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.