour studies: » Henri Matisse http://www.henri-matisse.net/ » Mirka Mora http://www.moragalleries.com.au/mirka.html » Margaret Preston http://www.margaretpreston.info/ » Vincent Van Gogh http://www.vangoghgallery.com/ » Yayoi Kusama http://www.yayoi-kusama.jp/ http://interactive.qag.qld.gov.au/looknowseeforever/ Suggested artist for art activities based on Nature — Andy Goldsworthy: » http://www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html » http://www.treehugger.com/culture/top-5-environmental-artists-shaking-up-the art-world.html Ephermeral art » http://mairtownkindy.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/ephemeral-art.html » http://www.freycinet.com.au/ephemeral_art/ » http://www.thatcreativefeeling.com/ephemeral-art-what-a-beautiful-thing/ Elements of Art: » http://www.buzzle.com/articles/elements-of-art.html » http://drawsketch.about.com/od/drawingglossary/g/tone.htm » http://art.pppst.com/elements.html » http://shingle.scholastic.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ Arts Education Articles and Websites » http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view. aspx?ArticleID=509 » http://www.uq.edu.au/campuskindy/Reggio_Emilia_for_parents.pdf » http://www.artistsatthecentre.ca/project.html » http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/34998/65037_1. pdf?sequence=1
» http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/every_child_magazine/every_child_ index/new_evidence_linking_the_arts_and_learning_in_early_childhood.html » http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=113 » https://sites.google.com/site/earlychildhooddiscovery/children-arts-development/ children-cognitive-development-through-art » http://www.reggioaustralia.org.au/ » http://www.reggiochildren.it/activities/atelier/?lang=en » http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/01/26/montessori-inspired-art-appreciation/ » http://www.newchildmontessori.com/monart.html » http://www.openwaldorf.com/art.html » http://artexperiencesfortots.wordpress.com/ » http://theimaginationtree.com/
Featured Artist Websites: Karla Dickens » http://karladickens.com.au/ Warren Thomas » http://www.boxworld.com.au/index.php?p=1_2 Roland Harvey » http://rolandharvey.com.au/ Natsky Photographs » http://www.natsky.com.au/photos
Gallery Websites Lismore Regional Gallery » www.lismoregallery.org Tweed Regional Gallery » tweed.nsw.gov.au/artgallery Grafton Regional Gallery » www.graftongallery.nsw.gov.au National Gallery of Australia » nga.gov.au NSW Art Gallery » www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art » www.qagoma.qld.gov.au Museum of Contemporary Art Australia » www.mca.com.au MOMA (Museum Of Modern Art) New York » http://www.moma.org/interactives/destination/# » http://www.moma.org/learn/kids_families/apps_websites#course100
Extending Creativity for Children Lismore Regional Gallery
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The Hundred Languages of Children Loris Malaguzzi Founder of the Reggio Emilia Approach.
The child is made of one hundred. The child has a hundred languages a hundred hands a hundred thoughts a hundred ways of thinking of playing, of speaking. A hundred. Always a hundred ways of listening of marvelling, of loving a hundred joys for singing and understanding a hundred worlds to discover a hundred worlds
to invent a hundred worlds to dream. The child has a hundred languages (and a hundred hundred hundred more) but they steal ninety-nine. The school and the culture separate the head from the body. They tell the child: to think without hands to do without head to listen and not to speak to understand without joy to love and to marvel only at Easter and at Christmas.
They tell the child: to discover the world already there and of the hundred they steal ninety-nine. They tell the child: that work and play reality and fantasy science and imagination sky and earth reason and dream are things that do not belong together. And thus they tell the child that the hundred is not there. The child says: No way. The hundred is there.
