25 Apr Process Art as a Learning Experience
Among the other wonderful opportunities that warmer weather brings is the chance for children to bring their art projects outside. Creating art in the outdoors allows children more space for their materials as well as the chance to get a bit messy. Outdoor elements such as leaves, rocks, flowers and grass can also be used to as tools in the process.
The Creative Curriculum encourages us to use process art as often as possible when developing art projects with children. Here are a few ways to think about process art:
- Process art is a contemporary artistic movement recognized within the world’s art communities.
- The Guggenheim states “process art emphasizes the ‘process’ of making art”.
- The MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) points out that “in process art, the means count for more than the ends.”
(Source: Fun-a-Day Blog)
NAEYC offers some great ideas around process art for teachers and parents in this article, including:
Provide open-ended, creative art experiences by offering activities such as
• Easel painting with a variety of paints and paintbrushes (with no directions)
• Watercolor painting
• Exploring and creating with clay
• Finger painting
• Painting with unusual tools like toothbrushes, paint rollers, potato mashers
• Printing and stamping (stamps purchased or made with sponges)
• Creating spin art using a record player and paint, squirt bottles, paintbrushes, or markers
• Stringing beads independently and creatively
• Weaving cloth, yarn, or paper
• Drawing with pencils, art pens, various sizes of markers, or crayons
• Using homemade doughs
• Making collages using tissue paper, various sizes of paper, glue, paste, glue sticks, scissors, and recycled materials
Enjoy your outdoor time this season, and have fun with some outdoor process art!