faculty answers links registrationhome
 |
North Seattle Community College
Early Childhood Education Tempera Paint and Clay |
Nancy Smith wrote a book called Experience and Art. Her system gives children yellow, red, blue, black and white paint, a mixing tray, sponge, water cup, and choices of bristle brushes. I was somewhat skeptical at first. No longer. This is awesome.
I draw a chart of a paint setup. A portion cup of each color, a small plastic tray (about 8" by 5" is about right, but you can use anything that will enable the kids to carry their portions of each color), a cut sponge so they can control water amounts in their brush, brushes. At least 80 pound drawing paper because you have to have weight to carry the water. You have to have bristle brushes. No camel ones. The individual pieces of the color, although small, are too big for camel brushes. That works out to about 4 to 5 cents per sheet for 12 x 18. Children can care for paper when they know the cost of each sheet. Parents can contribute when they know the materials are for their child and are of quality.
I expect children to get their own paints, clean their own place, and restore their materials. This is not the teacher's job. "If you want to do art, then you take on being a member of the studio." This is not crafty, do-what-the-adult-says. This is art. This is discovery of yourself, discovery of the medium, discovery of communication, and very personal. Nobody understands. Not the looker or the maker.
I play Chopin so the music helps eliminate the need for the extroverts to keep talking in order to ground themselves.
The works dry on the floor. Anywhere. Then they are posted without names. I, as teacher, make sure each has penciled their name on the back BEFORE they start. That is what artists do when they share space.
Here is a handout on Tempera Painting in .pdf format.
Here is a wall chart guide for talking to children about their painting in .pdf format.
I recommend also clay. Basic clay. Ceramic clay. This is the other unending creative medium for children. You can find the local supplier for pottery people for around $6.oo for a 25 pound block. Buy clay, several blocks and simply put it out.
This is all you need. Table space, no need for any protection or added surfaces. Heavy carpet thread in 18 inch length if children want to cut it. Plastic dry wall taping knives for scraping the table. A tub of wet paper towels for cleaning hands and wiping surfaces. A way to store clay overnight without drying out, such as a big lidded tub.
Clay teaches itself. No lessons. What humans had 10,000 years ago was opportunity and time. People who do clay again and again are in process. They hunger for the "no expectations here" idea. You can say, "Clay isn't done. If you have a done, we can take photographs from all sides and squish it up and shove it back in the tub." Clay is open to people cutting a hunk and doing stuff. At the end of the session, they have a choice to come back to this piece (then we put wet towels and plastic over it with a BIG sign 'this is in progress, please allow your friend to continue.') or it goes back in the tub.
I recommend that these two activities be the center of work in the studio. What happens is that the people who have to talk, share and link with others, have the opportunity to choose clay because that medium allows them to do that and to be engaged in their own discovery simultaneously. Painting, when participants are engaged, is non-language. Words do not describe painting, either the experience or the result. Never have, never will.
The role of the teacher is to look. What you see before you is your guide. There isn't any clear way to teach. The way you are, right now, as your developing self with children, is the person you give them. Your way will evolve into more sophistication as long as you are a friend and elder and receiver and gain experience in the letting of others be. Your best tools is a digital video camera and computer so you can re-watch engagement, print still photos from the video, and post those for others in the community to see.
I can't help you more than this. We can help each other learn to be great teachers if we care about doing things well, care to find a way to be with children in the best way, open things for them following their lead just as we would have loved to have things opened for us as children. We offer great materials and let the chips fall as they may, chaos or silence, and LOOK.
Dr. Sylvia Chard enabled this for me when she said, "We provide a structure for openness." After her guidance, I explored a new way.