Art with My Children

July 22, 2024

My children and I nestle into our usual couch spots, ready for reading. A bright orange book awaits us, new to us but not new to the world (the thrift store holds the best treasures). The night before I perused the first few lessons, and now I’m eager to share with my children.

“Art is all around you,” the new-to-us book says (Hubbard, page 1). We look at pictures of art in the world: fireworks, intricate spiderwebs, a Degas ballerina, and a child stroking with bright colors. We turn the page to learn more.

Art is made up of lines we learn (Hubbard, page 4). A forest of soldier trees stands tall in a picture. Lacy curtains form soft, translucent lines in a sunny photo. A combine follows straight golden paths, harvesting the precious crop in a pastoral scene.

We can make our own straight-line art, too! Dad brings in a giant leftover piece of cardboard from the barn. I set up a cutting board on the kitchen floor and begin cutting small rectangles of cardboard with a boxcutter. Dad watches on, gently reminding to be careful (he knows that boxcutters like to bite!).

I ready the kitchen while eager artists prance in the living room. First, I spread the paint-splattered craft tablecloth over the kitchen table. Next, I set out large paper plates and squirt a rainbow of colors onto them. I set out a pile of straight cardboard pieces and a paintbrush for each artist. “All right! I’m ready now,” I call.

Everyone settles, and I show them how to dip the cardboard edges into the paint and stamp onto a clean, white paint paper. I encourage the children to make “at least one piece of art with only straight edges.” The children try but soon discover their own methods. One child reaches for a paintbrush and begins swirling, swirling the colors on the plate. Strokes like slippery fish emerge. “It looks like the sea!” another child calls out.

With no interest in the defining cardboard, a child asks, “Can I put my paper on the cardboard [that dad brought from the barn]?”

Hmm, that’s a mess, I think.

“How about we put a piece of clean paper on top of your painting and see what happens?” I suggest.  After an eager acceptance, we try this experiment. We press the paper on top, smoothing out the edges. I pull back the top piece, and childish delight escapes into “Wow, that’s neat!” Now we have two pieces of unique art!

Another artist gives this technique a go, and soon we have a whole kitchen table full of colorful art prints. I chuckle to myself because this was not the project I had planned, yet eager children engage in art happily. They are learning and exploring.

I settle down to create my own straight-line art. Even I decide to diverge from the cardboard line art, and after a few minutes with a pencil and a ruler, I create my own modern art of random lines in a rectangle box. Curious children survey my art and voice their approval. I’m not much of an artist, but even my feeble attempts teach my children. I color the empty shapes in a kaleidoscope of colors and mount my final piece onto black paper.

We are all pleased with our art, but most of all, we enjoyed the process of creating art.

-Ashley

Work(s) Cited

Hubbard, Guy. Art in Action. San Diego: Coronado Publishers, 1987. Print.

Personal Disclosure

As the author of Ashley Qurollo Blog, all opinions are my own. Any possible applications are universal in nature, not directed at any one individual or people group. My sincere desire is to help others by sharing what I am learning. Nothing stated on this blog is ever intended to hurt others. Ashley Qurollo, owner of Ashley Qurollo Blog and Website, is not held liable in any way for any application of the ideas and thoughts stated here.

#art #artwork #process #child #directed #childdirectedart #children #explore #mediums #textures #paints #painting #paintbrushes #experiment #paper #colors #colorful #homeschool #artinaction #book #textbook #artcurriculum #curriculum #teach #teachathome #artathome #kitchen #table #motherhood #learn #ashleyqurollo #story #gentlelearning #charlottemason #gentle #childhood #create #creating #degas #modern #reading #couch #montessori #childart #childrensart #childartwork #kidart #craft #kidscrafts