The Art of Loose Parts

In his essay, How Not to Cheat Children: The Theory of  Loose Parts, Simon Nicholson described that 'in any environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kind of variables in it,'  meaning that a child is likely to experience more creative and inventive play or learning if they have, in their environment, a selection of open-ended, multi-use objects such as building blocks and baskets as opposed to 'fixed' toys with 'obvious' uses, an electronic toy phone for example. Nicholson called these open-ended objects Loose Parts. 

I like to keep Nicholson's theory in mind whilst planning for Art Play. Art materials, by their very nature are open-ended ('loose parts'). With them, one could suggest that you are only limited by your imagination, that the degree of 'inventiveness and creativity' is infinite. The problem is, 'loose parts' can close if there is someone trying to direct the play, or give too many instructions. Take Lego, for instance, originally an open-ended construction toy with limitless creativity, it seems to have morphed into intricate craft model-building kits. Same toy, different approach. 

As the person 'in charge' or the 'tutor' at Art Play, I am aware that I could potentially obstruct any 'inventiveness and creativity' with too many instructions or demonstrations, so I try to think of myself more as a 'facilitator'. I don't 'teach' art, I 'facilitate' it. I aim to provoke, to provide just the right amount of inspiration, together with carefully-chosen materials, 'loose parts', that the children can 'invent and create' with. I aim to ask the right questions- get the children thinking for themselves and solving their own problems. It's challenging; a fine balance; an 'art' in itself; a continuous struggle to introduce new techniques, art theory and art history, in a way that doesn't interfere with what they are discovering.

Story-telling is a fantastic spring-board to creative work, inciting the imagination. This week, we read Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, then using an abundance of 'loose parts'- clay, beads, wire, leaves, sticks, pine cones and whatever else they could find outside, the children created inventive sculptural responses to the book. There were 'Wild Lands' and 'Wild Things', a 'Wild Road', and even a 'Wild T.V.!' Some children chose to work together to make an even bigger 'Wild Kingdom' complete with creatures, paths and fire-pits 'to keep warm.'

A Wild Figure

           

Here, you can see the Wild Road

The Wild Kingdom, a collaboration

The Troll, a Wild Thing

Another close-up of The Troll because he's fantastic!

The Wild T.V. 'Watch Out! Don't touch the wires!'

#artplay #looseparts #art #storytelling #creativity

Into the Labyrinth with Clay, Beads and Wire

After noticing how much the children enjoyed the 'gluing and sticking'- the 'making' with actual tactile materials in their hands, I thought about how much they'd enjoy clay. As I am not very experienced with clay, I did a bit of research and this session was actually inspired by a blog post on An Everyday Story- 'Using clay: bead and wire sculptures'. I loved the idea of adding these 'loose-parts' to the clay which would allow for plenty of creativity and discovery.

In the post, the author mentions 'bead-coasters' or 'bead-mazes'. This led me onto procrastinating about mazes in general, and how much wonder they tend to stir up in children. I used to love going to those hedge-mazes at stately homes and imagining I was in all sorts of worlds.

I wanted to start the session with a story. Stories seem to be such a great bridge into the 'creative zone', springing imaginations into life. I was reminded of the Greek Myth- 'Ariadne's Thread' which is about a Minotaur waiting for sacrifices in the depths of a tangled maze, and the brave soldier who finally slays him, but I thought it was too scary and complicated to read to the children. 

However, my mind kept wondering back to this maze of tangled passages, so I re-wrote the myth, leaving out the parts about Poseidon and his white bull, and glossing over the parts about 'sacrifices', instead concentrating on how Ariadne helped Theseus escape the labyrinth with a ball of red thread.

Clutching his red thread, Theseus delved deeper and deeper into the maze. The labyrinth was dark, and there were many different paths he could choose from. Some routes were very narrow and he had to squeeze his way through. Others were so overgrown with thorns and brambles that he had to cut his way through with his sword.

After I finished telling the tale (whilst clutching my real ball of red thread), I gave each child a ball of clay and pointed out the piles of beads and wire on the table. My photography doesn't do these justice, but this is what they made:

'This is the red thread from the story to help you get out'

I love how this child made the beads leave textured paths to where they sit.

'How can I balance this (the pine cone) on top of this (wire form)?'

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.