Community Arts Project

Art Word of the Week: Design or Composition
"Design or Composition is the overall mark of success, the standard of achievement, and the frosting on the cake." (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009)

Speak against racism!

In today's society individuals continue to experience various forms of discrimination. Because each person in our group shared a story regarding some form of racist stereotype, we decided that it was an issue most relevant to our lives while we were growing up. Although it is difficult to completely eliminate the issue of racism, we can try our best to prevent racist acts and reduce this by educating others and raising more awareness. As globalization continues to give opportunities for people of all cultures and backgrounds to come together, this issue is one of the most important in helping individuals learn to embrace diversity and culture. 

As early childhood educators who believe in accepting each child's uniqueness, it is important to also keep an open mind for learning about new cultures, and embrace diversity. This is the key for educators to develop inclusive teaching strategies that help every child learn and succeed to their full potential.

Our group decided to create stickers and post them around campus to provoke thought. The quotes on the stickers represented a variety of cultures and were also translated into multiple languages to target a greater audience. In addition to this, our stickers lead to a website where individuals could anonymously post their stories or ideas regarding issues of racism, and also find more information about other organizations that they can find support for their issues.

We started small and decided to stick the stickers around the Ryerson campus, and contacted one of our "Students against racism" equity service groups to be our stakeholder.

This is an example of the stickers that we posted,

                                                                    

Unfortunately beecause of the limited amount of time that there was for other groups to present, there was no time for the professor or the class to ask questions, although we did receive a lot of feedback from other classmates regarding our presentation. Many of our classmates commented on the power-point that we used to present our ideas, and said that it was very creative. We also received feedback regarding the appearance and design of our stickers after we handed them out to the class. If we were to expand this project and if we had more time to work on it, many people said that it would have been great if we could actually make the website rather than only drawing a poster of the layout to present the concept. This community arts project was an amazing experience that allowed us all to reflect on the issues that impact our lives. It was also a great opportunity for us to attempt to propose an idea that we could actually move forward with in the future after contacting some possible stakeholders.

Reference:

            Schirrmacher,R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.            

Guerilla Art!

Art Word of the week: Space
Space: "is determined by the size of the canvas, be it paper, cardboard, wood or a shoe box." (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009)

I used the word space to describe my Guerilla Art as it is associated with the spaces in my building where I have left my mark. I have used much of the negative space in my building and filled it with the little post that is on the right. I used simple and clean spaces to place the image as it will draw more emphasis to the message, rather than a busy space to cluster it from being seen.

For the focus of my Guerilla Art Blog, I wanted to provoke some thoughts for some of the residents who live in my building. I have been living in this building for as long as I could remember, and growing up this building has been many things. It's been a magical palace, a giant house, a game, a dangerous enemy base, a cat-walk runway, a grocery store, a school, a stage for performances, a home, and a secret fort with many hiding spaces. While I was growing up, this building of many things had once had it's own park where my sister and my brother and I used to play at when the weather was nice out. But at some point in time, the building management decided to take down the entire park, and even put up signs for "no loitering" around the fence.

Right now, I have a little godbrother who also lives in my building. He is now 6 years old, and has made many friends with other children who are residents here. Every weekend several of the children of the building gather at the lobby to play together. Every so often, I will see them laying out their coloured pictures (that they've ripped out from their colouring books) and placing a "10 cents" sign beside it for adults to buy their drawings. Other days I may seem them hiding behind the lobby couches and using it as a fort. Unfortunately there is also a "no loitering sign" at the lobby as well and quite often the management or the supervisor comes to "break-up" their play experience.

I simply do not understand why they've decided to take down the park, and yet prohibit the children who are residents of the building from playing indoors.

AS A RESULT, the children in my building are deprived of the same childhood opportunities that I had when I was younger, and they simply have no place to play.

As early childhood educators we know how important the role of PLAY is to children's learning. And therefore, I have decided to focus my GUERILLA ART for the children of who live in my building.

