A is for App

Welcome back November and Art Every Day month. This is my seventh year of participation. This year my plan is to focus on a new art form that has me intrigued. I look forward to another great month of creativity, work and sharing. So, on to the art.

I have always wanted a gadget that I could use to draw directly on the screen, something that would let me be creative while traveling in our camper. Also, I am always looking for tools that let me work in different ways.

I wanted a way to use a stylus and I need a large enough surface area so that I feel as if I am actually  drawing or painting directly.

In August my husband gave me an early birthday gift, a 10" Fire Tablet by Android. I am hooked. I am thrilled. I can't stop playing with it.

Simply by playing I am learning new approaches not only to working on the tablet, but finding ways to apply what I am learning in this digital format to my work in paint and other materials.

I am also understanding how this tablet allows me to combine my graphic and digital skills and tool knowledge with my fine art hand skills. Fascinating.

My first task, after an arduous setup process was to explore the art apps available. There are not as many as I imagined, for Android, but after reading reviews I knew that one, ArtRage is the standout. (I will be writing more about the full app in later posts.)

To give it a try, I began with ArtRage Oil, a free, limited version of the ArtRage for Android app. The website says that it was “created to allow people to try out ArtRage’s oil paints easily, and for children to use.” It doesn’t say how much pure fun it is to work with.

August was hot, but I spent hours in the shade of our grape arbor experimenting, first with only my fingers, and then with my new stylus. I am awed by the ease of use, and the amazing way that the paints in the app react like oils in reality - moving and blending and creating dense or smooth textures. The art on this page are both finger paintings. For the one the top left, I  set the paint options to metallic, the lower right was in matte. Amazing? I think so.

And, I showed this app to my five year old grandson. He was making art in seconds - moving around in the tools seamlessly.

For this year’s challenge I will be working with, comparing and writing about the art related tools I am discovering, as well as focusing on the other (numerous) projects I am involved with. I am so glad to be back doing Art Every Day. I have lots to share.

Happy November. Art On.  

O is for Open-ended

o·pen-end·ed

(ō′pən-ĕn′dĭd)

adj.

1. Not restrained by definite limits, restrictions, or structure.

2. Allowing for or adaptable to change.

3. Allowing for a spontaneous, unstructured response: an open-ended question.

This month in my painting and drawing classes, my lessons prompts and rules are open-ended. In other words, I set some rules but leave the choice of subject or pattern or color to my students. They tell me often how much they love this freedom. An open-ended assignment means there are no wrong answers, no one way to work, and many options for expressing ideas. 

Open-ended assignments are a little daunting at first, and then an idea will hit. "Can I do this?" "I don't know ... are you able to do this?" 

They are a way to generate many ideas and explore design elements. This assignment was to create four images, on one page. Each had to follow the same "recipe": 

    3 Triangles, any size

    5 squiggly lines (squiggly to be interpreted by the artist)

    7 circles

    COLORS; red yellow and blue. White for blending if desired and sharpie for outlines.

The results that come from these instructions are strikingly unique. It is so much fun, at the end of class, to look at all the ideas that have come to life on our papers. We are going to do this again next week - but in a new medium and with a new instruction added for a fun twist.

Open-ended assignments are definitely an opportunity for my students, and for me, to discover what we want to create, to stretch our imaginations and learn new techniques - all at the same time. 

The art of this page includes mine (at the top) - I did a full page in prep for the class and then "doubled the recipe" on one to see what would appear. Then I colored it.  Notice how the sky treatment reflects the one in my H is for Hippie post.

 I loved that the kids had the time to complete their full pages. I think they are beautiful. And, they truly demonstrate the idea that Creativity is Intelligence at Play.

C is for Creativity

 “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” ― Albert Einstein

Once again, Einstein has just the right words to express what I am thinking, and what I am doing in this challenge, in my studio and most of all, in my classes.

One of the biggest issues I confront in my senior classes (ages 73 - 102) is the oft repeated comment, "I'm no artist." Somewhere in their lives, so many (older) adults I meet have been convinced that they "can't even draw a straight line." As if that matters.

So I remind them, that art is not about straight lines (though they can be nice.) Art is not even about curved lines (though they definitely help.) It is not definitely not about getting everything right. So I bring them great art to look at. For the lesson I am writing about here, it was a slide show of images of Georgia O'Keeffe flowers.

I draw for them so that they see how it it done. I bring color and ideas, and I remind them every week that art is about fun and pleasure and experimentation. Art is NOT about perfection, or coloring neatly, or impressing anybody but yourself.


And then we make art -

The two flowers at left are my practice for a simplified lesson on Georgia O'Keeffe flowers - the idea was to fill the page and work large. We used Caran D'ache crayons on canvas board, and outlined with sharpie to make it easier for some of my older students to see clearly. After we colored, we used water to create a painted effect.

