Cornucopia

    
Thanksgiving and the beautiful long weekend has passed us by, but we are still bringing in the harvest in JK. While visiting one of my favourite local family run markets, I picked up some interesting little gourds.

And while the children sang songs in French, and scavenged the room for items that were "jaune", "rouge" et "vert", I set up the invitation at the atelier...

To play.

To explore.

To observe.

To create.

 

I am thankful for the natural light shines into our classroom.

 

Some ground had already been covered. At circle, these little gourds were passed around. We took notice of the funny shapes and some thought they resembled a phone, a horn, a sock, a balloon and a pear. How clever of these little people to draw comparisons, and make connections. Some children pointed out the stripes of varying shades, and "freckles" like the teacher's. The texture was subject to some discussion, as one gourd was covered in bumps, while the others were smooth. Some vocabulary from our seed pod discussion ("Seed Pod" show & share for a future post) was borrowed, and more comparisons were made to enhance our description. I view this oral language as an essential stepping stone for future writing.

Oil pastels are one of my favourite mediums,

because of their vibrant colours

and how they glide across the page.

The artists set to "work" using oil pastels, which seem to effortlessly

move across the page and deliver vibrant colour.

 

The shape and colour of the gourd were the details

which this artist felt important to capture. 

 

An additional gourd (orange, with stripes) was added to this artist's

work, after the original green one was created.

 

This artist replicated the textured bumps found

on one of the gourds.

 

This piece has evolved to include all three gourds. 

Note the perspective that has been achieved.

They appear to be tucked one in behind the other.

 

Colour and texture are vividly interpreted here.  

 

I am currently reading my second book by Richard Louv, titled "The Nature Principle" which explores the coined term "nature deficit disorder" and gleaning so much insight. While we are preparing the childen for a future and jobs that do not even exist yet, there is a need for a connection to this earth and attention to detail. And thus, our atelier continues to build on the human genius and creativity. We are all connected to nature. We are open to expansion and growth.

 

Thank you for visiting our atelier.