Nutchele: January 2011

I'm choosing this project first because it's great for knocking down the fear wall. This is a project I use to warm up for myself. It's great for getting in a "right brain" mode. I think it is a great way to loosen those arm and finger muscles and to get rid of the "no scribbling" rule. Plus, it's just fun, I love creating art to music.

It's pretty simple. Cover your table (or floor) with paper or use a large piece of paper, put on your favorite music, grab some crayons, charcoal, markers, or finger paints and scribble away to the music. Choose some fast music and some slow music. Be expressive. Think about how the music makes you feel and what kinds of lines you paint to the different tempo and notes. Are some lines thick? Are some lines thin? Big strokes? Little strokes? Angled lines? Curved lines?

For some this assignment takes some getting used to, but it is very liberating once you can free yourself to do it. Here's some examples of the projects and variations of this assignment that we have done:

Finger painting to music- fast and slow
For this particular lesson in the photos we used Barber of Seville & Act 3 of Carmen; crayola finger paints, & finger paint paper- it doesn't tear as easily with wet paint & has slick side for easy sliding of the fingers, butcher paper could work too

Drawing lines with crayons to different styles of music
This time the song was "I've Got Rhythm", and we used crayons and Ikea's roll of paper

Painting with feet to music
This time we used a wide variety of music, but the song I remember off the top of my head was Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing"; and we used sheets as canvas or you can also get large amounts of muslin fabric at a fabric store for a fairly good price, and crayola washable paint. Down side to the paint is it is more of a tempera and has a powdery feel and the color dries much lighter. So if you're brave enough to use non washable acrylic paint, also more expensive, you can get better color and your masterpiece will be washable. I should also warn you that it can get slippery dancing in paint.

The first time I ever did lines to music was in a 2D design class at Utah State University. The assignment was to draw one line to music that expresses the music. I found this assignment to be a favorite and really inspiring for me.

Beatles- Cry for a Shadow

U2-Exit

I've adapted or done variations of it for myself and for assignments and projects I've given out to students. It is okay if you or your children (or students if you're teaching) don't get this right away. Some people get it and love it right away and others need to be shown what to do or what you expect. In my design class there were only a couple of us that understood what the instructor was asking for, that you can express mood or a song in this case, with one line. A handful of the class turned in a page with something resembling a heart rate monitor. Since I am not teaching a college/university class of potential career artists I don't limit to one line and am not so concerned about one line expressing the emotion of the song as I am about giving an opportunity to scribble- to break down a barrier, and to "feel" art or make an emotional connection.

For my first post on this blog I'm going to start with some basic tips for helping your children with art. The following posts will have projects.

Take time to notice. Art really is all about noticing. Listen to the sounds around you, the smells, touch, and look at how the sunlight shines through leaves, the colors around you, how they are different depending on the time of day, notice how everything has a shape, notice the lines, notice how objects relate to each other. Color, shape, line, and proportion are critical in art. Start to see how they play a role in the world around you. Point out little things you notice to your kids. Kids don't always need help with this, they often notice things we are too busy to see. Don't be too busy. Don't make it too boring either. It doesn't need to be an assignment. Just say, "oh, look at that leaf falling! It did a triple somersault! Wasn't that beautiful?" or find the man in the moon. You get the idea.

Draw for your kids. If they ask you to draw something for them or with them, do it, and don't say it's bad. If you are self conscious of your art they will model that. Proudly hang yours on the fridge with them. Also, if it does look bad and they tell you, don't feel bad, kids can be brutally honest sometimes & sometimes they have an opinion that isn't correct. Handle it the way you would want them to handle it. You can say, "really, what do you think I need to fix?" or you can agree and laugh about it, or you can say, "Hmm. I think I like it that way." Keep drawing anyway.

It's okay to go out of the lines. It's okay to color something a color it really isn't. It's okay to scribble all you want. It's okay to walk in the room and say, "oh what are you making?" or "tell me about your art" It's also okay if it isn't anything in particular.

It is always beautiful or amazing even if you don't think so. When you have boys drawing a war you can't really say it's beautiful, but you can say it's amazing. Don't worry about if your toddler (or you) has talent or not. It doesn't matter. Art is supposed to be enjoyed and a natural outlet or expression. All little kids love to sing and dance and make art just for fun. Don't mess that up by worrying about if they are good enough to get into a special school for that. Just let them have fun for awhile. As a child get's older it still isn't always so much about talent as it is being teachable.

Sometimes you might have a child who is capable of noticing the beauty and details around them so well that they try to recreate them and cannot meet their own expectations. I have a daughter who at three decided she did not ever want to draw again because the bears she kept trying to draw looked like a pile of rocks to her. Of course at 3 her bears looked like a pile of rocks! They were very adorable "rock bears" as she called them, but she wouldn't see that. She wanted them to look real.
I did tell her I like them. I didn't push her to draw or make her keep trying. For a long time she wouldn't draw. She'd do other things like cut and glue or sewing cards. Eventually she got over it on her own and has done some very beautiful things. My point is it isn't the end of the world and if there are art supplies available and opportunities to try, it's too much fun to ignore.
When I have children over for art lessons that I know are a little intimidated and self conscious of their art work I have shown them some of mine from when I was a kid. It doesn't look that amazing really and some of it even won art contests at school. We get a good chuckle.