“Paint goes on the paper.”
“Use your brush, not your hands.”
“We’re
not finger painting today.”
I’ve
heard these phrases over and over, as teachers try to guide the children to use
whatever painting tool and surface that had been provided, and not stick their
fingers into the paint. Or not trace the brush up their hands and arms, or not finish
their work by swiping their hands across and around the paper.
The
fact that each time a paint is provided, children are drawn to use their hands
and fingers means that there’s something compelling to them about using those
tools rather than a brush or whatever object the teacher had planned. If this
is how the materials are speaking to the children, and we truly believe that
art should be focused on process, not product, then why do teachers spend so
much time trying to redirect children from their innate drive to create art in
the most tactile way?
Last
week I put out the paint trays with q-tips (cotton swabs). For the younger
children, the small q-tips are easier to manipulate than large brushes. Also,
knowing that it’s likely some children will abandon the brush, or use all the
brushes at once, q-tips are more manageable for me and are easier to clean up.
The work started with children using the q-tips to make designs and blocks of color on their paper.
The work started with children using the q-tips to make designs and blocks of color on their paper.
But
then, the exploration shifted. A finger, and then a hand, became the palette to
apply paint to.
And
then, the rainbow striped finger became the tool to apply paint to the paper.
None
of this was random. The children concentrated as they applied paint, layer by
layer, observing as the colors blended or not, noticing stripes and dots and
waves across their hands. They noticed the shades mixing together, as red and
yellow became orange and blue and green and red became black.
As they moved the
paint with precision across their hands, I wondered, why would we value the art
created on the palm of a hand any less than the art created on paper?
Why
stop the fingers dipped in paint, why send the children off to wash the
masterpiece off their hands before it’s completed? Instead, why not move into
the child’s world, and appreciate the work before us – even if it’s on a hand
instead of paper.
Love this :D
ReplyDeleteMy grand daughter 4 is in my preschool book. She zAkways wants to paint in her body. Thanks for changing my perspective on this v
ReplyDelete