But creativity IS contagious. When I got home, I had the urge to continue playing with these large flowers, but to add lines with my well loved set of Prismacolor markers. The flowers at the top are just one of the pieces that resulted. This was so much fun, I did it again the next day, but this time, with my Young Artists. More about them later.

Y is for Yin and Yang

Yin and Yang. Y is that?

Using the alphabet as my structure for this Art Everyday for a Month Challenge blog has proven to be a good way for me to stimulate my creativity.

Within the alphabet limitations I not only need to create art, but each piece needs to fit into my self-imposed structure. Everyday I need to brainstorm possibilities for the letter of the day - and each day something comes to mind. Now, after three years of doing this, the end of the alphabet has not gotten any easier (still no clue what Z will be about tomorrow). So, I am sure you are wondering Y this is about yin and yang.

The image on the page is actually a drawing of a group of tropical flowers - first drawn right side up, then flipped and drawn again so that the images not only cross, but fit together symmetrically to create a new abstract pattern - yin and yang. Once the pattern was in place, I decided to ignore the floral roots and just play with the shapes to see what appears. This was another chance to experiment with Inktense pencils, and add a few lines and details in markers. I like it. do You?

This is 9x12 on watercolor paper.

E is for Effects

Foggy Day

One of the things I most enjoy about my life as an artist is looking at the work of other painters. I had some work in our annual Festival of the Arts this summer. The weather was horrible, which meant that I had lots of time to wander the show and really study the paintings that appealed to me. One of the things that really struck me was the use of fabulous and fascinating textures as backgrounds for images. How do they do that?

I asked. When I saw a painting that impressed me, it was not hard to strike up a conversation with the artist - to offer compliments, and ask questions. One artist in particular was especially gracious - and shared some of her secrets to her luminous colors and awesome textures. So, I went home to play.

The more I experiment, with solvents, with sprays, with laying textured materials on the canvas and painting over, with scraping, scratching and pouring, the more fun I have, and the more interesting the results. Suddenly the central image takes a back seat to the feeling of the whole, created by messing around until I get the effect I am looking for. This image, Foggy Day, is 9x12, a mixture of mediums on canvas, was completely fun to create ...

So, I knew my kid students would love to create their own effects as well. (This process is too messy for my more finicky seniors). I provided bottles of thinned paints, sponges, brushes, and water color paper, as well as pans for letting paint drip into - and everyone poured paint until they "saw a picture." Then, there were crayons and markers for enhancing anything that popped out.  It was a great lesson in color, contrast and creativity.

Kids and Creativity Need Time to Grow

This is a story about two little girls, a piece of pink flowered cloth and the luxury of time during the long days of summer vacation. It is also a reminder that sometimes the best things we can do for kids is not too much …

The story begins at a neighborhood garage sale, (be careful crossing the street), involved the combining of allowance coins to pay the price of the cloth, and included complex negotiations about shared ownership. (Where would the cloth be at night?)

The most difficult thing about the cloth however, was deciding what to do with it. The girls’ first idea, quickly discarded, was to turn it into doll clothes. These were not doll playing girls, and besides, sewing those tiny stitches was too hard when the sun was beating down. A trip indoors for a cooling drink resulted in the discovery of a fat pile of many colored yarns; some big-eyed needles, two pair of kid-sized scissors, and inspiration.

As the mother of one of the girls, I can attest that they were busy all day. As the light faded, a stack of neat, pink flowered, (almost) squares of carefully embroidered and edged cloths sat on the purple work table under the tree where they worked. That was just the beginning.

I often write about how teachers, parents and mentors can encourage relationships and learning. I suggest ways that they can stimulate creativity and promote productivity in the classroom and programs for kids. I write from an awareness of the many challenges that kids, schools and families are facing in these difficult times, and most of all, I write in the hope that some of the ideas and information I share will help kids be engaged in their learning and fully involved in activities that they feel passionate about. But, with summer vacation just beginning, and many parents and organizations scrambling for ways (and dollars) to fill kids’ time, I want to change gears a little and offer this story about the girls and the cloth as a reminder that, especially in these times when so many kids lead highly scheduled, busy and complex lives, there is more than one way to fill a summer day, and as a reminder, that adults are not the only ones who can (or should) provide kids with fun, diversion and creative opportunities.

So back to the girls:

On the following morning, after careful consideration, the now embroidered pink squares were identified as place-mats. And, it was immediately clear that place-mats this beautiful  belonged on a party table. This was the moment when the real work began and the idea for a grand party began to take shape.

