Amy Stewart
November 2002
Narrative Account/ Art Methods
Carley is a tall, thin six-year-old girl. She attended part-time preschool programs the past two years and she is in kindergarten this year at Belle Plaine Community Schools. For many years she was too shy to participate without me being at arm’s length. Carley has had much opportunity to learn and grow with children, but not much experience with adults. While this may seem irrelevant, it is a big part of who Carley is. She tries to do things “the right way.” She wants adult acceptance and can become frustrated if she feels what she has done is somehow wrong. One main purpose in our projects will be to help her convey meaning and not what is considered right. However, Carley has come a long way especially in the few months since she began kindergarten. Regardless of the day she has had, Carley’s beautiful dark eyes light up at nearly any suggestion of doing or making or learning. Whether it is art projects, cooking, decorating, or playing dress-up with friends, her enthusiasm is great. She has so many interests and so many friends. She is the type of child who loves interaction with others and is eager to learn. I chose to work with Carley in part because she is my daughter and in part because she likes trying new things and I knew she would tell me what she really thought about what we were doing and benefit from the experience. In this project, I wanted to work with someone who really trusts me. And having the experiences I have had with her and other adults, I know that choosing a random child may limit my feedback. I also think she can benefit from the experience and I can learn more about her too.
I explained to Carley that we were doing three art activities together. Before I could even finish explaining what it was all about she squealed, “Can we do the new stained glass art kit I got for my birthday?” It happened to be that I began this project around October 4, her sixth birthday. While I had not planned to do a pre-made art project of this sort, I had to agree. After all, she was so excited to make stained glass creations to hang in her bedroom. I am glad we did this project first because it was the least successful, the least creative. The directions were to fill the different parts of the objects with denoted tiny pieces of colored plastic, and she could see that without me reading it to her. It even diagramed for you what colors each part should be. The objects were to her liking though: butterflies, flowers, and cute girls. As Kindler writes (Kindler, Significance of Adult Input in Early Childhood Artmaking) “…adults’ life experiences and expectations provide a perspective for interpreting children’s art that differs greatly from a child’s perspective.” From the beginning I thought this was not a very creative project and must admit that I envisioned us following the directions. However, our two views differed. I sat back and watched as she put the tiny colored pieces into the different areas, which would melt to make those areas solid in that color. She was excited at first however soon tired, after only doing one object even though we were talking the whole while about the art and whatever else and having a good time. Those tiny pieces were difficult to keep separated into designated areas. Soon Carley took the project in a different path. She said, “Mom, now I’m going to make it pretty by just piling the colors in this way. When they all melt together they will look like a crayon box.” While I was being nothing but supportive, I know she still was seeking adult acceptance, “…children learn certain symbol combinations which will please adults; stereotypes are the result.” (Zurmuehlen, Meaningful Children’s Art) So much of what she brings home from school is models of what adults are able to make, stereotypical holiday characters, etc. Part of my purpose here was to break away from this. And, really by not following the directions, I felt this is where doing became making as Steve Thunder-McGuire writes about (Liberatory of Art making). This is where Carley took ownership of the project. It became hers. This was Carley’s way of art making. Here I witnessed the relationship between her vocalized narrative and action. (Zurmuehlen and Kanter, Narrative Quality of Children’s Art) “Here we go…Your hair will now have lots of colors, not just one… and I want to make you look like a rainbow…you will like it,” (spoken to the object). The expression heard in her speech showed me her new found interest in the art again and I felt that while this was a structured activity that I was apprehensive about using, she made it her own and broke out of her normal urge to make adult accepted art. (Figure 1)
The next art project was partially an outdoor adventure. It was the most lovely fall day, and we were at the park located a couple of blocks from our house. This park has looked exactly the same since I was a kid. It is simple and usually requires a little imagination because it is so simple. We began the project by discussing fall and what they have learned about fall at school. My twelve-year-old cousin Chrystal was along with us and added to our discussion. Having the older child for interaction made the project seem even more fun. “Only a very small part of my knowledge of the world originates within my personal experiences. The greater part is socially derived, handed down to me by my friends, my parents, my teachers, and the teachers of my teachers.” (Zurmuehlen, How Art Gives Meaning to Experience) At one time, Chrystal took a leaf and began tearing it apart and feeling each part. I could see Carley watching each little thing Chrystal did, and then trying to do similar things. We all crept around close to the ground searching for a new treasure, something that no one else had yet found. Sometimes, I’m not sure people realize how much children are watching and imitating what adults do. Part of her interest in this discussion came because she saw that Chrystal and I were interested. It became fun and interesting because we all made it that way.
