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.