I was looking forward to our Pro D Day because Gina had booked an art
class at 4 Cats Studio at Garden City Centre in Richmond. It was different from
other workshops, giving me a sense of how children feel when they are doing or
making their own art work.
Jumping Judy was our instructor and took us to the back of the studio
where we sat at a large table across from each other. I felt this was important
because you can engage with one another and share ideas about the art that we
were going to do just like we do at preschool with the children.
Jumping Judy began by giving us all a square wooden box. This got me thinking what could we be making with this? She then explained about a product called Liquid Vitrous, which we would mix into the paint colors we would be choosing for our box. This liquid gives the paint a runny, glossy look when it dries. Jumping Judy showed us some samples of the effects it has when mixed in paint and how it changes the pattern. I thought it almost looked like an oil spill in the sunlight, very fun to do and relaxing!!
We all began by choosing a color and began painting the outside of the box, we then went on to select our paint colors. We all had ideas of what we wanted to create. When we poured the paint mix on the surface of the boxes we quickly realized that the colors seemed to mix and create something of its own, quite different from what our ideas were. I found this to be interesting looking at this process from a preschoolers’ perspective, how he/she may be disappointed that the paint did not mix colors the way he/she planned and how would a preschooler understand what happened? I asked myself would I need to provide other materials like brushes to help the preschooler create what she had envisioned or do we allow the child to work with the understanding of the paints mixing into colors and creating whatever they do. I believe both, I think it’s important to provide the child with lots of materials but also understand that’s what happens when paint colors mix.
As we moved the paint around on the surfaces of our boxes by tilting or using tools like eye droppers to add more paint, the mixing of the paint was making different patterns. I found this to be relaxing to watch and thinking how it would make a preschooler feel? Maybe the same way, or they may even be fascinated by the colors changing the pattern.
It was exciting to see how different the painting turned out, considering that we all used the same materials. We will be displaying our art upstairs for you all to see!
Until next time
Jess
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