Two kids-Will, age 8 and Elle, age 5
Two large pieces of cardboard
Brushes
Tempura Paint
Colored Cotton Balls
Colored Pencils
Dot Paint
One nanny-Lena
Combine all ingredients in one room at 70 Degrees Fahrenheit, cover, and let stand for several hours. Remove nanny, stir, and enjoy!
I babysat for a family recently and the mother had left two large pieces of cardboard so we could do an art project while she was gone. I gathered all the art supplies in the house and Will, Elle, and I plopped down on the kitchen floor and started making mixed media masterpieces. Will started painting a large diagonal purple stripe across his canvass and Elle was painting large colored circles in a row. Elle assigned me the task of doing a pattern with the dot paint and then gluing cotton balls on top of the dots. It wasn't long before Will played the big brother card.
Your painting is ugly, Elle.
No it isn't!!!
Hey, Will. Do you know who Leonardo DaVinci is?
Yeah.
Well, he thought that ugliness and beauty were pretty much the same thing, that ugliness was just a variation on beauty. He used to follow people around who he found incredibly ugly or beautiful. He would follow them all day long until he knew every curve of their ear, every wrinkle on their face and he would go home at night and draw them from memory.
Wow! That's really cool! What else do you know about art, Lena?
[I rattle off facts and stories about all the artists and pieces floating around in my brain. I explain how the use of line affects our perceptions and how complimentary colors enhance each other when placed side by side. And then I say certain colors make us feel different emotions.]
How?
[Five year old Elle steps in]
Purple is passion. Red makes me angry. Blue is sad or sleepy. Yellow is happy. Green is life and I've also heard green with envy....
How do you know that?
Yeah, Elle. That's pretty much spot on. How did you know that?
It's just how they make me feel.
[I'm blown away. She's five years old and already has this innate knowledge of art]
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There's more to come on this. I called their mom the other day and she's sending me the gallery descriptions we made for each piece. I need to do this event justice because it feels like it's a very significant piece of the puzzle of my life and where it's going.
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The Gallery Descriptions
I called Will and Elle over to the computer as the project was winding down and had them give me a title for their piece as well as an artist's comment. I asked them to tell me about the painting, what it means to them, how it made them feel and how they went about the creative process. Their answers were profound, creative, silly, child-like and honest. Here is a retyping of the gallery descriptions....
"Sun, Earth, Sky, and Sea"
Will, Age 8
Born 2000
Mixed Media, Tempura Paint & Colored Pencils on Cardboard
Artist's Comment
"It is a piece that calms the mind. It shows balance in nature. Different elements bond together to make nature. I started with a purple stripe and then I added green dots and red lines. Then I added a sun. Next I added the grass, a tree, a leopard, a balloon, and a storm cloud. It also has a part of the sky with clouds and birds. This painting shows what is in the world around us. It also has part of the sea with octopus and fish."
"The Stripes of Spots, Arts, and Crafts"
Elle, Age 5
Born 2003
Mixed Media, Cotton Balls, Dot Paint, Tempura Paint, & Colored Pencil on Cardboard
Artist's Comment
"I first did the dots and Lena helped. I saw what I needed to do and I worked on my painting. I put the cotton balls on and thought what I should do for my painting and what would make it look good. And that's how I made it. My painting makes me feel different things with each color and helps me with all different kinds of stuff. My favorite part is the outside because it's all colorful and rainbowy. I feel like it's a friend of mine."
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