By summer’s end, the girls and their younger siblings (who they coerced into all manner of participation) held a surprise party for their parents, all of whom just happened to be born in September. The party was the core of their summer activities. (And need I mention all the summer learning that came as a result?)

Working together, the girls planned a ‘great’ dinner, plotted ways to get the food and other things they needed for the meal (”without anybody knowing”), shopped with their own money (even collected cans to recycle to earn more), and requested “cooking lessons” so that the food got cooked, and the cake baked.

It didn’t end there. A play was written and performed (and later published! - but that’s still another story), and several poems transformed into lyrics for the songs that were offered as the evening’s musical-comedy entertainment. No one knows where the rehearsals took place, but the performance and costumes were memorable. As were the gifts, each personalized for the recipient and made by hand (more garage sale finds.) The candles on the (slightly lopsided) cake were dull compared with the light of pride, delight and imagination that lit the eyes of the party-givers.

It is truly hard to say who was richer for the experience, but it is safe to say that a good time was had by all. And to think it all began with a piece of second hand cloth, and the unstructured time of long summer days to see it blossom into whatever it could become.

So, what were the lessons that I learned that summer?

Give children time - free time - empty as a blank page to be colored by imagination and filled with the discoveries found in their own world - within and outside themselves.

Give children time - to dream, experiment, discover creatures in the clouds and ants in the grass. Give them unstructured time to play, imagine and just be.

Give children time so that their creativity can flourish, friendships can grow and their ideas can come to full growth.

And, as long as you are still reading, a few more tips … give children books - or better still, let them choose their own at the library. It may not constitute their idea of free time, but it can’t hurt. After all, they might find patterns for place-mats, recipes for cakes, ideas for gifts, or simply the gift of something wonderful to read.

And of course, give them art supplies. Create a portable art kit that fits into a backpack, or big pocket. Mine, which comes with me everywhere, includes a  variety of pencils (plain and color), an eraser, thin and thick color markers, and a small sketch book. Put it all together in a zip lock bag.  Then, when inspiration strikes, your kids will have the time and the tools to make the most of summer.




Happy Summer.

A Break from the Ordinary

Goldfish

Lately I have been struggling with paint and canvas. Nothing I have tried is working to my satisfaction. My growing need for detail and depth is limited by my ability to make it appear on the canvas. Its a good thing I have lots more painting classes in my near future.

Today, as I was searching for a photo in my VAST collection, I came across a favorite, a mass of goldfish in a pond, from a trip to Hawaii. This was a perfect starting point for a digital painting. I wanted to abstract the intense details of fish eyes, mouths and frenzy, and add the cool blue watery beauty that thoughts of Hawaii bring to mind.

Once again, gotta love what I can do with Photoshop. Creating this digital painting was a mini-vacation from the work of painting on canvas. I feel refreshed now, creative and ready to keep learning.

Exploring Variations: Finding Ideas

Evening in the City 

In the last post, the image, Koi, was painted with a deliberate plan. The painting is for my son and his wife. He asked for something that somehow "went with" a beautiful Japanese image of a large orange Koi fish.  It was  easy to find my inspiration for this piece - colors, layout and size were all "givens."

This painting, though clearly related to the last in style and composition, began with no plan except a desire to play around with a pallette knife. I am currently reading and working through Painting Abstracts, by Rolina Van Vliet, considering the images, techniques and approaches. As a result of what I am learning in the book, I knew I wanted to combine larger areas with smaller ones - but had no vision of where I was going (I hate that.) I started by using the palette knife to lay down a multicolor layer, experimenting with textures, and combining light and dark,colors. Ugly - but an interesting background.

I am still enthralled by the abstract trees I've been painting; I love the outlines and individually defined shapes. Oh, and also, I have a great fat new brush that holds lots of paint and creates wonderful texture. So, using the new brush, and laying colors directly from the tube, I began to paint a pattern of squares. Soon the trees appeared, (good, I thought that was to be the plan) and then they went away.  A city scene appeared ... at least to me.

I so often struggle with knowing what to paint, especially when I am on my own and not in a class. But today's project, in which I did not stop when I hated the results, and just kept on messing around to see what would appear, is a success.

Not because it is beautiful (is it? I can't tell yet, but I know it gives me that good feeling) but because I allowed it take its own shape and I learned in the process. This is the reason I believe it is important to work regularly, and as often as possible, and to work with no particular outcome in mind. I find it so much more difficult now that I am working in the abstract mode - because in my more realistic working past, I always could find a photo to guide me. This is different - a photo can contain some of what I want to appear - but a lot is now needing to be drawn from imagination and abstraction.

What do you think? What is the best way to build skills? What inspires you to just jump in and paint? How do you handle "artist's block?"

