Creating Visual Artists

PHASE 1: Awareness is the key

Awareness begins by noticing. First, we notice something and then we pay attention. Think how rich our lives would be if we went through our days expecting to discover.

What would it be like to have the spaces between your obligations and demands filled with expectations that caused you to exclaim: "Oh, look at that!" Young children naturally live in a world of anticipation. They expect everything to be interesting. But all too often adult short answers or no answer at all, blunts their interest. Let's look at how this plays out in two different scenarios.

A toddler sees a ball, walks toward it and picks it up. His parent says,

"Ball, ball, can you say ball?" and they continue to play with the ball.

Parent number two takes a different approach. She says:

"Oh, you found the ball!"
"Drop it, look at it bounce!"
"Can you roll it to me?"
"Can you toss it up in the air?"

This parent continues each activity for a few minutes, then moves on to:

"Let's look at your ball."
"It's a red ball."
"And it has polka-dots."
"Rub the ball and feel the bumpy dots."

Finally, she brings closure to the activity by saying:

"I think your ball is tired."
Let's put it in your toy box and let it rest."

Look how this series is rich in discovery and vocabulary. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. And in each of these phases, the child discovers what he can do and the effect this has. To begin with, he can find things. Then he can make the ball move in different ways. This is followed by his discovering of the ball's color and texture. This parent concludes the activity by introducing the ball's feelings. She has demonstrated the second essential component.

PHASE 2: Talk about it

For the toddler, the emphasis is on exploration. From age 2-3 his activity should be extended to include mastery of language and development of understanding. He doesn't just drop the ball, he stands on a chair and drops it and throws it down. He learns how this makes it bounce higher. He doesn't just roll the ball, he rolls it to achieve a goal such as knocking over a stack of blocks.

And he doesn't just put the ball in his toy box because it needs to rest, he puts it there because that is where it belongs. Now putting things away becomes the opposite of getting them out. Play involves the sequence get it out - play with it - put it away. Cause and effect. If you don't want to put it away, don't get it out.

We have come a long way from our toddler exploring with a ball. And this journey is essential. Visual arts involve a variety of materials and learning how to take care of them is an important part of the activity. It doesn't need to be work. You can make it fun-filled. Model joy in completing the task. Make it a game.

"I'll pick up one crayon, now you pick up one." You can enrich the child's learning by counting or naming the colors. With older preschoolers you can take it a step farther by asking them to think of something that is that color.

PHASE 3: Explore it

Our two-year-olds' ball activities introduce the third phase of artistic development. As a child's world expands and his vocabulary develops, he becomes capable of noticing and attending to more details. Young children naturally want to touch, handle and manipulate. Their play is a combination of mental and physical activity. Their exploration involves making relationships. They discover how things are connected and how one thing leads to another. This is why asking questions and encouraging your child to ask questions is essential. It makes exploration an exciting adventure. Let's look at an example of a parent and a four-year-old taking a walk.

Phase one, the child notices:

"Look, Mommy, here's an ant. Oh, there are lots of them."

Phase two - talk about it. The parent guides the child's exploration by asking questions like:

"What are they doing?"
"Where do you think they are going?"
"Why are they going there?"
"Where do they live?"
"Why do they make their home there?"
"What do they eat?"
"Where do you think they go in the winter?"

These are basic questions that can be used to explore other insects such as butterflies, bees or spiders or different kinds of animals. Anywhere and everywhere there is something to notice, attend to and explore.

Nature is a natural artist. Some common features with artistic qualities children can appreciate are:

• a spider web
• rays of sun shining through the clouds
• shadows of people and trees
• a full moon
• the design and color of a butterfly's wings
• the bark of a pine tree compared to an oak
• the size and colors of feathers
• autumn colors

These features emphasize mental exploration. Physical exploration is equally important. Young children need to move things. They need to manipulation them, take them apart, put them together, arrange them, stack them up and knock them down.

It's all about activity

For a young child, it's the "doing" that matters. Artistic expression begins with the child simply making marks. He is delighted to discover he can make marks on any surface. He will use anything available from a crayon to a spoonful of food. During the early years, drawing is all about manipulating materials in random fashion. This is referred to as scribbling. As the child's muscular control develops, his markings become more controlled and deliberate. Then one day, he begins to draw. His scribbles become symbols. And over time these become more recognizable. For example, when a child begins drawing, people will be expressed as circle heads with arms and legs. Later, the idea of a body develops and the head, arms and legs will be attached. At this stage of his development, your child may talk to himself while he is representing. It is essential that the ideas and the action come from your child. There are three things you should not do:

• Do not show him how to improve his drawing.
• Do not interfere with the process by asking questions or distracting him.
• Do not evaluate his product. He is practicing, so the emphasis is on the process and what he is learning by doing.

Because your child is expressing what is coming from within him, what he is doing has meaning for him and does not require additional input. It is essential for young children to learn to value their own creativity.