These are the signs that I have placed in the lobby anonymously for people to read. ( Of course I had to do this discretely as this is probably considered some act of vandalism!) My hopes is to provoke thought for adult residents in the building who have children regarding a concern that may have gone unnoticed or forgotten.

After I placed the signs up, I watched the residents of the building who had walked into the lobby. Many people stopped to look and read what was there, because it was so emphasized due to the low amount of stimulation created by other areas of the lobby. I placed the images on top of the elevator buttons, so that people would read it while they wait, as well as inside the elevators.  I also placed this on the front door of the building, and the mail-box bulletin board. Because I posted these images right before children came home from school, I was able to see the reactions of both children and their parents. Almost everyone who entered the building stopped to read the post, and I hope that it has done what I originally intended it to do-to provoke thought in residents who may have not noticed this issue.

Insights for Early Childhood Education
Like children who scribble on walls and furniture, adults also must tune into their creative sides once in a while and leave a mark where it may matter to them. Here I have left my mark around my apartment building in the hopes that someone will think about an issue that I have considered as an issue for the children who are residents of my building. By tuning into our creative sides, early childhood educators can remain inspiring to children, and can encourage children to respect their own creativity, as well as those around them.

Reference:

            Schirrmacher,R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.            

Pretend Play and Magical Thinking

Art word of the week: Design or Composition
"Design or composition is the overall mark of success, the standard of achievement, and the frosting on the cake." (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009)

Here in this royal chair lies Sir Hops-a-lot. He is the kingdom's magic frog and was taken to the palace when he was only a young tadpole. You see, Sir Hops-a-lot was special, even as a young tadpole. A fortune teller had said that he would be born with a magic pearl attached to him. And the fortune teller was right. This magic pearl that he was born with was supposed to cure the kingdom of all it's illnesses, and so little Hops-a-lot was taken from his pond, and forced to stay seated on the royal lily-pad chair that preserved the magic of his pearl. The main priority for the king and the queen, was that their youngest daughter Princess Peepkintot would be cured from a strange illness that she was born with. You see, Princess Peepkintot was always a very weak little girl. As a baby, she was often sick, and even growing up she had very few opportunities to leave the palace because of her illness. Her parents were afraid that her illness would eventually lead to her death, and so they searched all over the kingdom for a solution that might cure her. This was how the king and queen found the fortune teller, which lead them to believing that little hops-a-lot's pearl was the answer to all their problems. Once they captured little hops-a-lot from his pond, a witch was hired, who eventually placed a magical spell on him to bind him to the royal lily-pad chair. For as long as he lived in the chair, Princess Peepkintot would be well, and with this they bound the little frog there for 10 years. In the 10 years that little Hops-a-lot lived in the chair, he had grown to be a humble frog which dedicated his life to duty. Although he was a noble frog, he did not feel fulfilled. In the 10 years that had past in the kingdom, he had become best friends with Princess Peepkintot, and because she was no longer ill, he saw her very little as she was well and could travel the country. All he wanted was to travel back to his pond, and be able to swim again. He missed his family and eventually became very depressed. He was constantly drained of energy as he stayed seated on the lily-pad chair, preserving the magic of the pearl.
The next time that Princess Peepkintot had returned, he was exhausted and began to lose his colour. Princess Peepkintot was concerned for her friend, and sent out a quest all over the kingdom to find someone that could save her friend. And after months of searching and waiting, the same witch who had casted the spell to bind Sir Hops-a-Lot to her chair had approached the kingdom gate.
You see, in all the years that Princess Peepkintot had lived in the palace, her parents had kept the secret of her health away from her. She did not know that her health had been obtained by sacrificing the freedom of her frog friend. Once the witch had told her the truth, she was furious, and confronted her parents. She insisted that they needed to un-do the spell so that her friend would be able to return to his pond, and be relieved from his duty of preserving the power of the pearl. Her parents refused, at the thought of their beautiful daughter falling ill again. Princess Peepkintot sobbed as she watched her little frog friend laying on the lily-pad that he was bound to for 10 years with the most exhausted and painful expression on his face. Suddenly, the pearl on his belly glowed, and rays of light had filled the palace halls. And in the blink of an eye, the pearl had disappeared. And there, lied Sir-Hops-a-lot, reverted back to his original colour, with the most peaceful expression on his face. He woke, and he was no longer bounded to the chair. Everyone gazed in amazement, but then looked to the Princess, for the pearl was what nursed her to health. The Princess was fine, and everyone looked at one another in awe and confusion. The witch transformed into a beautiful fairy queen, smiled at the confused faces, turned around, and vanished. All was well in the Kingdom, and Princess Peepkintot and Sir Hops-a-lot began the first of their many journeys together, as they walked towards Sir-Hops-a-Lot's pond.

