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I first took a photo of the table empty. This was the starting point before any materials were placed.

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I tapped the flower gently into the turquoise paint while listening to the music beat. This action felt like preparing the rhythm, as the petals absorbed the colour in their own way. The uneven coating showed how natural objects hold paint differently compared to a brush.

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I rotated the brush with green, letting background music set my rhythm, an improvised moment guided by paint, sound and hand.

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Handwritten notes from the play: actions, textures, small surprises, and thoughts during play.

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I brushed green over a leaf and near a stone, then added purple. A flower petal stuck to the wet paint, nice surprise.

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I dipped the brush in black paint and tapped it first on the paper, then on the stone. Each tap followed the rhythm of the music, “tu-tu-tu.” The paper showed soft black marks, while the stone resisted the paint and left rougher textures. The rhythm made the action playful and connected sound with painting.

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I fully painted the stone in red and then surrounded it with green, brown, and aqua colours. The stone sat in the middle like a centrepiece. The smooth paint on the paper contrasted with the uneven surface of the stone, making the colours spread differently. This gave me the feeling of the stone holding its own space, almost like a small island inside the paint.

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I dropped lilac, red, brown, turquoise, green and pressed a leaf through. The veins channelled the paint and marbled the leaf.

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I stepped outside and found a fallen stick and another leaf. Bringing them back inside added new textures and possibilities to my painting. It reminded me how materials from outdoors can change the direction of play and connect painting with the environment.

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Peer helped me in clicking the photo as time was almost up. The table full of traces reminded me this is about relations and process, not a product.

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I chose paint because it’s open and flexible. I worked with paint, water, brushes, paper, and natural materials (leaves, stones, orange peel, flowers, a stick). I focused on play and process, not a finished artwork. I paid attention to touch, rhythm, and what the materials did with me (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016).

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Working this way felt like joining an assemblage — paint, water, brush, stones, leaves, orange peel, flowers, stick, paper, music and my body all co-created what happened. I noticed how paint can permit or block action (e.g., thick violet resisting a drip), how surfaces record movement (circles, taps), and how going outside shifted the marks and atmosphere. This aligns with Encounters with Materials, where paint is treated as an active participant and learning emerges from relations, improvisation and affect, not from making a set product (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016).

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I arranged two kinds of leaves, stones, orange peel and small flowers on paper to meet the materials before painting.

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Before painting, I slowed down to touch the surfaces: smooth stone, bumpy orange peel, and soft flower petals. The encounter shaped what I tried next.

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I set out the paints {red, teal (dark greenish-blue), green, lilac (light purple), turquoise (blue-green), brown, black} and a water tray to reuse the brush. Even before painting, I noticed how some colours looked thicker or thinner. Together with the brush, paper, water, and me, the materials were already forming a small working group — an assemblage in action (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind, & Kocher, 2016).

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I painted a stone with black and lilac. The rough surface made the paint break in places and catch in others.

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I loaded the brush with thick lilac and held it over the paper. It took ages to fall. The slowness showed paint’s viscosity and its own pace.

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I lightly dipped an orange peel into paint. Its dotted surface picked up the colour in an uneven, textured way.

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I stamped the painted peel on paper several times, leaving dotted marks. Then I used another peel dipped in black paint and scrubbed it across the surface. The rough rub made new textures and filled spaces differently.

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I dipped a flower into paint and slowly dragged it across the paper. The soft petals left thin, surprising lines that made the page feel fuller and alive.

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When I lifted and rotated the leaf, I suddenly noticed a face with green hair, a turquoise forehead, brown eyes, a red mouth, and a lilac beard. It was an unplanned but affective moment, reminding me of how materials can surprise us (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al., 2016).

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A wide view of many trials with natural materials still involved, a record of process.

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At the end, I noticed how all the bright paints I had used (red, teal, green, yellow, lilac, turquoise, brown, and black) began to spread and touch each other in the palette. What started as separate bright shades slowly mixed into darker tones. This showed me how colours can lose their individuality when combined too much, becoming heavier and less vibrant.

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While cleaning my brushes again and again, the water slowly darkened until it turned almost black. Even though water is clear, it carried traces of every colour I dipped, creating this final deep shade. This surprised me and made me think about how every action leaves a mark, even in something as simple as water.

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I finished, returned materials, and cleaned my area as instructed.

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Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., Kind, S., & Kocher, L. L. M. (2016). Encounters with materials in early childhood education. Routledge. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=4649662

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I noticed a reddish colour on the classroom screen while playing the music, so I chose red paint. With the smooth beat of the music in the background, I painted a circular outline around the stone. The rhythm guided my brush to move calmly, keeping the stone in the centre like an anchor. It felt like the colour, sound, and material were all connected in one flow.

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I tapped the brush twice with red paint onto the paper. Each tap followed the beat of the music and felt playful.

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I made a single tap with red paint on the paper, matching the rhythm “tu” from the background music.

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I tapped once more on the paper. The sound guided my timing and the red mark spread lightly.

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I tapped once more with red paint on the paper, keeping with the rhythm of the music. Then I tapped the stone for the final beat. The paper absorbed the paint smoothly, but the stone felt rough and resistant. This difference gave me a new feeling, as if the music shifted when the surface changed.

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I dipped into brown paint and rotated the brush in circular motions while following the rhythm of the music. After that, I dipped a stone in the same paint and rotated it on the paper. The brush left smooth curved lines, while the stone pressed harder, leaving uneven textures. The contrast showed how pressure and surface make different marks, even when the movement was the same.

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I dipped the flower into paint and stamped it on the paper while listening to the slower background music. My taps followed the beat "tap, tap, tap, tap, tap" but this time the rhythm felt calmer than before. The flower left dotted impressions that matched the tempo, showing how sound and touch can guide movement in different ways.

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I pulled single lines with all the colours (red, teal, green, yellow, lilac, turquoise, brown, and black). Each line showed its own thickness and flow. Then I mixed all the paints in one place. Surprisingly, all the bright colours turned into black. This showed me how combining many colours can erase differences and create something unexpected.

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I acknowledge the Ancestors, Elders past, present and emerging, and families of the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people of the Kulin Nation, who are the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land on which Victoria University’s Footscray Nicholson campus stands. I pay my respects to their deep knowledge, living culture, and ongoing connection to Country. I also extend this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.