When Im in my Painting....

"When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well."-Jackson Pollack

I read this quote to my kids and when I asked them what they thought-if they understood this idea of being in a painting- the response was "of course I get it." Brittney closed her eyes and explained it to me- "its like my mind is nowhere else"

I am sure that 'teaching' art to kids needs to be about exploration -

about allowing oneself to get into the work - then incredible art will be made and it will be truly authentic - harmonious -

Its been an incredible year making Art with children - it is making my life more interesting, more valuable and more balanced - creating the most colorful part of My own collage -

Thank You Kids and Happy New Year !!

masters

‎"If your vision is one year, plant rice. If your vision is ten years, plant trees.

If your vision is one hundred years, educate your children in the arts."

Kids were very productive this month-we 'studied' Picasso and Matisse and talked not only about the art that they were famous for but about the artists themselves-about their relationship with eachother, and their own personal history. The kids seemed very interested in them as people. I think that it is important to connect kids to the 'masters' as human beings so that they can appreciate the art and feel more connected.

I feel blessed and thankful this month to have the opportunity to meet with these special kids and 'educate' them, alittle bit, in this world of Art-from exploring techniques and reading about Artists-

Magic

Its been awhile seen Ive blogged-the summer came and went and workshops began in October. It felt like magic -time - like art - from nothing there is something and that something is amazing. beautiful. interesting. inspiring. kids are natural at this. at magic. they accept that things are whatever you want them to be. and i love this about them. and i love setting up the environment for them so that they can imagine something and then, poof, they can make it happen. Its been fun this month and Im grateful, tremendously happy to have these children come in the studio with me. They inspire me to keep making magic and to remember not to forget....

We began with Drawing-my fav- and Printing-kids' fav. -cause to see your image re-produced again and again is fascinating for them-Sculpting-everyones fav-Magic Wands-we we all need one-Masks-for our alter ego's-and Feeling Boxes, inspired by my friend Randy Gold, a Doctor of Childrens Feelings...this was most interesting as we all discussed where In our bodies our feelings lie-in our stomachs? our legs? our necks? when we feel scared or nervous or angry where does it hurt? The kids were receptive to this notion-they got it-and then they created external boxes to store feelings, so that they dont build up Inside. Fantastic . Thank you Randy.

Process

'what is an artist' and 'what is art' and 'what is the point of art'- and truly it must be-the Process- of thought-the way we think and the way we construct things out of the thoughts we have, the creation is the result of the Process....
some people see things as they are and others see things as something else-can this be taught? well, sort of. Kids have a natural ability to imagine things as other things....and when nurtured and valued, this ability can be fostered & great things can be made....the imagination at work is such a cool thing-the best part of being around kids is this-they still have this ability and desire to use their imagination-to allow their Process to happen in order to make things and discover things - that must be the point of Art and the necessity of it all.....i love this tree!

The Disappearing Coast

My group this month is working on Collaborative Artworks, one of which is about the oil spill in the Gulf. Being California girls, and having the ocean and beach such a great part of our lives, and childhoods, it felt right to make a piece of work inspired by our feelings regarding this disaster.

The girls talked about how sad they felt about it, how scared they are about eating fish now, and how horrible it is for the animals that are suffering. They understand that the next generation of birds and fish can be affected too. They get the enormity of the disaster and they want to share this piece....I am trying to get it displayed somewhere along our coast....

Tess models for Us

TESS

We had the privilege of having a good friend Tess come over and model for us! She is an amazing dancer and has incredible patience for an 8 year old girl!!! The kids were in awe of her.
This also brought back memories for me, as I learned to draw from live models and still love the experience so much. I think there is no better way to train the eye than to examine another person and draw....check these out.

Delectable

Nothing better than edible Art...

PERCEPTIONS

The kids came to the studio ready to continue the mural that we started the previous week, however when I asked them how school was, they began a long and heated conversation about someone that is causing them alot of frustration. This child obviously has had some power over them and they are completely fascinated by her and her behaviour. They really want to understand her and why she chooses to tell tales, and to manipulate people in the class. I think they like this child but they cannot figure her out....anyway, we decided to use this energy to create a piece of artwork. Naturally we chose Clay because this group Love to sculpt....well needless to say they produced the most outrageous depiction of a young pretty girl!! We discussed that when someone makes you feel badly, you view them differently. This sculpture represents the way the kids FEEL about this person. They titled it "They say mean things" which is an amazing title because who knows who is saying mean things to whom?? Is this child the victim?? Or the kids in my workshop??

DRAWINGS FROM HOME

Home drawings

The kids and I began a drawing project based on our Homes. We began with Charlie's house and then walked over to Alir's. The kids took their sketchpads and pencils and explored the houses looking for the things that interested them most. It was interesting to see the choices. I think the things that attracted them the most about others' homes, are the things they didn't imagine having at their own home. I think it is a valuable project because it enhances their powers of observation while allowing them to appreciate the differences in each of our homes...

Collaborative Art Making

My new endeavor is to create group projects with the children in the hopes
of having them displayed throughout our community. As much as I love this little
town, I do believe we lack visual Art in our public places, like our schools, libraries
parks, and cultural centers. The kids have such a raw and natural way of expressing
themselves and they are capable of creating such profound work....I think it will inspire
all the children; and even us grown ups; to appreciate visual Art a bit more.
I also believe that participating in group projects is so valuable because the children learn to really work together, and learn to appreciate eachothers unique perspective and style.

The kids and I decided to begin our first mural on the subject of CHILDRENS RIGHTS
We created a list of words that describe the things that we feel ALL children deserve in the world.
Love, Hugs, Kisses, Doctors, Clothes, Food, Fun, Books, Sun..to name a few....

This mural is inspired by MATISSE, in that we used paper to create the images and words....

Body Art continued....

wishing tree

On our drawing table, we have a little 'wishing' tree
The kids wrote their secrets and we hung them on the branches.
Its a place to share and hope and work out the things we want.
The messages ranged from desires of material things to wishing
a friend was nicer or hoping to be closer to another friend. Some
messages were greater than the individual, wanting more water on earth
and wanting Everyone to be healthy....I think in reading the notes, the
kids can get a greater sense of their needs as opposed to the needs of us ALL.
This was inspired by Yoko Onos Wishing Tree project.

making magic

the kids and I had an amazing day painting and thinking about words that we can't live without. They used basic words like love and family and friends and they picked them not based on the words themselves, but on the need that these words represent...sentimental words.
The colors that the kids chose were all so different. and also very telling of their individuality. And the way in which the kids work is also very indicative of who they are. Looking at these pieces as a whole is best because they seem to fit together, like a mural. images of young people floating in space with the basic words of Need around them....these kids are so fortunate because they all get their needs met; unlike many children floating around this world....
I would love this mural hung somewhere in our city, so that all kids could look at it, relate to it;
and understand its primitive and important message.....