I would LOVE to share with you a friend of mine’s labor of love.
If you are any of the following (but not limited to) you will benefit from it:
- an art teacher
- a teacher who incorporates art into your curriculum
- a caregiver or parent who likes to invite your special little one to explore art
YOU should download Meri Cherry’s Art Secrets Every Teacher Should Know, A Reggio Inspired Approach, her recently published e-book.
It includes:
- 10 Projects with Secrets
- 10 mini Art Secrets
- Several mini Art Secrets from around the globe
First off, in case you aren’t familiar with Meri’s work, she is a mother and a private art teacher. She recently expanded her business by opening an amazing art studio in Tarzana, CA. Meri is a Reggio-inspired Atelierista and has a great focus on process art (where the main focus is on the art process, rather than the outcome). Her students’ finished work always seems to come out interesting and amazing, though, radiating the interest, excitement, and caring that went into the work.
I love her open-ended projects that just build and build. Meri shows us how to set up invitations to create, let the child lead with ideas, and develop and grow projects even further. If you are a teacher that feels: “I do all this prep work, and then they are done.” This ebook is for you. She really shows us how to get creative longevity out of artwork, where the children get all they can out of the experience.
We were inspired by the whole ebook, but I choose one project in particular to share with you. Project Four–Recreating Art Through Tracing.
The boys and I set up our still-life subject, which happened to be a cheeseburger bank. We drew our subject then added tracing paper over our art to trace and play around with new ideas. It was fun and worry-free. We knew that if we didn’t like what we created on top with our Sharpie marker we could just get another piece of tracing paper and try something new. We had a lot of fun with it, creating Hamburglers and hamburgers on the run.
The next day in Wee Warhols art class we had more fun with transparent paper. I taped a large strip of clear acrylic down on the tables. I gave the kids Crayola Slick Stix (oil pastels) to freely draw to the music we were playing.
Then we sprayed poster boards with spray adhesive, and cut off the excess clear layer.
This was such a fun, carefree project! The children were able to move freely while creating this layered abstract art.
I hope you will check out Meri Cherry’s eBOOK and get inspired too. (As a treat Meri added a 35% discount to anyone that goes to her site from here and purchases the book!!!)