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I was lucky to experience this fun and interesting play time with charcoal. There was some artistic material options that I was able to choose, and I knew each material has its own unique style to play with.

Materials themselves propose particular possibilities. Materials do not just feel or act differently from each other, or have different properties. They also provoke different ways of thinking as a child engages and works with them (Pacini-Ketchabaw, 2016). I realized that each material provokes particular ways of thinking, and making meaning that are hugely different from the ways playing with paint, charcoal or paper.

I chose charcoal to play with. This is because I am familiar with charcoal as an art material, and I thought I can play different ways with the ways I used to draw with charcoal.

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Histories and Tensions surrounding the material - Layer 1

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Histories and Tensions surrounding the material - Layer 1

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Charcoal is an amazing material with a rich history and diverse applications across different contexts. I would like to share some possibilities, limitations, historical significance, and how children can engage with it.

First of all, possibilities of charcoal. Charcoal is a highly efficient fuel source, often used for cooking and heating. Also, it is a versatile art medium for drawing and sketching with its unique texture and ability to create both sharp and soft lines. Also, charcoal is commonly used in water filtration systems with its trait of absorbing impurities effectively.

However, there are some limitations as well. Large scale production of charcoal has lead to deforestation and when it was used as a fuel source, it can lead to air pollution. Also, huge exposure to charcoal dust can cause respiratory issues.

It was said that charcoal has been used since ancient times across various cultures. Many indigenous cultures used it for art, rituals, creating fire. In medieval Europe, charcoal was needed to blacksmithing. In Industrial era, charcoal was a key fuel in early industrial processes, especially in iron and steel production before the widespread use of coal.

Charcoal can be introduced to children as a drawing tool. Children can explore its texture and the way it smudges on paper. Children can learn how charcoal is made from small branches in a campfire. However, charcoal should be handled carefully to avoid respiratory issues from dust or burns.

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Charcoal has been used in various forms of Asian art and drawing, though it is not as prominent as ink-based media in many traditional Asian practices.

Particularly in China and Japan, charcoal was often used as a basic sketching tool. Charcoal has also found use in Korean art in modern times, where artists have used it as a primary medium for detailed landscape drawings and figure works. Its raw and expressive quality has been appreciated in both traditional and contemporary Korean art. In modern times, Asian artists have embraced charcoal as a primary medium in drawing and fine art.

Today, many artists use charcoal for its expressive potential, exploring its texture and the way it can create depth and mood in a drawing. Its versatility allows for a range of artistic expressions, from quick sketches to highly detailed artworks. Charcoal's boldness and capacity to produce soft shading have made it popular in life drawing and figure studies in many art schools.

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Absorbent

Fuel

Raw

Rough

Black

Burnt

Earthy

Carbonized

Smudged

Fragile

Crumbling

Smudging

Filtering

Burn

Crush

Sketch

Ash / Fire / Fuel / Dust / Sketch

"To touch charcoal is to be touched, to be affected, to be moved. To touch charcoal is to be touched by it, to be open to a multitude of possibilities of who one might become, of what the charcoal-drawing-blackness might become." (p. 38, Pacini-Ketchabaw, 2016)

Charcoal is highly absorbent, and it burns efficiently at high temperatures, making it an ideal fuel for cooking and metalwork.

Charcoal can easily crumble into small particles, allowing it to create soft tectures when used in art.

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When I began to engage with charcoal, I felt a sense of curiosity and excitement. With a piece of charcoal in my hand, I wasn’t just holding a tool for drawing; I was holding something that had been used for fuel, purification, art across centuries. This awareness guided my exploration as I embarked on playing with the material.

The moment the charcoal touched the paper, I felt its rawness—crumbly yet bold. The material’s fragility became clear as I applied varying pressure. A light stroke created a soft, almost whisper-like line, while a heavier hand produced rich, dark streaks. I instinctively started smudging the marks, blending lines into shadows with my fingers, discovering the softness of the material as it spread easily across the surface. This quality, which I had learned earlier, allows it to absorb and move freely between spaces. As I smudged, I thought about how this same porous structure enables charcoal to filter impurities in water or air.