X is for Experimentation

This painting started was in class last week - it began as an abstracted sunset on the ocean seen from within a room. The painting is warm. There was a table and a bowl of fruit in the room.

I love the colors, and I have been thinking about how to further abstract the abstract all week.

This afternoon I decided to sketch out my ideas in Photoshop. I played with the composition, with the colors and with shapes. Then applied different filters for different effects, This is my favorite  among at least seven variations, all of which are interesting perspectives of the simple shapes that make up this image.

Happy Thanksgiving - I am thankful for the opportunity to experiment with ideas and tools today, to be creative today and every day, and to be able to share what I create with you.

K is for Klee

"Paul Klee’s personal style spanned an astounding range, blending primitive art, Surrealism, Cubism, and children's art. Extremely inventive, Klee created imaginative works filled with wit and references to dreams, music, and poetry ..."

From the synchronicity department this morning, just as I was getting ready to post about one of my favorite artists, Paul Klee, the website Art.com decided to do the same. The quote about Klee is from the site, which includes this link to a full gallery of his images. 

It was because I just love looking at his work, that I had a major inspiration this summer, one that has been 'coloring' all of my art since. It all started as a search for ideas for projects to inspire my young students. Klee, with his simple forms and vibrant colors, and especially his scribble drawings is a natural way to help kids see the many ways that they can create art and beauty. So, I went to the gallery for a virtual stroll and happened upon this delightful image. My first thought

L'arrivée Du Marié, 1933 by Paul Klee

was that even a child could draw this. Then I noticed the name of the piece - which translated means The Groom Arrives. 

This is one more moment when the advice from my teacher about naming an image comes in handy - as soon as a read the name, I saw, not a bright colored scribble drawing, but an Eastern European groom from a past century (what my grandfather might have work to his wedding) -  hat, boots, pantaloons. A question floated up. "What would the bride wear?" 

The answer practically flowed from my pen as I scribbled the lady above. Not only do I love her - (she hardly feels like my own creation - just a gift from the art heavens) - but she is amazingly like the drawings I obsessively created as a young girl - girls in dresses. This drawing is sharpie marker and oil pastel on heavy textured paper.

I taught several wonderful Klee related lessons to my students this summer - with amazing results - but in this instance, it was the teacher who gained the most from this lesson. As you can see from some of my recent posts, the abstract art I am almost compelled to create has a lot of roots in Klee's work. My sketchbook overflows with scribble drawings just waiting to be painted.

So, who inspired you? In what way? Please share.

How to Talk to your Kids about their Art

Dillon, Age 6

The talk at the end of each art class is consistently one of the best parts of teaching young artists.  This is time when we look at  the day's work and talk about the things we like and the things we learned. It's a great way for kids to reinforce the  day's art vocabulary and think about the concepts of the lesson.

Talking about what we see in our drawings -  color, line, texture, symmetry and shapes, offers a wonderful opportunity for the kids to understand that there is no one right way to create something. As we go around the room and really look at each others work, it is easy to see that the drawings (like kids) are each beautiful in their own way.

I encourage (and model) the idea that perfection is never the goal of making art.  It is the process, and the learning,  not the product that makes art so much fun. And, since I hope to help each child see that there is something to appreciate in everyone's work, I help them find the words to use to express what they see and like.

Of course, when I watch the quiet smiles on their faces as each child receives honest and relevant praise for their work, I know they are getting more from the day's lesson than just dirty hands and a (fabulous) drawing to take home.

Gabe

Then the parents arrive. These are great parents, filled with joy and pride at what they see.  I regularly hear them gushing about the 'fantastic' drawings.

Unfortunately, as one of my students point out, "you can't just say its 'terrific' all the time." So, in the interest of creating opportunities for meaningful conversation, here are some tips (some from the Big Black Pig Studio website)  that parents and teachers can use to talk about art.

Don't over-praise.

If you rave about everything equally all the time, your kids stop valuing your praise and may eventually doubt that anything they do is praiseworthy. Instead of saying, that is brilliant, or beautiful, or amazing (what does all that mean anyway?) offer meaningful comments that relate to the actual work.

Ask the kids what they like about their work (and listen in on class conversations - parents are welcome at the end of class).
Ask the kids about the words they learned and have them show you examples of lines, patterns, blended colors, symmetry, pastels, ink, or ...  This kind of conversation reinforces vocabulary and concepts and opens the door to conversation. 

Praise them for doing, not being. 

Focus your praise on what they have done, not how talented they are. "What a great idea!" or "You really worked hard on this painting!" rather than "You're so clever." Get it? Kids who are rewarded for "doing" (working hard and making progress) continue to strive and  thrive. Kids who are congratulated for "being" smart--or artistic or imaginative--often start playing it safe to protect their image. Nothing gets in the way of creativity like fear of failing. 