This is a tale of true friendship, inspired by a simple trinket that my mom had given be as a birthday gift a few years ago.

Insights to Early Childhood Education
Imagination can bring anything to life, and it is this creativity that drives children's play and take them on their many adventures. As an early childhood educator, it is important to be imaginative when working with young minds so that we can accompany them on their explorations and enhance their learning experiences. This way we recognize that there is no one way of doing things, and acknowledge children for all forms of expressing creativity. Children are still very much open-minded, and therefore adults who work with these children need to be open-minded as well, otherwise an opportunity for learning may be missed.
In this blog, I have imagined a story based on an inanimate object that was meaningful to me. Story-telling is a great way to engage children in imaginative thinking, and also helps early childhood educators to practice their creativity when doing the activity in the process. Because story-telling is an activity of such interest to children, it is important as early childhood educators to learn to be original and enthusiastic in the way that they tell their stories.

Reference:

            Schirrmacher,R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.            

Grocery Shopping with a Twist!

When I go grocery shopping, the part of the supermarket that attracts me the most is definitely the fruits and vegetables! They capture my attention because of their different SHAPES and sizes, and most importantly their many vibrant colours. This was my "shopping list" when considering which types of food to draw.

Art word of the week: SHAPE

(shp)

n.

"A shape is defined by a line or outline, or by contrasting colour or texture in the surrounding area." (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009)

Here is my brainstorming. I have made a list of fruits that are different shapes, and grouped them together. I then chose the three shapes that I wanted to draw, and then considered the three different colours I wanted to incorporate into my sketch.

As a child, one of my favourite things to do with my parents was to go grocery shopping. My mom always gave me one of those plastic bags, which my sister and I would blow into and tie, then poke holes in. My mom would only let us each pick ONE specific thing that we wanted to buy in the store...of course we always picked more than one. I remember running off with my sister to touch every type of food we could get our hands on (since we were small back then it was hard to reach).


Insights to Early Childhood Education
As a result, the grocery store is an amazing place to help children learn about the different types of foods there are, as it involves many sensory opportunities: seeing all the different colours and sorting them by category, touching the various types of textures and describing them, smelling the difference between wheats, and milk, and popsicles, listening to my mom choose watermelons by tapping them (though I never understood how that worked), and most importantly TASTING the free food samples in each aisle!

 These are the three fruits that I chose to sketch, and they are also some of my favourite fruits to eat!

Reference:

            Schirrmacher,R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.            

Scratching with Scissors!

Rather than painting, drawing and sculpting or other "typical" types of art-making, I thought one activity that would be fun to do is to use a scratchboard. Many people may not know that such a media exists in art-making, and up until I took an art course in grade 12, I was unaware of this form of media as well.

TEXTURE:
 (tkschr)

n.

"The surface quality of a work of art." (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009)

Materials used for the Activity

This activity is fun to do, allows us all to be creative and requires only very few materials! All you need is a scratchboard which you can get at any craft store such as Micheal's or Curry's. A small piece is only about a dollar or so. The scratchboards come in white and black, gold and black, silver and black, or multicoloured and black. You will also need something sharp that you can scratch the board with to reveal the colours under! This can be a toothpick, a thumbtack, the sharp end of a compass or even she tip of a lead pencil! Here I am using a carving tool that I had at home, but really you can use anything sharp.

