Clay!

This week I introduced clay to the children. None of them had any experience with clay, so it was very interesting to see how they approached it. I started them off with slabs of clay for them to touch, poke and handle. There was a little poking going on, but they seemed reluctant to handle the clay. Then I offered them tools to use on the clay... the usual clay tools: rolling pins and carving utensils- and of course cars, horses, necklaces, and combs!The combs and cars were great for making tracks in the clay.

I also gave each child a small bowl of water and a sponge to moisten their clay if it seemed dry. This made the clay more pliable and very slippery!

After working with the tools, I brought out the bin of collage materials from the previous week for the children to stick into the clay.
Soon, Jordan and Karuna moved to the easel to work on monoprints.

Richie was still very focused on the cars!

After some movement around the studio, the kids came back to their clay to continue working. It's always important for any artist to be able to take a break and then re-visit their work with a fresh perspective. What great artists!

2x Collage

(Due to two absences the first week, I am combining week 1 and 2 of this session into one blog post- scroll down for week 2)
For our first class of the new session we learned about 3-D art through collage making. The materials were placed in bins on the floor for the children to explore and collect. Missing their friends who couldn't make it to class, Austin and Karuna got to work gluing their collages.
As it was their first experience with collage, they decided to promptly move to the easels to paint.
After smearing black paint over her hands, Karuna decided to make hand prints on the floor.
Soon the children were back at the table, adding glitter to their collages.
The squeeze glue and glitter were a hit! Austin and Karuna would squeeze out the glue (with a little help), pour the glitter over the paper, then shake it off and say "hang it up!"
The second week of our 3-D session, we worked on collage making again. Not only did I want Logan to get a chance to work with collage, but Austin and Karuna needed some more time to explore the process as well (we missed you Rogan!).
The collage materials started off on the floor, but Logan thought it would be better for them to be up on the table, closer to their work- what a great idea!
I soon introduced liquid watercolor to the table to get them more interested in the gluing process (it's much more fun when it's colorful!)


While Logan worked hard on squeezing his glue bottle, Karuna and Austin moved to the easels.
Austin began making mono-prints of his painting.
"Hang it up!"
Armed and ready to go...
The end of class turned into a music session, with Karuna leading us in "The Wheels on the Bus."

Collage- Take 2

For our second week of 3-D art, I decided to re-introduce collage making. Often times toddlers need multiple opportunities to explore a medium in order to feel comfortable working with it.
Last week, this group was given the materials at the table, but they were more interested in moving around the room. So this time, I put the collage items in bins on the floor and gave them cups to use as scoopers. They each brought scoops of materials back to their trays to begin their collages.
Soon after they began their gluing, I brought out liquid watercolors.
Colored glue is so much fun!


I then offered the children the squeeze bottle glue- which their small hands are still trying to master.
And finally the glitter!
I love to watch how the children work together and examine each others artwork.




As the children move around the studio, they experiment with different materials.

Kate and Grace return to the table to continue working on their collages.


Kirsten poses for the camera as she paints directly on the easel.

Karuna takes the opportunity of the paint on the easel to make another print!
After class, we decided to get a group picture- not the easiest task with 1-year-olds!

So sweet!