Explore, Express, Explain - the examination of exemplary art essentials by Racquel Gronsbell-Luntz

How did Paper emerge?

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 01:56:51 UTC

Paper-based process art example

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 01:58:52 UTC

Connections to Paper - what did I learn?

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 01:59:45 UTC

What I felt was the fundamental message through paper exploration is that, for the most part, it tends to be a neglected art resource – simply from the perspective that it is often considered a singular means to an end, being an application method for process-based creative arts. Through exploring scrunching, tearing, soaking, rolling, folding and smushing collaboratively with the children, we noticed that we developed a greater depth of understanding the functionality of paper, considering concepts beyond standard paper play experiences (eg. Cutting, drawing) and considering new ways to use it. Ultimately, this supported me to expand upon my understanding of process art play, and how paper can be manipulated to facilitate meaningful play in a litany of contexts (eg. Sociodramatic through puppet making, mache-based art process play, symbolic play through sculpture development) dependent upon the supporting materials provided for the paper to amalgamate with (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind and Kocher 2016). Adapting my teaching approaches to support play diversity inherently supports children’s opportunities for artistic expression, supporting the dynamic and unique nature of each child’s individual learning - aptly reflecting Malaguzzi’s theory of Hundred Languages of the Child (Edwards, Gandini and Foreman 2011).

Quote

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:01:33 UTC

"Research is a formalised curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose." - Zora Neale Hurston

Wonderings

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:02:26 UTC

I wonder if paper can be manipulated and stretched if it is adjusted with another material?

I wonder how temporal arts can be influenced by the provocation of paper as the mean-making resource?

I wonder what creative experiences I can utilise paper for, that do not revolve around the fundamental of material application to paper?

Paper process art example

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:30:28 UTC

What new understandings came from plaint play?

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:32:03 UTC

What has become more evident for me through experimenting with paint play opportunities is that I am more ofay with the idea that paint does not necessarily need to have a specific, closed-ended objective; it is capable of serving numerous purposes when ‘unspoken agendas and boundaries’ (Atkinson 2016, p.60) established by hesitant educators are transgressed into accepting the dynamic outcomes established through holistic paint play experiences. Paint reinforces its’ dynamic nature and its propensity to splot, splash, flick, splatter, transfer, roll and stamp when the user is given autonomy to holistically explore its capacity in a range of environments and with the opportunity to transport it as needed. Another fundamental message I took out of this is that paint, in its’ gooey, soft nature opens the door to reflexive thinking opportunities that, when amalgamated harmoniously with factors such as music, amimals, books and pictures, fosters a sensory engagement process that organically encourages children to convey meaning with purpose, establishing new connections between play processes and non-verbally communicating the functionality and manipulative properties paint can serve for children (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind and Kocher 2016).

Quote

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:32:25 UTC

“As music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight and the subject-matter has nothing to do with harmony of sound or of color.” – James Mcneill Whistler

Video - Conceptualising Paint play processes during creative Art experiences

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:33:49 UTC

Autonomous Paint-based process art example

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:35:31 UTC

An emergent paint process

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:37:04 UTC

Wonderings

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:37:43 UTC

I wonder how we can establish more flexible boundaries as Educators to support holistic exploration of the functions of paint and process arts?

I wonder what kind of provocations for painting and exploring painting processes can be initiated by engaging with media children are familiar with? Eg. Books, videos, songs

How is Clay made?

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:39:28 UTC

Examples of the chidren's creative thinking with clay

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:41:58 UTC

Wonderings

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:43:10 UTC

I wonder what play concepts can be extended and created through offering naturally acquired resources to accompany clay experiences?

Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how children respond to clay in natural outdoor environments? I wonder how their play would be adapted and transported by offering larger, greener spaces to experiment with the clay to enhance organic encounters with natural materials (Pacini-Ketchabaw 2016)?

I wonder how we can foster the children’s natural exploration of process-based arts, without our knowledge and modelling superseding their play intentions and forming the need for an outcome-based experience (Stone and Chakraborty 2011)?

Clay inspiration

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:46:03 UTC

Enhancing teaching approaches through Clay exploration: my new learnings

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:47:31 UTC

Working with clay and experimenting with its functionality supported us, both as a group and individuals, to reconsider authentic introductions to play that foster organic provocation development. Inquiring with the material itself helped me to broaden my understanding of meaningful ways to offer clay in a more flexible range of environments - including outdoors - that enhanced its’ natural capacities for prodding, poking, and manipulation, and limited Educator intervention to support holistic understandings of the purpose clay can serve in the context of temporal and creative art mediums (Yazbeck 2013).

Working collaboratively to consider the means clay facilitates in the context of sensory play from the child’s perspective (through in-depth personal inquiry) and adapting my understandings to enable opportunities to embed natural resources (water, sticks, leaves ect.) based on the environment it is offered in has made me become more alert to how learning dispositions such as reflexivity, creativity, persistence and commitment to the task at hand are innately embedded in play when educators are responsive to the children’s idea’s, interests and remain flexible in adjusting their boundaries to provide play in appropriate learning environments (EYLF 2009: ‘children are confident and involved learners’, p.36)

How do we 'explain' light?

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:49:13 UTC

What did I learn from experiencing my own kind of light play?