Me doing the activity...

It's a simple way to do art, as it is almost like drawing, but because of the scratching aspect it creates a more interesting texture and dimension to the piece. Although, it IS hard to correct mistakes so I suggest those who will attempt to do this to lightly draw out a sketch of what they want to scratch before actually using your sharp tool and scratching on the surface!

The finished Product!

                              
 You can choose to only use the scratchboard and frame the image, but here I took the extra step of cutting the scratch board in half (the black areas) and then mounting it to the back of a white bristol board so that it looks like two separate panels. On the white board, I used black indian ink to extend the images created on the scratchboard to show more dimension with the balance of negative and positive spacing.

Insights for Early Childhood Education
This activity will be fun for children, but when working with children it is important to supervise them when doing this activity depending on the age group, because the tool used to create it is sharp. It will also be more fun for children to scratch the multicoloured scratchboards because it will be more interesting rather than only using neutral colours. If the age group is younger, it may help to draw the image on for them first and let them trace it, which will make it less difficult for them to draw it out themselves. Although it is important to keep in mind that children should be given opportunities to be CREATIVE, so unless they were really struggling to do draw the images out themselves, and ask for help, do not take over and deprive them of creative expression!

Reference:

            Schirrmacher,R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.            

                                               

Watch an Art Film: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was an amazing film in so many dimensions. What I found intriguing about this film was the way the scenes were chronologically changed in a manner that only gave you bits and pieces about the whole plot at a time. This lead me to want to keep watching so that I could receive a better understanding of what the scenes represented.

The film illustrated two different worlds - one that was real, and one that was surreal which represented the depths of the character Joel's mind. Based on the discussion that I had with a few friends about the film, I heard many different interpretations and ideas about what the film was about and what it represented. Most people said that they found the film confusing, and difficult to understand.

Art word of the week:
Design or Composition: "the overall mark of success, the standard of achievement, and the frosting on the cake."(Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009)

Personally, I found the film very relatable in a sense that it touches on the character's fears and feelings about his past. I interpreted the surreal world that was portrayed as the character's subconscious mind, which held all his past memories. In the real world, he chooses to erase his feelings and memories of Clementine, when it became too difficult to cope with his past. In doing so, the procedure used to erase his memories allows him to enter the surreal world which I interpreted as his subconscious mind. It is only when he entered a realm full of past memories of Clementine does he desperately try to reverse the choices he makes in the real world. One of the problems raised in Joel's relationship with Clementine was that he never disclosed secrets from his past, and hid away many aspects of himself. As the memories represented in the surreal world of his mind began to fall apart, he desperately tries to "hide" Clementine in memories where she did not belong-memories that he did not want to disclose previously in the real world. I think in a sense that this is the way he learns to open up to her, and show her scenes from his past that he found humiliating and difficult to face. In his desperate desire to preserve his memories of her, he realizes that it is more worthwhile to face past memories with her than to lose her through his desire to escape from his pains.

This is something I believe everyone can relate to, and I can always think of scenes in my past that I avoid facing and remembering. Everyone has a memory they want to forget, or an aspect of themselves that they want to change. Painful experiences that have lead to thoughts like, "I wish it never happened," are faced with the emotions that we hide in our subconscious. It demonstrates the extent to which our experiences and memories impact our emotions as well as our identity. This film seems to have touched these issues for me. When I think about it, without the painful experiences, I probably would be a different person. Perhaps a more naive and ignorant one. In this sense I suppose the painful experiences do end up being worthwhile.

The Spotless Mind, and Children?

When summing up the main point of this film, I suppose it would have to be the fact that our experiences, however painful, shapes our identity, and that we learn from our mistakes. It is okay to make wrong choices or wrong decisions because that builds on your knowledge of how to do something better the next time.