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I felt a connection to the past as I drew lines that reminded me of the ancient cave murals. These marks were more than lines; they felt like echoes of history. Charcoal was used by these early artists to outline their grand visions, and in my small way, I was retracing those ancient steps, though with less grand ambition.

During my time with the charcoal, I consciously let go of any desire for a polished product. It was not about creating something aesthetically pleasing, but rather about experimenting and learning from each movement. This echoes Vygotsky’s theory of play as a leading activity where children, and in this case, adults, learn through the process of playing. I found myself connecting deeply with the material, noticing charcoal’s ability to crumble and smudge. This fluidity in the material felt much like the nature of charcoal, which can vanish into dust as easily as it forms—much like the fleeting nature of play.

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Charcoal’s fragility became a limitation I had to navigate during my play. The constant crumbling of the charcoal forced me to work with its unpredictability, reminding me of the material’s limitations. Instead of resisting, I embraced this. When the charcoal snapped or crumbled in my hand, I used those pieces to create textured areas, understanding that this fragility was part of its essence, not a flaw. This interaction reminded me of the concept of “embracing limitations” in creative practice—learning to adapt to and incorporate the challenges of a medium. In this way, the breaking of charcoal was less a barrier and more an invitation to play with form.

In artistic way of exploring, charcoal responded dramatically to the amount of pressure applied. Light strokes create delicate lines, while heavy pressure produces bold, deep marks. Using the edge of a soft charcoal stick created fine, whisper-like lines. These lines can be layered to suggest depth or distance, such as in landscapes or background textures.

By pressing harder, I created dense, black lines that stand out, perfect for bold contours or defining strong shapes.

As I continue working with charcoal, I realized that this wasn’t just about creating marks on paper—it was about the fun of getting my hands dirty, letting go of precision, and truly playing with the material. The moment I picked up the charcoal, I felt a sense of freedom. There’s something incredibly enjoyable about working with a medium that doesn’t demand perfection but instead invites me to explore, mess up, and find joy in the process. I knew I was in for a tactile adventure.

The next stage of my exploration was smudging. I started blending lines with my fingers, watching as hard, crisp edges dissolved into soft shadows. At first, it felt almost too easy, as if I wasn’t supposed to do it. But then I remembered—this is play! The more I smudged, the more playful I became.

It felt like finger painting, but with more depth. I could feel the grainy texture of the charcoal under my fingers as I pushed it around the paper. Sometimes I made smooth gradients, other times I deliberately went for messy, uncontrolled smears.

The charcoal dust began to collect in odd places, creating new patterns I hadn’t anticipated. Instead of trying to control it, I let it happen. The random marks and smears became part of the fun. I could swipe through the charcoal dust and accidentally create a soft shadow, or even blow it across the page like a kid blowing out birthday candles.

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Playing with charcoal allowed me to reconnect with joy, curiosity, and spontaneity in a way that’s often missing from adult life. There was something magical about the freedom to mess up, to smudge, and to break things without fear of consequence. Charcoal as a medium invites experimentation and celebrates imperfection, much like how children play, learn, and grow through trial and error.

The exploration of lines, pressure, smudges, and dust with charcoal made me appreciate how the process of creating can be as fun and rewarding as any finished artwork. It reminded me that art doesn’t have to be serious or polished—it can be playful, messy, and, above all, fun.

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Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., Kind, S., & Kocher, L. L. M. (2016). Thinking with materials. Encounters with materials in early childhood education (pp. 1–21). Routledge. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=4649662&ppg=14

Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., Kind, S., & Kocher, L. L. M. (2016). Excerpt from Charcoal: Ecologies. Encounters with materials in early childhood education (pp. 55–65). Routledge. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=4649662&ppg=68