The beauty of the season surrounds us. The dew collects on our shoes each morning as we walk across the grass and the sun shines upon our faces as we greet each day. Our little troop has been outdoors a lot these past sunny weeks, experiencing nature walks and our Terry Fox walk. It is hard not to be inspired by the change of season, and the change of colours.
We captured this picture of the tiny maple in our yard. It will be the subject
of our documentation and exploration of the change in seasons in the year ahead.
With our brief study of yellow (yellow collage: mixed media, Mellow in Yellow) and our study of red (red apples still life: pastel on paper, Les Pommes) still fresh in our minds, the two colours returned once again, to the atelier. This time, they were in the form of water colour.
Water colour is a very subtle art form. The vibrancy that we see with pastel, is instead very subdued. The use of the paint brushes must also be executed with gentle brush strokes, or else the paper will tear. There is a certain skill involved in using water colour in order for the children to feel success, and so this is where direct teaching comes into play.
The provocation was carefully planned. And I hoped that the branches I'd collected on a nature walk with my boys would be enough of an invitation for the children...
To play.
To explore.
To observe.
To create.
Our "feuilles de l'automne"
It never ceases to amaze me how the presentation of materials can entice a group of children so quickly. And the intricacies of using water colours and paper were not lost on this group of 3 & 4 year olds. My concern was that through the act of modeling how water colour painting is usually performed, I'd stifle their creative exploration.
There was some careful planning that went on behind the scenes too. The stage was already set. We'd read stories about the changes we experience in fall. We sang songs, and we chanted rhymes. We also explored the leaf itself, prior to painting. We noticed the colours and we observed the lines (veins) that branch out in the leaf. So, it should not have been a surprise when these were some of the results...
This artist pointed specifically to the lines they created on the painting and
told me that they were the lines seen on a leaf.
This artist attempted to initially paint directly on the leaf. When the water
colours didn't adhere, and the leaf was lifted, it was discovered that an outline
was created. The method was replicated on a another section of the paper.
When I approached this artist with my clipboard in hand, they proudly started
talking about the process and their experience.
I briefly wondered if perhaps the children are becoming more aware that they
are intuitively reflecting on the process, and finding the vocabulary to express it.
Artist: The red is lighter (indicating the water colour on the paper, and then pointing to the jar. They were comparing & contrasting).
Artist: Whenever we add more yellow and more red, it is orange. I add some yellow (water colour), and then some red, and some more yellow. And now I have orange leaves!
Artist: There are different kinds of leaves there (indicating the areas of colour mixing on the paper).
This artist was excited to show me their colour mixing discovery, and
pointed eagerly at the book on display.
Artist: When we mix yellow and red, we get orange.
Artist: See. I made this leaf (pointing to a orange leaf in the resource book on the table).
While I sat at the atelier with the artists and watched them revel in their discovery that the yellow and red water colours created orange, I was reminded of a quote by Jean Piaget.
“When you teach a child something you take away forever
his chance of discovering it for himself.”
Thank you for visiting with us at the atelier.
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