Samara Caughey - Drawing Workshop for Kids: Process Art Experiences for Building Creativity and Confidence

PROCESS ART EXPERIENCES FOR BUILDING CREATIVITY AND CONFIDENCE

SAMARA CAUGHEY

I have the good fortune of owning an art studio for children and families on the east side of Los Angeles called Purple Twig. For several years prior to opening Purple Twig, I taught art to children in various art institutions around Los Angeles. Feeling stifled by the restrictions of allowed materials and projects, I created Purple Twig, a space where children can come together and explore materials as well as their own potential. We focus on an art-making process where children can find, express, and develop their own voice while learning the importance of technique and material use. This allows children more control over their artwork. Im frequently asked about our drawing class curriculum and how we combine the process art philosophy with teaching drawing technique.

Mirroring the philosophy of our studio, Drawing Workshop for Children is a collection of drawing projects using a wide variety of drawing materials, including ink, watercolor, charcoal, and pencil, to allow for experimentation and exploration of both the materials and drawing techniques. Ranging from mark making to shadow, composition, and perspective, these activities are meant to create great drawing experiences where children can further their knowledge and skills. Drawing is such an incredible way for children to find their own creative voice. All one really needs is a pencil and paper. I propose drawing projects that embrace the simple pleasure of the paper and pencil while also introducing new materials to explore, offering children the opportunity to try out some new techniques.

This book is divided into two parts. Warm-Up Drawings are quick projects offered to loosen up and grow confidence. They usually take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete, depending on the child. These projects use fewer and simpler materials but can also be performed alone as a way to warm up to a childs own creative drawing session. Drawing Workshops are longer, more involved, layered drawing projects, which may even take a few sessions to complete, lending themselves to the process of the making.

This book strives to inspire investigation in drawing and to advance a childs own approach.

The principal goal of education should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done; men and women who are creative, inventive, and discoverers, who can be critical and verify, and not accept, everything they are offered. Each time one prematurely teaches a child something he could have discovered himself, that child is kept from inventing it and consequently from understanding it completely.

JEAN PIAGET

In many drawing books, children are encouraged to draw a subject matter by building up of shapestriangles, squares, circles, and ovalsto create simplistic drawings, then asked to define the subject matter by adding didactic details. While this method allows children to replicate a final product, it doesnt help them develop their own drawing skills or allow them to learn different processes of art making.

The drawing projects in Drawing Workshop for Kids are designed for children to take a drawing journey, developing skills that can be layered. Through learning these skills, children will feel increasingly able to make informed decisions about their own drawings and take ownership of their work.

This book is filled with projects for children and parents to create together, or for your child to further their drawing skills. The activities use a range of drawing materials, such as ink, watercolor, charcoal, and pencil. When working through the projects, remember that some of the greatest drawing experiences happen during the drawing process and not always at the completion of the final product.

WORKING WITH GROUPS

A few considerations to keep in mind when working with groups of children:

• Setting up the materials and still life in an inviting way before the children enter the room can capture their attention and inspire curiosity.
• Sometimes the act of drawing can lead to much chatter and conversation, or children may become quite focused and calm. As a facilitator, be open to the ways children work. Both are meaningful.
• Be leery of using demonstrations. I find that examples can hinder children and can possibly create an atmosphere thats restrictive rather than open and creative.
• If a child becomes frustrated with one of the projects or with a certain material, please feel free to offer whatever material the child is more comfortable with. Using new materials can feel challenging, so switching to a material theyre confident with can ease some of the tension.
• I offer Provocations in each project. These are suggestions to give children while they draw to help guide them through the drawing journey. Theyre meant to help support the students, not to be demands or instructions. Some children only hear them subconsciously, which is fine.