Insights on early childhood education

This idea can easily be applied when working with children. Children need to create experiences to be in touch with the world around us. They learn through constant trial and error, and are constantly learning better ways to do things. Without making the mistakes, there is no real learning opportunity. If a child climbs too high and falls, they learn the dangers of heights and can avoid it the next time. We all learn from experience, so children should be encouraged to make choices, whether they are wrong or right. If they are wrong, we need to let them know that it is okay to make those mistakes because that allows us to learn, and do better the next time around.

When you think about your past, what do you want to change or want to forget?

If given the chance, would you actually want to erase those memories?

Main quotes from the film:

"How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot!

The world forgetting, by the world forgot.

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!

Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd."

          -Alexander Pope

"Blessed are the forgetful: for they shall have done with their stupidities too."

   -Nietsche

How would you interpret these quotes?

References:

             Schirrmacher,R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.           

Patterns in Urban Settings

In the heart of every city, each day there are constantly new buildings and houses in the making, especially in a city like Toronto. Everywhere we look we are surrounded by vast amounts of patterns created through lines and repetition.


"Pattern": "can  be made with forms, shapes, lines, colours, textures, or symbols that move across a surface in a recurring sequence." (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009)

Lights hanging on the ceiling,
Hillcrest Mall

The focus of my photos were taken in a mall that I went to for the very first time, and I was immediately captured by it's aesthetically pleasing interior. Although the mall was quite small, and I personally did not find too many things that I wanted to purchase, it was interesting just to walk around and look at how everything was designed. I payed close attention to the ceilings and the floors in particular. To the right is one of the images that I too of the rows of lights that hung on the ceiling. There is an ongoing pattern that can be recognized from each light in accordance with the lines created between each of them. It is also interesting to see the pattern in a linear perspective, which gives a greater sense of depth through the repetition of lights decreasing in size. The two images below shows a different view of the lights. It shows the patterns in each SINGLE light, rather than a whole row of them. 

Bottom view of a single light
hanging off the ceiling.
Hillcrest Mall

Bottom view of the light in the center of the mall,
(dome-shaped center)
Hillcrest Mall

I have always wondered how the human species managed to build cities after cities that inhabit so many parts of the world. Sure we have machines and technology that help to build houses easier, but when we think about it more deeply, every single house and building were built by people. Machines assist us, but everything is placed on brick by brick by somebody. I live in an apartment building, and my room has an enormous window where I love staring out of every night. I can see all the lights from the city in a higher view, and it never fails to fascinate me how much work must have been put into assembling a house, let alone an entire city. The patterns that surround us mark our "urban" lifestyle.


Here are several more images that I took of the mall.

Pointed glass ceiling,
Hillcrest Mall

Side view of pointed ceiling and light,
Hillcrest Mall

Floor of mall center,
Hillcrest Mall

As an early childhood educator, urban settings can be a great place to teach children about pattern. By allowing children to notice patterns in places and settings that are relevant to them, the learning becomes more meaningful so that they will be able to learn easier. Children can be asked to find patterns that they see around their house, or even in school. This creates a learning experience that is more engaging and inclusive, and will help in the development of each child.

References:

            Schirrmacher,R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.            

René Magritte: Art Critique

Art Word of the week: Space
Positive space: "the space taken up with lines, colours, shapes, and forms."(Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009)
Negative space: "The space left between or surrounding subject matter, symbols, or shapes."(Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009)

"Proportion": comparative relation between things or magnitudes as to size, quantity, number, ratio, etc.
I chose the word proportion as another the art word of the week as it is so commonly used by artists to create a piece that is realistic as it is representative of things that we can visually see in our world. We know how big a tree is in proportion to a person or a house. We know how infinite the sky is and how big a grain of sand is in proportion to a mountain. 
We often praise artists when they are able to capture the essence of things in real life through detailed techniques that demonstrate the many dimensions of an object or a scene. But what happens when we change the proportions of the objects?
Ever since I studied art and art history throughout high school I have been captivated by the SURREALIST art movement. I admire the work of artists like SALVADOR DALI who can create realism in a bizarre manner by changing the aspects of things which we can relate to in real life. And therefore of course the first thing that I looked for when I entered the museum was the surrealist exhibit. This was the painting that caught my eye once I entered the room. When I read the name of the artist, it immediately made sense to me why I was intrigued by the painting. He was an artist who I studied a few years back, and he is also one of my favourite surrealist painter.

