by Alix Tonsgard
At the Museum, we focus our Studio programming on process-oriented art. What is process-oriented art? Process-oriented, or open-ended, art focuses on the experience of creation and exploration of materials, tools, and even techniques. There are no step-by-step instructions. There is no wrong or right way. It is self-motivated in that the desire to create comes from the child. The value of the activity is in the doing, the creating, not in what is created.
One of the fundamental beliefs here at DCM is that children actively construct their knowledge by interacting with the world around them (Vygotsky and Piaget). This in turn means that in order to develop and learn, they need regular opportunities to touch, see, explore, and manipulate objects and ideas. In process-oriented art the way that the children explore the artistic medium or tools is as important as the final creation. Begin by simply inviting children to explore the materials provided. Giving children the freedom, time, and repeated opportunities to explore and work with materials as they choose will support the development of their skills and abilities to constructively use those materials over time. Children go from using too much glue on everything to self-regulating the amount of glue they need to complete a process. They go from mixing every color of paint on the table to selectively mixing the colors to produce a desired result.
To support the development of higher-level thinking we often use open-ended questions such as, “I wonder why you decided to use yarn instead of cotton balls” or “Tell me about those squiggly lines….” The next time you are creating at home, try this – Comment on your child’s process, not on their product.
Have any stories to share about creativity? I’d love to hear them! Post them on DCM’s Facebook or Twitter.
Alix Tonsgard is an early learning specialist at the DuPage Children’s Museum.