As we walked home we began to pick up more objects we found interesting, all natural items: leaves, acorns, pine needles, pinecones, dandelions, sticks, weeds). We had a lot by the time we got home. The kids brought the materials inside and put them on the table while I found paper, glue, tape, and scissors. I did not want to limit the materials we used or give the impression that I expected something in particular. We sat down and for a moment I attempted to keep it completely child-centered. I wanted to see if she had preconceived ideas of what she wanted to create. Therefore, for a moment, I took the approach of “taking off the lid,” as Kindler discusses (Kindler, Significance of Adult Input in Early Childhood Artistic Development). I wanted Carley to find her own way. I did not want to give her directions. At first Chrystal worked on homework, and I waited to see what would happen. Carley seemed lost without the social interaction. I could see the light in her eyes dim. So I began to play around with the materials and within minutes they were both creating with me, “…the influence children exert upon one another is pervasive and profound.”(Thompson, What Should I Draw Today) “Children must be free to manipulate new materials, to test and measure, combine and compare, experiment and explore in personally meaningful ways.” (Thompson, Visual Arts) As we progressed, we ended up making faces out of the caps from acorns (Figure2-1) and clothing out of leaves and pine needles. “This is me and this is you,” she said holding two acorns and she began a fictive play where the two acorns were comparing who was taller and who was fatter. The fictive play was her initial means of expression. The transition was easy into using the fall materials to make an art project. (Figure 2-2) We worked making various creations for over an hour. She created cheerleaders dressed in leaves with leaves as pom poms. The one figure had pigtails made from pine needles. This page was her favorite and she took the theme the farthest. (Figure 2-3) There were many other avenues discussed along the way. “Doesn’t this acorn look like it is wearing a hat?” she said. I suggested drawing right on the acorn to create a face and hair. Later she glued these acorn heads onto bodies she had drawn. And her last page she created was a page depicting people that she told a story about. It was kind of a free-draw activity. From what I know about Carley, she was returning to what she typically does when given time and materials to draw. She loves to draw people with varying expressions, dress, and of varying sizes. “These are people I know. Ben (her baby brother) is first. It looks like he’s happy.” “These people at the end are not so happy here, is that right?” I asked. “I guess I don’t know them,” she added. The story changed as she told it to match what she was drawing or discovering as she drew. She continues, “Someone died that they know. That makes people cry. But Ben will give them this flower (a dandelion) and I bet they feel all better,” she said. “Their symbolic abstractions express their joy in the phenomena of color, texture, and other optical experiences; they are also a way of communicating many things otherwise difficult to express.” (Teaching Reasons for Making Art) I have pictures in our home of relatives we have lost. I feel that she can, in her own way, understand the sadness of loss and was trying to express it. Through adding the flower in this way she spiraled back to what we had been doing and added one of our fall materials and also made it hers by using it to express an emotion. I think that was terrific. As a finishing touch she went back and made the squiggles all over all of the three pictures in a repetitious fashion. This made her smile. She told me that was something she learned at school and she liked her to fill in the left over space this way. I had never noticed her doing this before. I also felt that the repetition made her feel as though her works flowed together because then she suggested stapling them together to make a book. She does this a lot with drawings. Making a book with this would not have worked as well because of the depth of the pages. “This was fun, and I never used this stuff before,” she said. (Figure 2-4)
For the final art making experience I chose to get messy. (Figure 3-2) It was my purpose to have an activity that was even more child-centered. I also wanted an activity that adults would be apprehensive to use because it is messy and non-structured. We made “Magic Muck” and “Super Sidewalk Paint” from the book The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions. These were simple to mix concoctions made of cornstarch, water and food coloring. She helped me mix them both. She had never worked with either before. What is so interesting about the magic muck is that when squeezed it forms a solid ball, but when you open your hand, the muck will melt from a solid back into a liquid. Carley giggled and loved making the big messes that go along with this activity. While she was not really reveling in the idea that this is neither a solid nor liquid, she was fascinated by it. It is something she had never seen before. We played with that for a half hour talking a bit about the science of this. While I knew that solids and liquids had probably not been introduced in school, I wanted to create the zone of proximal development, probing a bit further to see how much she already knew and what I could help her understand. We talked about water in its different forms, and she was quick to bring Popsicles into the discussion, knowing that Popsicles were juice in another form. The discussion was brief, however I could see the wheels turning in her mind as we discussed these ideas of matter having different forms. “Can you make a fingerprint in it?” and “Will it hold a shape you give it?” were a couple of my questions. They were not really directions, however they caused Carley to consider the question and think of ways to test the material to find the solution. Solids and liquids are the types of subjects in science that would be taught in the spiral fashion, this being an introduction. I think this would be a great way to get kindergarteners thinking about this in a scientific manner.