René Magritte
The Anniversary
1959

René Magritte's paintings are particularly intriguing because of his bizarre use of proportions. Although he has created a sense of realism in his art, it still strikes me how he chose to paint the rock so abnormally large in proportion to the tiny room. At first glance, I did not even realize that the rock was in fact in an interior setting. This contrast also interested me, as he chose to place something natural which usually belongs outdoors (the rock) into a more structured interior setting (the room). This reminded me of the piece that was also shown to us during our tour of the museum with the cheetos and the piled rocks. Perhaps they may convey a similar subject matter in which the painter chose to bring into question. 


When I look at this image it gives me a sense of suffocation. The painter created the painting in a manner that seems to include the viewer in the crowded room. There is no space to walk comfortably, and there seems to be little space to breath. There are no doors that are visible in the scene in which the viewer could escape from, and return to the outside world. There are no other sources of light in the room other than the natural lighting coming through the window. Although there is a window, only a portion of the window is allowing the light to shine through as the curtains are blocking the rest of the view. Perhaps the artist wants to bring an environmental issue to attention. It is ironic that the only item in the room is something that is natural which belongs outdoors. This may relate to the technological changes that were occuring in the world during the 1950s in which this painting was created. Perhaps it was a warning, that we should be keeping the things in our world in it's natural setting rather than suffocating them in the unnatural world which we created. By drastically changing the size of the rock, it gives it emphasis in the painting, and simply makes it more OBVIOUS to the viewer that it does not belong-bringing our attention to the problem at hand. This is how I chose to interpret the painting, but of course this may not be the actual meaning behind Magritte's painting.

This is a photo of a water colour painting which I painted a few years back. This painting was inspired by the works of René Magritte, as illustrated through the strange use of proportion. In the image, the one thing that is out of place is the gigantic teddy bear keychain leaning in the crib. The key chain was sort of a keep sake which my aunt mailed to me when I was younger. It is particularly meaningful to me, and I decided to make it the focus of my painting. Although I did not choose to use realism in the way that many surrealist artists did, I did attempt to play with the proportions to bring emphasis to the keep sake.






As an early childhood educator, it is important to allow children to be exposed to many different types of artworks and styles of creating art so that they can learn to have an appreciation for differences, by looking at the pieces that represent different cultures and diversity. It is important that early childhood educators learn how to talk about artwork in terms of their elements when discussing with children, so that it can improve their creative knowledge. 




Reference: 

            Schirrmacher,R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.            

Colours & Miniatures.

There are many definitions associated with the word "colour" but the one which best explains it with respects to the arts is most likely this one:

col·our

 
[kuhl-er]
–noun
The quality of an object or substance with respect to light reflected by the object, usually determined visually by measurement of hue, saturation, and brightness of the reflected light; saturation or chroma; hue.
Or
According to Schirrmacher & Fox (2009), "it's based on the passage of light (visual sensation of light caused by stimulating cones of the retina. 

Grass, pond(with turtle), and bake stand.

I chose the word colour as the word of the week because I simply cannot deny it's significance in our everyday lives. Other aspects such as balance, volume and mass, space, lines, shapes and forms also exhist and surround us, but can any of you imagine a world without colour? Without colour, our world would be black and white, and we would never be able to know that the sky is blue, that the grass is green, and that certain jelly beans taste better than others.  Colours fill our world with beauty and enhances our imaginations. It inspires us to have new ideas, and allows us to find new ways of expressing our deepest thoughts. The world, as we experience it is visually inspiring because of the many dimensions that colours allow us to see. If you were to take colour out of our everyday lives we would be confined to live in those black and white films which many of us find uninteresting and boring. And so in my attempt to use colour in my creative sculpture, I have created a miniature scene using everyday items that I found in my home. This is an image of what I have made.

