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Paper is the most widely used material, serving many purposes in education, communication, packaging and art. Paper interacts with its surroundings in unique ways. It absorbs ink, paint, water, folds into intricate shapes and changes with humidity and time. It can be rolled, cut, pressed, crumpled yet it remains one of the simplest yet most transformative material in human history.

Paper was invented around 105 CE in Ancient China. Over the time the art of paper making spread all over the world. Evolving with new materials such as cotton, recycled fiber.

Exposure to light, temperature, and air can gradually cause paper to become more fragile and brittle. Over time, these environmental factors may also lead to a yellowing of the paper, affecting its appearance and structural integrity.

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At first glimpse paper looked simple, thin, lightweight and fragile to me. After getting involved paper revealed its surprising complexity and versatility. I discovered many unique transformation of paper folding, crumpling, and rolling. As I worked with paper, its property started shifting, changes started happening based on manipulation. Paper is a fragile material on its own, but when stacked together, it gains strength and can hold weight. Paper can easily absorbs liquid. As soon as I used water with paper, it started revealing its vulnerability. It weakened its structure immediately and became malleable and fragile. This frangibility made very difficult to handle or manipulate without damaging it. I noticed paper isn’t passive material, it is responsive to the action of those interacting with it.

When I was exploring damp paper it was so calming and relaxing that was providing immersive sensory exploration. During this experience. It made me keep engaging.  As Hillevi Lenz Taguchi and Tim Ingold explains that material act on our thinking process, our thinking influences the materials. It’s a two way interaction. Materials moves us with their properties and we respond by interacting with them making something- is like ongoing discovery. This making is described as “Alchemy” in between materials and our thinking. Where we both influence and shape each other during the process. (Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., Kind, S., & Kocher, L. L. M. (2024). This sensory exploration evoke my childhood feelings and memories. paper can be treated to resist water witho It feels like reconnecting with a part of myself that I often forget but always carry with me.

I wonder if ut losing its natural feel. Can we find the new ways to waterproof paper for packaging or art? This exploration showed me how paper is sensitive but can easily adopt to its surroundings.

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In conclusion, paper is a versatile material that connects us to creativity and the environment. Through exploring its different forms, we can transform it into something meaningful, sparking imagination and promoting sustainability. In my practise, I plan to incorporate paper activities with children, encouraging them to explore its versatility. I will provide opportunities for them to experiment with water and other materials, fostering sensory exploration and creativity. This will help children connect with the material, understand its properties, and engage in hands-on learning.

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Junk material refers to discarded, unused or no longer needed items that are often seen as waste but can be repurposed for creativity. Like old boxes, plastic containers, plastic bottles, buttons, fabrics, cardboard boxes etc. There are natural junk materials also that are fallen from trees such as Gumnuts, pinecones, sticks and branches.

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I have collected some junk from my kitchen waste area. Such as plastic jars, bottle caps, rubber bands, yogurt containers.  When I first encountered with these materials. I spent time observing them, touching them feeling the texture, thinking about their potential uses.  I tried to make a base out of a yogurt container and then I tried to balance the plastic jars to build block  constructions as they were perfect for stacking, the bottle caps were beautiful in colour, I tried to arrange them in a row to make a beautiful pattern. I have collected some natural junk from my backyard like Gumnuts, sticks, and stems. Each item carries their unique shape and textures. When I first gather these materials I felt a sense of curiosity I started encountering with natural materials. I tried to tie up gumnuts on sticks and stems with a rubber band I put them on the floor and created a beautiful design.

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When I started to come into contact with junk and natural materials. I spent a good amount of time with them, I felt how versatile and full of possibilities they were. Plastic jars felt sturdy to me, Rubber bands felt flexible and bouncy. Milk bottle and Yogurt containers are able to make easy and steady base and easy to stack on each other. Every material has a unique property that I felt having hands on experience.  I asked inquiry based questions to myself- “can it bend?”, “Does it balance?”, “What if I stack them?” The materials themselves carry stories, histories, and connections, which I can explore as they interact with. Elena Giacopini and Alba Ferrari emphasize that materials like wood, plastic, or cardboard have their own essence. They come to life through interactions with children, with each child bringing a unique perspective, shaping the materials in ways that wouldn’t be possible without this relationship. (Pelo, A. (2017).I have observed that these materials have potential of building blocks for creativity. At first I was unsure what I could do with these everyday items.  As I spent more times with them I started to see numerous possibilities. Exploring natural junk was meaningful and inspiring experience. I held pinecones in my hands I noticed it’s very rough texture how it felt different from the surface of a gumnut.

