My 9am Monday Morning, Home Ed Creatives Group is made up of fun, curious, creative & enthusiastic group of children. They are the youngest children amongst all the Creatives in my groups. I find myself inspired every Monday morning – energising me for the start of a work week.
We did Lady Birds this week. We always start with a fun warm up exercise before doing our main piece. In all my session, I always encourage experimentation & exploration. One the children’s pieces reminded me of a book illustration. Upon hearing my comment, she proceeded to do a search for a Quote on Lady Birds. I loved what she found – “Until you spread your wings, you don’t know how far you can fly” (Napoleon). I loved her lettering and final piece but more than that; I love how Art is subject that allows us to to spread our wings and see where we end up!
I see myself very much as a Facilitator rather than a Teacher of Art. I love my role in sensing where the children are at in their creative journey and sign posting them to avenues to explore. One of the ways I do this is through modelling for them how to navigate the creative process.
For this particular session,I decided to try using my @derwentartofficial Inktense Watercolour Pencils on a plain Cloth bag which I had bought some time ago. I had never used these pencils on fabric but had read about it. So I ventured into doing it for the first time. The pencils worked really on the cloth surface. All it needed was a wet paintbrush to blend the spread and blend the colours on it.
I did not know how it would it would turn out. It could have gone horribly wrong, of course. But if it did as it has before; I tell the children how I would have done it differently or the things I have learned from it. A response that is no different from what I would have told them if they felt their piece had gone horribly wrong.
The Creative Process is a beautiful journey. It builds confidence, self-esteem and resilience, especially when there are others along that journey to cheer you along to spread your wings.
Home Ed Creatives 