Praise the process, not the product.
Ask, how did you do this? Talk about what YOU notice in the drawing. e.g.,  What an interesting shape. How did you blend those colors? Those curved lines make a lovely shape. (Don't say, you colored outside the lines, that doesn't look like a fish. Who ever heard of a purple chicken?)

Praise the effort.
That took a lot of work. You were really concentrating. I can see you had fun. I like the way you drew these strong lines. 


Praise the imagination and creativity.
What a great idea to paint the cat green (or the chicken purple.)


Ask the kids what THEY think about their work.
Invite them to evaluate their own work. What is your favorite part of the picture? What was the hardest part of drawing this? Is there more you want to add? 

TIPS: 

Ask open-ended questions when talking to kids about their art (or anything else). These kinds of questions allow kids to respond with thoughts, not simply yes or no.

Look at art with your kids. Take them to an art museum, stop into a gallery you pass on the street. Get art books from the library. Go online. There are endless resources available. Then,  listen to what your kid has to say about what he or she is seeing. (When your boy says a painting is "gorgeous" ask, what do you like about it? This is a great way to understand what he is seeing and thinking.

Follow this blog. I regularly post information, ideas and resources that parents and teachers can use when talking to their kids about art. Comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome. So are posts of your kids art. I love to see what they are doing when not in class, so will my readers. There are two ways to do this, follow be email or join (scroll down to find links to either option on the lower right side.) 

Check out the Art Ideas and Resources page on this blog, and visit all the posts that include the words ART, RESOURCES and KIDS. You will find ideas for making art, taking photos, finding and using resources, and lots more. 

TRY THIS FUN ACTIVITY
Gallery Stroll - this activity is an opportunity to talk about art and build art language. Expect to hear words that describe color, shape, motion, emotion, and much more. Chosing favorites also builds decision-making skills.

• Arrange ten to fifteen pictures (magazines, photos, paintings) around a room to create a gallery
• Have kids walk around the gallery and study the images on the walls
• When they have completed inspecting each picture, have kids rank the pictures numerically, from their favorite to their least favorite. (Note: Suggest that kids write or sketch a brief “memo” of each image in a notebook.)
• After they’ve made their choices, have kids talk about their reasons (criteria) for choosing their three favorites and their least favorite. Then, ...
• DISCUSS: What attracted you to the pictures you liked best? Why did you choose the one you did as your least favorite.

Humor and Fun: Essential Elements of Creative Thinking

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” Unknown

“Play is the highest level of child development. It is the spontaneous expression of thought and feeling … the purest creation of the child’s mind …” Friedrich Froebel

Young Rembrandts has been posting tips on their Facebook page to encourage creativity in kids lately. This week they suggest that we “encourage ingenious humor.” This is a fine fit with the theme of the work we have been doing in class this term – cartooning.

WHY: Research on humor and play in everything from National Geographic study of animals in the wild, to studies of highly gifted and successful adults in business point to the same idea – laughter, combined with learning, promotes creativity, complex thinking, positive social interaction and increased self-esteem. Laughter in the classroom (or family room) has a way of diverting attention from difficulties, reducing stress and promoting well-being. Laughter relaxes kids and helps them feel at ease. A classroom or home environment that encourages humor and inspires kids to view and show the world through their unique perspectives is a place that stimulates creative expression.

So, cartooning is not only an opportunity to learn new drawing skills, but also a way to encourage kids to think about story structure (characters, place, situation), and to consider the possibilities … what might happen in the next drawing? Most of all, drawing cartoons encourages an essential element of creative thinking … humor (and its sidekick, fun). As an added benefit, cartooning also provides a way for kids to strengthen relationships and self-confidence through play and laughter.

Howard Gardner, author of Frames of Mind, The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, would define kids who love to draw as Visual/Spatial learners. They are responsive to the visual/spatial world and are often able to recreate it. (One look at their drawings makes it clear who these kids are.) This type of learner enjoys making art and loves to have access to art materials (paint, pens, markers, clay, scissors, paper in many colors, glue sticks, etc.) This kid may also be a map maker. So, if you have a visual/spatial child, encourage her to draw what she sees, and, create maps of the places she has been.

Of course, many of the kids I work with show multiple abilities, including Verbal/Linguistic intelligence (kids who like to play with words and language. Jokes really appeal to these kids, even when told without words.) I also see lots of kids with Intrapersonal and Interpersonal intelligences, characterized by the ability to understand emotions and what makes people “tick”). That is why they “get” what is going on in the cartoons with just a glance.

