Mary Frank (2007) says art is “to give courage, use the heart, to risk and never be afraid of tenderness or the absurd. And to gather joy.” As you take up the language of art for yourself and offer it to the children in your care, may you find in it a source of courage, a willingness to risk the comfort of the familiar in exchange for the vitality of new terrain, and most of all, joy.(Pelo,2016)

Materials can evoke memories, narrate stories, invite actions, and communicate ideas.(Chapter 1) Experimentation is a complex social affective-political phenomenon that actively extends experience (Guattari, 1995).

I thought of cutting it into a square shape. I had no idea what I was going to create. I gave my mind a front seat and kept following the instructions from my brain. I reminisced about making a personality teller which we used to make in our childhood days. I started folding and it did not end very well the way I wanted it to be. Then I thought of making a fan by folding paper from both sides and ended up making a flower looking structure. This gave me an idea about making flowers. 

The I poked a hole in one paper and trying to put it another paper through it. Throughout the process paper was leading my thoughts. I observed that paper can be folded, can be torn, weaved, makes sound, and could also work a fan with its movement.

We learn to move with the materials and attend to the ways we are moved in response. We learn that learning itself is movement.(Ketchabaw, Kind,Kochar,2016 ) I tried few different techniques and ended up with this not so perfect looking flowers. This made me realise paper tells so many different stories. 

Children can have access to other resources like glue, colours, scissors, etc. Children can choose to make an artwork from the resources provided. This will help them to develop imagination and inspire critical thinking. They can express their emotions with the help of artwork that they will create. This activity can also encourage social skills as they work with their peers.

In this activity, I would want to encourage child agency and let them have the front seat rather than directing their minds into one direction.

 I immediately started looking into the paint I had at home. I realised I only possessed three colours. Without any initial vision in my head, I started working with paint. 

Initially, I tried to add three colours to two different papers. I added bit more red colour to another paper to explore the difference. Therefore, I realised that the mixture of paint made a very interesting pattern. I did not want to use brushes, so I thought of putting these sheets in the zip lock bag. I moved my fingers to create beautiful effects. When  I took a paper out, I wasn’t quite satisfied with my work. Hence, I took a plane  paper and stamped the coloured paper on it. I could see a beautiful figurine looking like a bird. I loved this piece of art. 

Thereafter, I thought of stamping coloured leaf to create interesting patterns.

The painting and art don’t have to make sense but it is the story from the artist which is important.

Paint as an assemblage: where each component in the & quote; human-nonhuman working (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al.,2016 p. 53) is related to the others. 

The assembly of a painting brings together paint, painter and tools to create. For example,

there wouldn’t be a chance for recombination if the body were just a regulator of

assembled organs and sensory information. A body is ability to shape determines what it is

capable of (Pacini-Ketchabaw et al., 2016) 

This experience would be an example that anything around us can be a tool of application for painting.

In art terms, the surface to which a pigment is applied is called the support. Artists take great measures to ensure that the ‘support’ that they have chosen is the correct one for the other materials that they wish to use. As educators, we need to create ‘Learning Environments’ that supply children with options to suit their developing styles and techniques. We need to ensure that our ‘settings are responsive to children’s interests and needs’ as identified in the Early Years Learning Framework on Practices— Learning Environments pg 15.

Initially, I took a paper and tried to draw on a paper.  Then I thought, is charcoal meant only for drawing?

To explore art and charcoal, I thought of making designs on my hands and arms. I was very happy to see the patterns on my hands. 

There is a history behind charcoal as it comes from some event. I loved to create artwork with charcoal. Charcoal can shape shift, It can become powder and we can break it into small pieces 

I came home and decided to do something fun with light and shadows. I turned the projector on and took my fluffy dinosaur in front of light to create shadows. It was such a fun experience, I started narrating story to my husband and he found this activity interesting. Then I reminisced my childhood days when we used to make shadows of bunnies and dogs with our hands 

As an educator, I can teach children about shadows and light by shadow zoo parade

Children can showcase artistic tour of a zoo by picking their favourite animal figurines. I will put white coloured sheets on the ground. When they bring their animals close they can see the shadows of animals on the paper. 

I will encourage students to tell stories behind their experiences.

Learning   activities   using light  is  an  innovation  in  early  childhood learning     activities     that     can     attract children's attention to explore, think creatively and critical thinking early on. (Mahshulah, Syaodih & Rachmawati 2020) 

 

Therefore, I created this beautiful looking artwork from natural resources and I am very proud of it.

Art and loose parts play open up a whole set of learning and play experiences for early learning centres.

Making an artwork with natural resources supports creativity. It allows us design, create, and arrange our work in two- or three-dimensional formations. It helps us to think with the material and adapt with its changes . 

The art of constructing seems to give children both visual and tactile understanding of form. (Topal, CW & Gandini, L 1999)

This experience will provide opportunity for children to be in touch with nature. Materials enhance learning when they reflect what is natural and familiar, and also introduce novelty to provoke interest and more complex and increasingly abstract thinking. (EYLF p.16)

Thereafter, I thought of making a big building with the colourful blocks but unfortunately did not come up with anything as it shattered a second after it was completed.

The rules emerged in interaction: blocks are for building and making things; once you build something, no one else can take it apart; once something is constructed, it stays there, and only the builder—or those whom the builder chooses—can decide how to rearrange the blocks. We notice right away how static and stable blocks appearance. (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & Kocher 2016) 

I had different thoughts while constructing with blocks. There was time when I wanted to cut them in order to fit into my creation, but I was confined to work according to blocks.
Wooden blocks are solid and  dense. They have a shape an they can not be grinned or crunched.