A Case against Instructions. Vaivén Circo- 'Do Not Disturb'

This weekend, I was lucky enough to watch Vaivén Circo's 'Do Not Disturb' as part of Appetite's 'The Homecoming', a free event in Newcastle Under-Lyme. In this theatrical performance, four characters were tasked to build a machine without any instructions and without any idea what it was supposed to look like. 

During the show, they worked together to arrange the 'loose parts' in all sorts of different ways, solving risky problems of balance and counter-balance. They used their imaginations to turn these arrangements into exiting adventures such as a boat on the sea, a horse they could ride, and all sorts of balancing games. They were playful and inventive. 

Like child's play, the audience wasn't always sure of the characters' intentions. 

Towards the end, one character begin to dance around in circles, chalk in hand, swooping, drawing arcs on the floor. This seemed to spur on the idea to fit the parts together like a wheel. To the audience, this seemed like it may have been the finale- they made The Wheel, the final product, the 'Most Important Invention in History', but the character's had other ideas. The 'wheel' was turned into a magnificent Ferris Wheel. They cheered and laughed. It was fun. This was not the end.

The characters then went onto improve the wheel, adding extra parts, bits of metal and scaffolding, making the 'wheel' look more like a kind of spinning top. The grand finale was to use the 'spinning top' to crack nuts for their lunch, which was surprising and rather unexpected!

This performance spoke to me to the heart. It reiterated that how by giving children instructions, or showing them the 'correct' way to do something, we can undermine their creativity. Instructions can suck the fun out of play and prevent inventiveness and initiative. 

I strive to remember this in my work. Never concentrate on the 'product'. If I have an agenda, I try to remember that my agenda may not the same as the child's agenda. My ideas are not superior. Creativity can only flourish with freedom.  

Charcoal Hands and Smiling Faces

I promised to write about the other things we got up to last term at Art Play, so here goes.

For my first session, I planned to take the children outside to do some 'plein air' sketching. I wanted to do something completely different to what they were used to, find a new comfort zone. I bought packs of dark, black compressed charcoal that  I thought were quite open-ended and had plenty of opportunity for different mark-making techniques.

Unfortunately, it was heavily raining on the day, so we had to make do with looking out of large patio doors, which took away some of the effect. Drawing inside is nothing like drawing outside. There are no birds to hear, no whispering trees, no cold earth to feel (or smudge into your work). We carried on regardless- I told the children to do eight or so quick sketches, concentrating on the marks in the landscape, the lines and patterns that caught their interest; not to worry about accuracy or doing a 'perfect' copy.

We used watercolour pencils to add hints of colour and then chopped the work up, looking for interesting compositions, and stuck it down in make-shift sketch books. The children enjoyed experimenting with an unfamiliar media, and they liked having their own 'sketch-books'; I think it made them proud. 

However, I completely underestimated the mess- we had black-charcoal hands, arms, faces, clothes, tables and chairs. I quickly went out to buy suitable table coverings for next time, and made a mental note about something to do with aprons. I suppose at least they looked like they'd had fun, I always think that if you go home with paint on your clothes, then you must have had a good day, because you've been doing art. 

A New Venture

Following on from the success of the Beehive Festival, I decided to bite the bullet and begin my art club at school- Art Play. I wanted to create an environment for the children where they were free to experiment and just enjoy using the materials in their own way with no expectations and no agendas.

It has been really hard to strike a balance between directive instruction and imagination. I have found that the children really need a starting point to set their creativity flowing. It's hard to come up with that starting point whilst losing or ignoring the 'agenda'.

I have found, by accident (the best ideas always seem to be accidents), that a successful starting point seems to be telling a story at the beginning and then allowing the children to use the materials in any way they wish within a wide boundary. A story spurs the imagination on and also calms the class at the end of a long school day, easing the transition.

The first story I used (which I came across by accident on the morning of the last class of term) was 'The Wonder' by Faye Hanson. In 'The Wonder', a boy with a suppressed, but lively imagination finds himself in his art class with a blank piece of paper. 'Use your imagination,' the teacher says. He finds it hard at first, but then wonderful things emerge- 'his daydreams are set free' and 'they take off across the page... over a park where no one keeps off the grass...'

So as it was a sunny day, I took several picnic blankets into school, and we all sat in the shade under the trees on field and I read the children the story. When we got back to the classroom, a blank piece of paper was waiting in each child's place and I told them to 'use their imagination' like in the story. I also put other materials out- scrap paper, card shapes, scissors, glue, tissue paper and chalk pastels. It was amazing- there was silence as the children were engrossed in their work. They imagined 'a colourful lake', an 'underpants cleaning machine,' a 'house with an outside with a picture on the wall' and some children enjoyed using the stapler to make books. It was wonderful- masses of coloured sticky bits, each piece of work unique.

That was what those children needed that day- a calm, inspiring beginning, paper, scissors, a bit of glue, and the freedom to make what they wanted.

When I get chance, I will share the other things we got up to last term (and this term), the challenges I had, and the revelations.