It is because of the diverse abilities I see in my classes that I am so delighted to be teaching cartooning. Creating a series of drawings is, as Elizabeth (age 9) point out, “making picture books with only pictures.” So, when we draw cartoons, we not only create characters and establish a setting, but we learn to show motion, emotion, and story arc - all without writing a word (unless you are like AJ who adds thought bubbles to every scene.) Best of all - we laugh. One of my favorite parts of every class is posting the pictures we are going to draw and asking, “What’s going on?” I love that even my shyest kids giggle at the pictures. I also love listening to them talk about what’s happening, and watching them enhance their drawings with their own ideas and jokes, most of all I love how they share their ideas, and make the other kids (and me) laugh. Simply put, cartooning is fun.

Personal Creativity Comes from Considering How to Stimulate Creative Kids

I am getting ready to teach a Young Artist's Studio over Spring Break. I want to have really fun and interesting projects to offer my students, and I want them to be grounded in the work of famous artists.

One of the things I am always struck by in my Young Rembrandt's classes, is how much young kids love to look at fine art books. Even tiny kids ooh and ahh over Monet and Salvador Dali. So, with this in mind, I've been scouring the library for art books written for young readers. I've noticed that Paul Klee, with his vibrant colors, simple shapes and imaginative images is a very popular subject for these book. I've now spent several hours looking at his work, seeking ideas for the art classroom.

My study has resulted in what I hope will be a totally lively and engaging curriculum, and it has also resulted in a spate of creative production for me. One of Klee's pictures that absolutely grabbed my attention is called, The Groom's Arrival. It is essentially a doodle of overlapping lines loaded with color - that creates the image of a man in a hat - a groom. I knew I had an idea for a lesson - but then, a question popped to mind ... What Would the Bride Wear?

This picture is my answer. WHAT FUN! She seemed to just pour out of my pen. She is colored in oil pastel (a nice medium for kids) on heavyweight drawing paper.

BLOG RECOMMENDATION One outstanding source of inspiration I have found is a blog called Art Projects for Kids . The creativity and sheer artisticness of the projects offered and described are wonderful.

For more info or to Register for my upcoming class:

REGISTER NOW for Spring Break Young Artists' Studio

Classroom Culture and Creativity: What do you think?

When I work with kids, whether as a teacher of art, drawing or creative writing, (or in former days as a parent), I can always expect lots of questions. In my experience, the questions I hear most often do not relate to the content of the lessons or conversations - they are the "can I" questions. Can I color this red? Can I add a pattern? Can I write about my cat? Can I make this ... bigger, smaller, longer ... ? You get the idea.

In my classrooms, I strive to create a culture where kids feel free to experiment and make mistakes, after all, I am teaching art and creative expression. However, I am often brought up short by how timid and worried even my most creatively talented kids can be, to just do something they have not been specifically told to do. I can't even count the number of times I have invited kids to try out their ideas, to take a risk, to make a mess, and to use the garbage can (someone invented that too.) I regularly point out how every mistake can be a learning experience, and share stories of my own struggles and mistakes.

An interesting blog post I read this morning, What's school got to do with it?put this into a slightly new perspective for me. The blogger, Anne Marie Lei, asks the question How do the patterns we learned in the classroom as kids keep showing up in our adult lives at work---in our meetings, team projects, and relationships with managers and colleagues?

For me, the question is not (yet) about future work, but about day to day experience in school. Her post made me wonder how the patterns we learn in classrooms and at home as kids show up in the way we think and learn at school (or in art classes.)

How does the culture of the family and school, and the style of individual teaching impact a child's ability to think and work creatively? What style of teaching and parenting is most likely to result in creative thinkers, and kids best able to function in a world that demands flexibility and constantly changing skills?

This is an open-ended question (as I believe most should be) - what do you think? How does the culture of the classroom impact the way our kids learn and interact? What kinds of teachers are most likely to encourage creative thinkers? Does it matter in the long run? Please share your thoughts and ideas.

Ten Tips for a Camera Safari and a Photo Contest for Kids

Taking photographs encourages kids to focus on the world in new ways, develop their ability to observe, and see the world from different perspectives. In other words, taking pictures encourages kids to be creative and strengthen several core thinking skills (focus and observation to name just two.)

Viewing photographs, in their infinite variety of images and colors, inspires kids to try to capture, save and share their vision of the world.

In my course for teachers and mentors one of the most popular assignments is a Photo Safari, a project that encourages students to share their world in a visual way by taking pictures of people and places in their community. This experience can have amazing results - for the photographers and for the viewers.

All it requires is access to a digital camera, and the technical ability to move the images from the camera to a computer. There are endless possibilities for sharing the photos you take, but that's another post.

One more thing that will help, is knowing a few tips you can use that will result in a better photo. Thanks to photographer and videographer John Waller for the great suggestions included below.

