Beginning Class Review

The last Friday of October we began with a simple drawing class designed to evaluate levels of ability and interest, it was an adventure!
October 30: Medium Exploration; Pencils. This session was directed to let the children experience pencils including taking turns sharpening, discovering and using an eraser, understanding the fragility of graphite, and experimenting with the weight of a hand drawn line.  
November 6: Shape and Texture; Leaf Rubbings. This exercise allowed the children to recognize fine motor skills by holding small leaves under paper and creating unique rubbings in wax (crayon) medium. Although simple by nature, the complexities of applying texture to design and control of medium weight to create various values from light to dark depending on pressure is a valuable drawing concept. We also made Leaf Men, adapted from the storybook Leaf Man, by Lois Ehlert. 
November 13: Medium Exploration: Watercolor. We practiced dipping brushes in water cups, learned to talk about palletes and paint cakes and how to clean them, and found out what real watercolor paper feels like compared to common 80lb computer paper. 
November 20: Medium Exploration: Watercolor and Collage. The children made their own Thanksgiving placemats by painting leaf shapes and gluing. Although not waterproof, it was a chance to navigate glue amounts and further exploration of paint viscosity by adding water. 
Thank you so much to all the children who participated in our first month of classes; we are looking forward to inviting you back along with new friends to make more art!