Materials that I used to make everything in the scene.

Colour, as I have experienced it has shaped every aspect of my life. It creates a dimension of uniqueness and creativity in every object, place or person that I encounter, as well as the pieces that I create. This image is my attempt to recreate a scene in which some of us can relate to. I used the colour blue to create the pond through the use of pieces of origami paper, rubber bands and beads. I created the patches of grass with the same items and arranged them in a way that reminded me of a park in which I grew up around. I also made a stand for "baked goods" by wrapping a container of push pins with construction paper to create the miniature table. I also used orange construction paper to make the little roof over the table. Throughout the scene, I created small miniature animals such as the turtle and the green duck in the pond, as well as the small chick in the grass. On the bake stand I created miniature cakes and cupcakes with polymer clay that I found lying around my house.

What interests me most about the miniature scene that I made is that if I did not use shades of blue paper for the pond and shades of green for the grass, it would be pretty impossible to figure out what I was attempting to create. Say for example, that the grass and the pond were just comprised of scattered pieces of rainbow coloured papers. It certainly would not have created the same outcome. The scene in itself is explained by my choice of colours. 

Can you tell what the scene is now that the colour is taken out of it?

As an early childhood educator, it is important to talk to children about the elements in their own artwork that make them unique. Children create sculptures out of lego, blocks, construction papers, boxes, and pretty much anything that they can find. Children learn through play, and are constantly engaged in some form of art-making. It is up to the educator to bring to the child's attention the sculptures that they make on a daily bases, and help them appreciate the different forms of artistic expression. It is also important to give them opportunities to explain their art-pieces, as I have done here with my instant sculpture to help them learn more about their style of art-making. 

Reference:

            Schirrmacher,R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.            

Inspired.

"Creativity"

The word "creativity" can be defined in infinite ways depending on the person who is defining it. Creativity allows each individual the freedom to express their thoughts and ideas through different ways. It gives us many windows of opportunity to illustrate to the world who we are, and what makes me, "me" or what makes you, "you". Creativity encourages us to be innovative, and create brand new things out of ordinary information that we receive in our everyday lives. It ultimately encourages us to embrace our differences, accept our own and other's perspectives, and allows us to meaningfully integrate what is within us into each individual experience and personalize the world in which we live. 

The Importance of Creativity!

Ever since we were a baby, we were born into a highly structured world. We are socialized within our society to obey societal norms, and conform to cultural and traditional values. All around us we are bound to rules and laws that limit our ability to creatively construct our own world. We are limited to say and do what is appropriate and acceptable or otherwise be casted out of the in-crowd. Children are amazing because they have not yet been corrupted by the views and ideologies of our current society. They break rules, and talk out of turn. They believe completely in their arguments when you tell them otherwise. They run past boundaries, and know how to say NO to someone else's suggestions about their painting. They know that what they are doing is the right way because their ideas and thoughts tell them so. This is the spirit of childhood that we should all be preserving. In our society, we are placed by endless constraints and boundaries. We are limited to a "convergent" mindset, and as we grow older much of our creativity is lost in the process of maturation. 

     Sometimes creativity requires courage as it requires us to be different and to think outside the box. The world may give you boundaries, but creativity has no limitations. It requires us to stand out and do something different from what everyone else in our environment is doing.  When you do something different, someone is bound to talk or judge. And like the stubborn creative child, you need to believe in your creative ideas and be bold enough to be different. That is why I would also say, that creativity requires a LEAP OF FAITH.

My sister is one of my greatest inspirations. She is determined, loud, and extremely outspoken. She always speaks her mind. She may be blunt, but she is one of the most honest people I've ever known. She is extremely creative and an amazing artist. I would like to share below something that she's made recently.

This is an image of what she first showed me. 

(She had taped cut out strips of two pages together at different lengths.)

I thought it was a cut out of steps.

This is what she then showed me.

And here it is again :)

Creativity's really something.