Waller is the originator of the Photo of the Year (POTY) contest, a fundraising event since 2002 that has raised thousands of dollars for the MESD Outdoor School Program. Over the years this great contest has expanded in many ways. It now includes a category for entries from photographers under 18.

About the contest: Youth: Any students out there with a strong attachment to your digital camera? This category is for photos taken by those 18 and under. Use that youthful imagination and make your mom proud. TEACHERS, say it with us, "Hmm...Photo of the Year...what a great addition to my curriculum...I should email the folks at POTY about submitting photos as a class!"

For more information, and to enter your kids' work, click here.

I hope you will take some time to visit the website, view the amazing outdoor photos, and share them with the kids your work with. Then, encourage them to grab a camera, head outdoors, and see what develops. And, please share your photos and experiences here - (photos can be posted to this blog - ask me how! Just post a comment at the end of this post and I will provide a How-to)

Ten Tips for Better Photographs

1. Be in the right place at the right time. Get out there, look around, and take your camera. It is tough to take great photographs if even one of those actions is missing.

2. Take lots of pictures. Digital photography has opened up a world of possibility to the amateur photographer because now you can instantly review your pictures. Adjust your settings, try different angles, or capture the action at different moments. The more photographs you take, the more likely you are to get a great shot. But remember what worked and what didn't and apply this new understanding when you take the next picture.

3. Watch the sun. The best times to take pictures are usually early in the morning and early evening; the worst time is generally midday, when light it most harsh.

4. Flash away. Just because you are outdoors doesn't mean you should put away your flash. Subjects in shadow can appear much too dark when compared to a bright sunny backdrop. When using your flash outdoors, the camera exposes the background first, then adds in the flash to illuminate your subject.

5. Get close up. Investigate the world around you in finer detail and you will discover a wealth of photo opportunities right at your feet. Most cameras have a macro mode that make getting those close up shots of insects and flowers a snap. Or when you are shooting action, zoom in so we can see the beads of sweat on an athlete's forehead.

6. Anticipate what is going to happen. To take a great outdoor action shot, you need to prepare for it in advance. What might happen, what would be the best angle, and are your settings appropriate? Then when your buddy cuts a sweet turn on their skies down the mountain, you'll be there to take the picture.

7. Use a tripod for low light. Those sweet sunsets, or moonrises, or starry night shots can be really sweet pictures if they are sharp and crisp. But a tripod is necessary because even the slightest shiver or tremble from a hand-held camera can cause the scene to blur.

8. The rule of thirds. This time tested rule tells us that we should not put the horizon line in the middle of the shot, but rather drop it to the bottom third or the top third depending on what meaning you want to convey. A low horizon conveys a sense of open, vast airiness, and a high horizon instills a sense that the land is the dominant force. The same is true for framing people.

9. Get a sense of perspective. Sometimes having a person in your scenic picture really impresses how big those mountains, or that cliff, or waterfall, or landscape really is.

10. Get creative. There are a lot of predictable photographs out there. The unconventional photographs really grab people's attention.

Play around with angles and settings and HAVE FUN!

Art Every Day: X is for eXhilaration

Day 24

I can't take too much credit for today's post, other than knitting this lovely green hat and birthing and raising this baby's mother :-)

But I am sharing this ultimate act of creativity as an eXplanation for my eXhilariation.

Today is a GRAND day for our family, and I am taking the day off from creativity to just feel thrilled (and maybe do a little cooking).

Art Every Day: M is for Magic

Day 13

I started painting in pastels one year and one month ago. Before that my artistic life was filled with self-conscious struggle. I had the confidence to use my skills as a graphic designer and craftswoman, and loved the images I created digitally, but painting and drawing was not something I thought I could do.

Then I took a class in pastels. I had worked with them before, and enjoyed the experience. But, this time, something changed. I fell in love, not only with the pastels, but with the process of making art 'by hand.'

The best way I can describe what happened is that every time I started to draw, I felt MAGIC! And I still do. For me now, it is a form of magic to sit down in front of a blank page, and watch (almost like a bystander) as something amazing appears.

Today's piece is cut paper, and was it FUN! The idea comes from a combination of inspirations. The idea for working in paper came from an activity in the lovely book Paint Happy, by Cristina Acosta. It struck my fancy because I have boxes of wonderful collection of colored papers in my stash closet, some from my years as an art student at Pratt Institute (a very long time ago.) Once I had the idea for the medium, I needed an image. I walked around for days trying to decide what would work. Then, among the lesson plans for my Young Rembrandts students, was a tree image that teaches foreground, middle and background. I had it.