What you should do

Enrich your child's store of ideas and concepts. This gives him an abundance of things to express. Real experiences need to be extended and enhanced by reading. The art in children's book is inspiring and deserves focused attention. Talking about what the pictures portray and how they express the ideas in the story is an essential part of the reading experience. Remember, what your child is expressing is originating in his imagination. The picture he produces does not need to look like anything in the real world. Rather, it needs to look like his own unique expression.

Your young artist needs two things; something to express and a way to express it. This means he needs a variety of art materials. Children's art materials must match their developmental level. For young children this means using large markers or crayons on large sheets of paper. (The end rolls of newsprint may be obtained free from the local newspaper office.) Variety can be added by finger paints and using large children's paintbrushes or drawing on the driveway with sidewalk chalk. Children can draw on any outdoor surface by using a liquid dish detergent bottle filled with water. Sculpting with modeling clay or play dough provides another medium in which children can give form and expression to their ideas. As your child develops, encourage her creativity by providing her with a wide variety of tools and materials. A child can:

In addition to watercolors and poster paint let him try:

In addition to arts and crafts materials, nature provides a variety of interesting art material such as:

Flat and three-dimensional art objects can be created by combining:

• Paper or cardboard that has been cut, torn, bent or folded - then taped, glued, stapled or tied.
• Wood scraps of different sizes and shapes can be combined then given different features by adding objects and materials as:

Decorative three-dimensional works of art can be developed from:

These can be effectively decorated by using any of the materials listed above.
This wide variety of tools and materials represents possibilities. They suggest ways you and your child can explore, discover and express. Remembering this sequence is essential. Your child must first experiment with how things can be used. This will lead to the discovery of new ways to express his ideas and finally, to creating works of art. These processes involve:

• Exploring what can be done with different tools and by using the same tool in different ways.
  • What kinds of marks can it make?
  • How can it be used to put paint on a surface, move it around, spread it and make line, shapes and texture
• Experimenting with paint and color.
• Exploring how surfaces and tools interact with each other.
• Exploring different combinations of colors and materials.

Your child's exploration needs to be interwoven with other kinds of activities that can inspire his art. Going on a nature walk is a great idea. He can explore color, size and shape as well as collecting tools and materials. The suggestions in the Reading and Places to Experience portions of this website contain useful suggestions. And a visit to an Art Museum can be a stimulating experience.

Adventuring Out — A Museum Visit

A frequently asked question is, "When is a child old enough to take to an Art Museum?" The answer depends on the child, but six months may not be too early providing you keep the visit short. Whether the artwork is representational or abstract, children can react to color and shapes. As your child's vocabulary develops, so can your discussion about the art you are viewing. With representational work, you can talk about the subject matter in the painting and even create stories about the subject.

Talk about:

• bright colors versus dark colors
• wavy lines versus straight lines
• textures
• shapes
• shading and shadows
• how the artist used these elements to create moods
• Do some of the paintings seem happier or sadder than others and why
• Which paintings or sculptures are your favorites
• Which you don't like and what is there about these you don't like

An important thing for you to teach your child is that there are no right or wrong answers. Art is subjective. These are your opinions and your opinions can change with time or as you learn more about particular art or style. It is your responsibility to teach your child not to touch the artworks in the gallery. Pointing is OK, just keep those fingers from touching the art. Sometimes there are special sections in a museum for children to be able to touch art objects and sometimes there are opportunities to sit down and make art.

Other Resources

Books available in the Leon County Public Library can be very helpful to parents. Three examples of excellent art books are:

"I Am an Artist" by Pat Lowery Collins. With beautiful illustrations and few words, the book explores what being an artist means to a young child. It means watching the light change, finding a rainbow and running your fingers over the bark of a tree or a seed pod. It means looking at a bird until you feel feathery and at an orange until you know what it is like to be round. It means collecting things and making something out of them. You are an artist when you look closely at things and when you listen, search and see. (Call No. J 701.15 Col)

"The Little Hands Art Book" by Judy Press. The excellent illustrations and easy to follow directions explain how to guide your child through the exploration of materials and the completion of art projects. Geared toward children between the ages of two and six, dozens of projects involve the use of paper and cardboard, paint, clay and dough, markers, recycled and found art materials and homemade art supplies. (Call No. 702.8 PRE)

"Encouraging the Artist in Your Child" by Sally Warner. This book contains two parts. Part one is devoted to activities for ages 2-5 and part two, ages 6-10. Part one begins with an informative introduction followed by excellent descriptions of drawing, painting, collage, yarn art and sculpture. The Appendix contains useful lists of materials for each age, where to buy art materials and household items to save. The illustrations and explanations in the drawing section provide an excellent overview of the "scribbling" phase and the transition to "symbols". (Call No. 700 War)

The Leon County librarians have compiled an extensive list of "Picture Books about Art and Artists" available in the "Easy" section of the library. Ask for a copy of this list at the Youth Service Desk. A variety of children's art books are available in the "Junior" section under Call Numbers 701-709. The pleasant, ever helpful librarians will be glad to help you locate these resources.

Finally, be sure to look at the children's art on display in different areas of the library. Seeing the real thing can help you imagine what your child can do.