The other concoction was a much thinner liquid that could be used as sidewalk paint. (Figure 3-3) We took the sidewalk paint outside where she began by using paintbrushes to make familiar images. However, before long the muck was also being spread on the sidewalk and she was using them both to make her footprints. So she had messy hands and feet. I loved this! I think that this showed her openness to art. She did not ask if it was okay. She just did what came naturally, something that adults may not feel they should do or is “right.” It would be difficult to allow school-aged students to do this sort of thing, however it illustrates that we should not let our preconceived ideas limit where a child will take a project whenever possible. So, in this way I reached my goal of having a child-centered activity. In fact, she made a good mess while creating her sidewalk art, however I was careful not to look for a certain norm when evaluating her art form. We need to remember not to discredit that which we do not understand or did not expect. In fact I was happier with this outcome more than what I expected.
In closing, I had a meaningful art experience with my child each time. I first took time to look at my role in the art making. At times I still feel it is good to stand back and see what students take a project naturally so as to not stifle any ideas they may have. However, I really witnessed the importance of guidance, role modeling, and social interaction among students during art making. Vygotsky argued, “…Once these processes are internalized, they become part of child’s independent developmental achievement.” (Kindler, Significance of Adult Interaction in Early Childhood Artistic Development) At the same time, I made a conscious effort to not place a judgment on the product or create specific directions. I have learned through our readings and discussion that adult’s stereotypes can kill a child’s imagination.
The other main purpose to these activities was the child’s expression conveyed through art, an opportunity for her to use higher order thinking skills. She was successful in using fictive play to convey meaning and also through the structures made in our second project. She used varied materials that were new to her to express herself in a new way. She was also very successful in using social interaction to better her art and the art of others. I wanted to promote her artistic development through these experiences where she could express herself without adult expectation. Through standing back at times, my purpose was to allow her to do a child-centered activity. Lastly, I wanted these activities to be enjoyable and inspiring. I think that if children do not enjoy their learning experiences, they are less likely to work to their fullest potential and be successful. She has asked to do more projects since we finished these. I know she enjoyed them very much. In fact when questioning Carley about her art making experience, she said, "I am proud of my leaf art." And, when I asked about the different concoctions we mixed and explored she said, "I never get to get so messy!" This has taught me to remember that sometimes it is okay to be messy. Having a variety of experiences and leaving room for individuality will help students to be successful and to learn and grow in art and in all areas of their education and their lives. Paying attention, listening to children, and being careful to not be judgmental are very important parts we play as teachers and role models. And, if we can inspire a child, what could be better than that?
Bibliography
Thompson, “The Visual Arts and Early Childhood Learning.”
Thomas,
John and Danita Pagel. The Ultimate Book of Kid
Concotions. Kid Concoctions Company,
Thunder-McGuire, Steve. “A Liberatory of Artmaking.” 1997.
Zurmuehlen, Marilyn. “Meaningful Children’s Art.” 1974.
Zurmuehlen, Marilyn and Larry Kanter. “The Narrative Quality of Young Children’s Art.”