My next worry was how to get the shapes just right. After fussing for a while I simply started cutting and pasting (something I, as a former art student, am highly experienced at doing) and the scene took shape. I love the simple shapes and the colors. Most of all, I liked playing with the paper and seeing what appeared. Magic!

Art Every Day: H is for How-to

I am sure it comes as no surprise to others participating in this challenge to learn that creating an image everyday, and living the rest of my life, is not that easy. The hardest part, for me, is figuring out what to draw every day.

Add to this the alphabet organization I've given myself, and, in case things are not complex enough, I am also trying to experiment with different combinations of media to create different effects.

And, after working for detail in the last two florals, I feel the need to try something loose and sketchy.

Though I am rarely short of ideas, I am often woefully short of technique. As a teacher/writer, I seek, and frequently write, resources, how-to's (e.g., how to stimulate creativity) and curricula for educators. With this in mind, I did a search on How-to's for artists. Surprise, surprise, I came to a site already listed on THIS blog!

The idea for this drawing of a favorite garden is based on a lesson plan I found on DickBlick.com Resources for Educators. This is a great resource for ideas and How-to's. This is also the place you can go to buy new and replenish dwindling supplies.

The garden is drawn on matte acetate with color pencils (which worked surprisingly well). There is a sheet of metallic paper behind the image that gives it the light. Its rough, but I would certainly try this approach again. I an going back to this site for more ideas to try - for myself and my students.

I am always looking for great instructions and ideas - for myself and to share. Please post your favorite resources here.

Kids and Creativity Need Time to Grow

This is a story about two little girls, a piece of pink flowered cloth and the luxury of time during the long days of summer vacation.

The story begins at a neighborhood garage sale, (be careful crossing the street) and involved the combining of allowance coins to pay they price of the cloth, and complex negotiations about shared ownership. (Where would the cloth be at night?)

The most difficult thing about the cloth however, was deciding what to do with it. The first idea, quickly discarded, was to turn it into doll clothes. These were not doll playing girls, and besides, sewing those tiny stitches was too hard when the sun was beating down. A trip indoors for a cooling drink resulted in the discovery of a fat pile of many colored yarns; some big-eyed needles and two pair of kid-sized scissors, and inspiration.

They were busy all day. As the light faded, a stack of neat, pink flowered, (almost squares) of carefully embroidered and edged cloths sat on the purple work table under the tree where they worked. That was just the beginning.
During the school year I often write about how teachers and parents and mentors can encourage relationships, encourage learning, stimulate creativity and promote productivity in the classroom and programs for kids. All of my work is based on the hope that kids will be engaged in their learning, connected to their school and community, and fully- involved in activities that they feel passionate about. But now, with summer vacation just beginning, and many parents and organizations scrambling for ways (and dollars) to fill kids’ time, I offer this story about the girls and the cloth as a reminder that there is more than one way to fill a summer day, and, that adults are not the only ones who can (or should) provide kids with fun, diversion and creativity.

So back to the girls: On the following morning, after careful consideration, the now embroidered pink squares were indentified as placemats. And what good are placemats without food to serve on them. So, this was the day that the real work began as an idea for a fantastic party began to take shape. By summer’s end, the girls and their younger siblings (who they coerced into all manner of participation) held a surprise party for their parents, all of whom just happened to be born in September. This grand idea was the core of their summer activities. They planned a ‘great’ dinner, plotted ways to get the food and other things they needed for the meal, shopped with their own money (even collected cans to recycle to earn more), and requested “cooking lessons” so that the food got cooked, and the cake baked.
It didn’t end there. A play was written, and several poems transformed into lyrics for the songs that were offered as the evening’s musical-comedy entertainment. No one knows where the rehearsals took place, but the performance was memorable. As were the gifts, each personalized for the recipient and made by hand (more garage sale finds.) The candles on the (slightly lopsided) cake were dull compared with the light of pride, delight and imagination that lit the eyes of the party-givers.

It is truly hard to say who was richer for the experience, but it is safe to say that a good time was had by all. And to think it all began with a piece of second hand cloth, and the unstructured time of long summer days to see it blossom into whatever it could become.

So, what lessons did I learn that summer?

Give children time - free time - empty as a blank page to be colored by imagination and filled with the discoveries found in their own world - within and outside themselves.

Give children time - to dream, experiment, and discover creatures in the clouds and ants in the grass. Give them unstructured time to play, and just be.

Give children time so that their creativity can flourish, friendships can grow and their ideas can come to full growth.

And, as long as you are still reading, one more tip … give children books - or better still, let them choose their own at the library, at garage sales, and book stores. It may not constitute their idea of free time, but it can’t hurt. After all, they might find patterns for placemats, recipes for cakes, ideas for gifts, stories to tell. or simply the gift of something wonderful to read.

Happy Summer.