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:49:55 UTC

Exploring light with the children in a classroom environment demonstrated the importance of uninterrupted play to fully explore the functionality and capacity to manipulate light for a range of purposes. Whilst the play outcomes may not have a specific objective, what I felt I took from observing the children’s interactions through light play is that it informs and consolidates meaningful communication in verbal and non-verbal contexts. Giving the children an unlimited time period to establish and consolidate their understandings of how light can drive their play ideas offers the opportunity for comprehensive investigation, promoting a litany of manners for the children to express and communicate meaning and emotion through temporal art play. This could be, for example, the children collaborating on a shadow play experience to develop roles, scripts, and characters to heighten the complexity of their play and engage with the light for multiple learning outcomes (EYLF 2009, ‘Children express ideas and make meaning using a range of media’ p. 45).

My limited creativity during the inquiry process with light made me consider how we as Educators tend to follow dominant discourses, exploring light with specific resources (eg light tables, gems, mirrors) and need to challenge these typical teaching approaches by considering the children’s emergent ways of thinking, aptly following their conversations to understand their perspective and foster a natural application of trial and error, eliminating our predominant discourse to interrupt their play and correct their thinking (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al. 2015)

Light as an investigation catalyst

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:53:35 UTC

Light play example - supporting children to understand reflection and natural light play

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:55:02 UTC

Wonderings

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:55:43 UTC

I wonder how Educators can advocate for the exploration of light play in the curriculum that extends beyond light tables and exploring shadows?

I wonder what kind of emergent S.T.E.M. concepts can be explored and expanded upon through applying trial and error in light play experiences? (eg. transparency vs. opaqueness in items)

I wonder how light can be interpreted and embedded into temporal art experiences to evoke meaning? Ex. movement, painting, drama

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 02:56:55 UTC

Quote

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 03:01:29 UTC

"Because you don’t notice the light without a bit of shadow. Everything has both dark and light. You have to play with it till you get it exactly right." - Libba Bray

Envisioning new light - exploring light function ACMI

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 03:07:36 UTC

Individual investigation into paper

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 03:42:40 UTC

Investigation into Paper - Assessment Task 2 - Stop Motion Animation

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 06:53:43 UTC

Exploring clay/plasticine's functionality

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 06:55:32 UTC

Aesthetic environments - encouraging nature play through Clay

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 06:59:19 UTC

History of Paint - where was it initially resourced?

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-09 07:21:05 UTC

References for all content

racquelgronsbellluntz — 2023-04-10 12:45:25 UTC

Atkinson, K 2016, A Touch of Paint: Transgressing Unspoken Boundaries in: Journal of Childhood Studies – Ideas From Practice, viewed 3/4/23 <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319298206_A_Touch_of_Paint_Transgressing_Unspoken_Boundaries>

Britt, K n.d., Papermaking, Britannica.com, viewed 7/4/23 <https://www.britannica.com/technology/papermaking>

Brown, P 2022, Shining Light on the importance of Explore-before-Explain Experiences for Early Childhood Learners in: Science and Children Volume 59 issue 3, viewed 5/05/23 <https://www.nsta.org/science-and-children/science-and-children-januaryfebruary-2022/shining-light-importance-explore>

Carr, K 2017, History of Clay – History of Art, Quatr.us, viewed 8/4/23 <https://quatr.us/art/clay-history-art.htm>

Centre Colours 2019, Historical facts about the evolution of Paint, Centre Colours, viewed 7/4/23 <https://www.centrecolours.co.uk/historical-facts-about-the-evolution-of-paint>

Department of Education and Training 2009, Belonging, Being, Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia [ebook], viewed 4/4/23 < https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-02/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf>

EarthDate 2018, The Colourful History of Paint, Bureau of Economic Geography, University of Texas, TX, viewed 5/4/23

Edwards, C, Gandini, L and Forman, G 2011, The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation, Praeger, viewed 2/4/23 <https://www.amazon.com.au/Hundred-Languages-Children-Carolyn-Edwards/dp/0313359814>

GcCeramics n.d., Clay Types, Geological Origins and Working Properties of Clay in: Clay Geology, GcCeramics, viewed 7/4/23 <https://sites.google.com/site/meeneecat/educational-materials/clay-types-geological-origins-working-properties-gccceramics>

Lakeside Pottery 2021, Clay and Pottery – Brief History, Lakeside Pottery.com, viewed 8/4/23 <https://www.lakesidepottery.com/HTML%20Text/brief%20history%20of%20clay_pottery.htm

Pacini-Ketchabaw, V, Kind, S, and Kocher, L.L.M. 2016, Encounters With Materials in Early Childhood Education, Routledge, New York, NY, viewed 6/4/23 <https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=4649662>

Pacini-Kechtabaw, V, Nxumalo, F, Kocher, L, Elliot, E and Sanchez, A 2015, Journeys: Reconceptualising Early childhood Practices through Pedagogical Narration, University of Toronto Press Higher Education, Canada, viewed 6/04/23
<https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vu/reader.action?docID=3295748>

Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking 2021, History of Papermaking around the World: Pre-paper, viewed 4/4/23 <https://paper.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/2021-04/History%20of%20Papermaking%20Around%20the%20World.pdf>

Stone, S, and Chakraborty, B, 2011, Process Art vs. Product Art: The Teacher’s Dilemma in: Childhood Education Volume 87 Issue 3, Association for Childhood Education International, viewed 4/4/23
<https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA250133823&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00094056&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7Ea0ef3397>