The Mom I Want to Be

I want the kids to learn that art is about losing your inhibition, expressing yourself, about not looking around the room to see if you’re doing it the right way,” says Marion. For those of us hoping to nurture that creativity in our own kids, here are some of her secrets and tips, plus five of her favorite projects: Charm Bags, Paper Mobiles, Box Buildings, Pastel Portraits, and the Ultimate Action Figure Template.

 

Make the space (literally)

 

Marion has made a point of establishing an atmosphere in which kids feel free to try new things. “You know when the teacher is in overalls, it’s not an uptight place,” she says with a grin. Looking around the former barn she uses for the camp’s main studio, you see paint splattered on the floor and messages, murals, and artwork on the walls. It’s an inspiring place. Something about being surrounded by so many colors and patterns makes you want to pick up a brush and paint something yourself. “You can get messy here!” chimes in one of the kids. “Messier than at school.”

 

While not everyone has the benefit of a barn in their backyard, Marion encourages her campers’ parents to carve out a creative space in their own homes, one where kids don’t have to worry about keeping everything just so. “And really,” she smiles, “all you need is a card table and a garage.”

 

Provide the proper materials (they’re not what you think)

 

Having the “right” materials on hand can also contribute to that spirit of creative freedom, and one of the biggest surprises in Marion’s studio is her supply closet. She pulls back a curtain to reveal not expensive paints and fancy collage papers but piles of magazines and discontinued wallpaper books stacked next to bins of wood scraps, yarn, cardboard boxes, and more.

 

While she believes a few materials, such as good scissors and paintbrushes, are worth splurging on, recyclables are an artist’s bonanza. More important, using such inexpensive items can foster risk taking in children by taking away the pressure to make something perfect: “The kids are looser because they’re free to experiment and have something come out badly and do another one,” says Marion. “The adults are looser because they didn’t buy an expensive material they have to worry about getting their money out of.” Marion holds up a box of (unused) disposable specula — medical ear-probe covers — donated by one of her camper’s parents. “I don’t see trash,” she says. “I see treasure.”

 

The kids seem to agree. That flotsam of daily life comes in handy for today’s box sculpture project. Eleven-year-old Sierra McDonald scoops up wooden beads to build a tower and plant stand for her box-sculpture museum. Amy Hubbard, 10, sees hospital windows in a pile of toothpicks. And those specula? It turns out they make great ice-cream cones at the ice-cream shop 10-year-old Meghan Hamill is building.

 

Offer simple but open-ended projects

 

(your kids will take more pride in their work) One way Marion instills creative confidence in her students is by giving them control over their work. That means projects are simple enough for them to complete without (much) adult assistance, yet rewarding enough to keep them engaged.

When Marion introduces a simple paper and twine mobile (see the instructions at left), the kids respond as predicted, eagerly searching for just the right paper to give them the look they want. The mobiles require only some cutting and gluing — but leave room for a lot of interpretation. And when 8-year-old Sam Gaudet asks if there are any rules for making them, Marion encourages the kids to be adventurous: “I’ve seen the mobiles all solid colors, and I’ve seen them all crazy colors. I’ve seen mobiles all one shape, and I’ve seen them all different shapes. See what excites you.”

 

 

Resist the urge to “help” (you’ll both be glad you did)

 

Fighting that desire to “fix” a child’s project is the other essential part of ensuring the kids’ creative control. And in Marion’s experience, it’s one of the toughest things for adults to do. “That one’s still hard even for me, because sometimes the kids use a material in a different way than I would,” she admits. “But that’s how creativity happens. That’s how things get invented. I’ll only step in if I can move them toward their vision, as opposed to correcting them.”

 

The kids respond well to this philosophy. While working on their box sculptures, they occasionally look around for inspiration or a smile of encouragement, but mostly they work independently, studying their structures and adding such flourishes as a corrugated cardboard roof and a smokestack (with a feather for smoke) that are straight from their own imaginations.

 

 

Praise the inventive (the results can be pretty amazing)

 

The key is to help children learn to see with their inner artist’s eye. “When I’m working with the kids,” Marion says, “I try to positively reinforce the thing that is creative — maybe someone held the paper a different way — as opposed to just praising that the lines are straight. And if a kid used a green crayon by mistake and thinks he’s ruined a picture, I’ll pick up a Matisse and show him where the artist painted a portrait of his wife with a green nose.” Even as Marion introduces a new style of art, she’s careful to show multiple examples to reinforce the notion that there’s more than one way to execute an idea.

 

And by and large, her students seem to take that lesson to heart. When 9-year-old Leland Rege-Colt finishes his box sculpture with a final twist of the spring that sits on top, he admits that he doesn’t exactly know what it is he’s built. Still, he’s pleased. “Ooh,” he says excitedly, “I like the way that looks.”

 

His satisfaction shows on Marion’s face as well. “This is my little world,” she says. “This is what I live for.”

 

 

Guidelines for Open-ended Art

 

·       Never alter or ‘fix’ a child’s work

·       Provide a wide variety of interesting materials and choices

·       Add new materials weekly, incorporating your theme if possible

·       Never tell a child what to create

·       Emphasize the process, not the end product

·       Don’t ask “What is it?”; Say “Tell me about it”

·       Ask the child if and where he/she would like his name put

·       Let children explore materials

·       Let children come up with their own ideas and use materials creatively

·       Provide materials for 3-D and on-going artwork projects

·       Encourage, do not force participation

·       Do not do models or samples for the children

·       Throw away any colorbooks or dittos in the room

·       All materials should be at the children’s level, and accessible

·       Playdough and the art easel should be open the majority of each day

·       Encourage children to express feelings and personal experiences through art

·       Display art in a variety of ways – it should not all ‘match’

·       Talk about texture, color, smell, shape, etc and the experience

·       Let the children be as independent as possible, and encourage self-help skills and responsibility in cleaning up art

·       Educate parents as to the value and learning in open-ended art

·       Teach and model appropriate use and respect of materials

·       Allow ample time for children to create and explore

·       Incorporate books on fine art in your classroom

·       Children should be doing their own cutting – it’s okay if a circle doesn’t remotely resemble a circle yet. This is how they develop these fine muscles – and makes it ‘their’ work and experience.

·       There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way, or end product.

·       The art area should have lots and lots of a variety of different collage materials, and always be an open, available choice for children