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Working with junk materials has shown me their creative potential and value beyond waste. In the future, I will use these materials in activities to help children explore textures, shapes, and sustainability, fostering creativity, problem-solving, and environmental awareness.

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Clay is natural Earthy material composed of fine grained minerals formed over long period of time. It is soft and mushy material found in different colours and textures across the regions. Smooth and easy to shape, it has been used for various purpose for centuries. Early people used it for making pottery, Bricks, sculptures and even medicines

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As I picked up the clay, it quickly drag my attention to its weight of its grounding. I felt it cool, damp against my skin. Unlike paper and junk (loose) parts which felt separate from me, Clay clings and leaves residue and it is able to hold the mark of every touch.

When I first started exploring with clay my expression was how soft and mushy it felt. It is great for moulding into different shapes and structure easy to squish and roll made fun for me to work with it. It was a great sensory play easy to manipulate, stick together well and made myself busy for long, as it was a mindful and relaxing experience. It came to my attention that there is no passive interaction with clay. As I continue working with it, I noticed how it responded my touch and started taking shapes. It was not just material to shape, it was something that connected with me and the space in a unique way. Gabriel Orozco speaks about how clay is a living, transformative material—it responds to touch, air, water, and fire, making it an evolving medium rather than a static one. (Orozco, G. (2025).

I collected some wooden sticks, stems and barks and small gumnuts to work with clay. It was a wonderful experience. I tried to put these rough materials into soft malleable clay, one thing that stood out was how the clay responded differently depending on its moisture level. When the clay was soft, the materials poked in easily, but when the clay was drier and firmer after sometime, it held the natural materials in place better. As I was in the outdoor area, I continued my exploration. I saw how clay gradually dried over the time,   the clay started to harden as time passes, making it more difficult to press things in or reshape. This directly relates to Isabelle Stengers’ concept of the milieu.  Clay is not just a material but something that responds to its surroundings. Just like in different ecologies (forest, river, atrium), (Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., Kind, S., & Kocher, L. L. M. (2024).  Clay is a universal material. It is deeply connected to the environment. My clay changed as it was exposed to air, moisture, and my own touch.

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My clay exploration showed how it reacts to moisture, temperature, and natural materials, enhancing my understanding of its behaviour. In the future, I will use clay and junk materials in activities that let children explore textures and shapes, fostering creativity, problem-solving, and environmental awareness as they repurpose everyday items into meaningful creations.

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Light is energy that allows us to see things. It comes from sources like the sun and bulbs and can pass through, reflect off, or be blocked by objects, creating shadows and brightness.

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Light is all around us. Shaping the way we see and experience the world. It create shadow, reflection colours and makes every moment interesting. Light behaves differently when it passes through materials. Then I explored light with different things such as Glass jars, Cellophane paper or colourful object and fabric material.

Glass jars allows light to pass through, but I have noticed some lights reflects off the surface, creating shine or glare.

Colour transparent object or cellophane paper- this thing change the colour of the light passing through them like I have used different colour cellophane the light changed the colour and it shows to yellow, blue, purple, red, green, orange on the other side.

Since organza is thin and sheer, it allows light to pass through, but with a soft, diffused effect. The light may take on the colour of the fabric, creating a soft glow. Just as jenny Hozler uses lights to display powerful massages on buildings transforming word into powerful visual image My exploration with light allowed me to discover how light changes the way we see objects. By placing object in front of natural lights or LED lights, we were able to see the transformation. Similar to how Hozler’s light installation create a new perspectives and meanings. Both experience highlight how light can be used as a tool to see and understand things in a creative and imaginative way. (Lebowitz, R. 2017)

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Exploring light with helped to see how light changes shapes and colours in fun and creative ways. This experience sparked my curiosity and encouraged me to experiment. In the future, I plan to incorporate these types of learning opportunities for children to explore light through mirrors, fabric, and different materials, fostering their creativity and understanding of how light transforms their environment.

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Lebowitz, R. (2017, April 1). From Yayoi Kusama to Glenn Ligon, 7 Artists Using Light in Redical Ways.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-7-artists-light-radical-ways

Orozco, G. (2025). Thinking with Clay (interview).

https://art21.org/read/gabriel-orozco-thinking-with-clay/

Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., Kind, S., & Kocher, L. L. M. (2024). Clay: Ecologies. Encounters with materials in early childhood education (2nd ed., pp. 54–64). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003322559-

Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., Kind, S., & Kocher, L. L. M. (2024). Paper: Movements. Encounters with materials in early childhood education (2nd ed., pp. 24–33). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003322559-2

Pelo, A. (2017). General guidelines for studio explorations. The language of art: Inquiry-based studio practices in early childhood settings (2nd ed., pp. 17–44). Redleaf Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=4674378&ppg=30