Children's Art Studio
We Are:
Julann Brown and Jackie Davis
Julann Brown is the mother of two boy. She has 8 years experience
working in the preschool environment, first as a parent and then as a
teacher. Julann qualifies as a Child Development Master Teacher and
continues her studies in Early Childhood Education, with a special
interest in the role of art in child development.
Jackie Davis is the mother of 3 children. She has been making soap
and body care products since 1998. Jackie is an active school
volunteer and teaches art with Julann through the Placer County Art
Docent program.
Julann Brown and Jackie Davis
Julann Brown is the mother of two boy. She has 8 years experience
working in the preschool environment, first as a parent and then as a
teacher. Julann qualifies as a Child Development Master Teacher and
continues her studies in Early Childhood Education, with a special
interest in the role of art in child development.
Jackie Davis is the mother of 3 children. She has been making soap
and body care products since 1998. Jackie is an active school
volunteer and teaches art with Julann through the Placer County Art
Docent program.
Please Read the following article concerning the importance of art in the
childs' development.
Art and the preschooler.
What is Art? This is an age-old question that many have sought to answer.
Is art in the eye of the beholder or in the heart and soul of the one who is
creating the art? For children it is a creative process and one of the first
ways of expressing themselves. Creative art allows a child to represent
the world that surrounds them, to express their feelings and to bring what
is in their imaginations to life. Being able to think about something they can’
t see and then create it in a drawing or painting is a big accomplishment
for a preschooler. What an empowering and wonderful thing!
It is important to distinguish creative art from crafts. Many confuse the two
but there is a big difference. Creative art is a process in which children
and adults are free to choose materials and how to use them. Craft is the
making of a product using specific materials and following specific
instructions. To create art on their own, children organize, reason, invent,
and solve problems when we allow them the freedom to do so. Telling
children that they are all going to make a lion or a snowman stifles the
natural learning and discovery that occurs when children are given the
opportunity to create with out pre-conceived end products in mind.
It might seem as though art activities are just messy and chaotic, but they
provide such important learning experiences for children. The hands on
process of art, from holding a crayon, pencil or brush to sculpting with clay
and playdough increases children’s small motor skills and is important
precursor to learning how to write. In talking with the children about their
art, children develop language skills and understanding of basic concepts
of descriptive language and communication. Children develop a sense of
space and pattern as well as measurement while creating art; these are
all basic math concepts necessary for later learning. Above all, “art
teaches preschoolers to believe in themselves, to try new things and to
trust their own imaginations,” and “that there are surprises, possibilities
and wonder in imagination, and they can control how it all happens.”
(MaryAnn F. Kohl)
Our focus at Creative Endeavors is on joy, on development, on cognitive
and emotional growth, and on discovery, not on the finished product.
What the experts say about the importance of art for children…
“The best creative environment encourages children to be playful or silly,
to be alone or bored sometimes, to explore or even fall sometimes...
children may not choose to “go with art” as they grow older, but it will
always be a part of their life. The most valuable things they get from art ---
the flexibility, the decision making abilities, the confidence in their intuition,
the feeling of celebration they bring to any creative endeavor.”
--Sally Warner, Encouraging The Artist in your Child, (St. Martins Press,
1989)
“ From the time she first discovers that a crayon can mark a sheet of
paper, this kind of play will be important to your child. Through drawing and
painting she will not only learn to manage the preliminaries to writing, she
will also learn…to express some of her views about the world and her own
problems… as well as the pleasure which can only come through her own
efforts… She is exploring the material and its potential, so of you try to
make her ‘draw Mommy’ or ‘cut out a star’ you will be interfering with her
play.”
--Penelope Leach, Your Growing Child, (Knopf 1994)
“A Close look at what constitutes the best kind of experience for infants
and young children leads quickly to the arts. From a baby’s first lullaby, to a
three-year-old’s experimentation with finger paint, to a seven-year-old’s
dramatization of a favorite story, developmentally appropriate arts
experience is critical. For all children, at all ability levels, the arts play a
central role in cognitive, motor, language, and social-emotional
development.”
--The Task Force on Children’s Learning and the Arts: Birth to Age Eight,
(The Arts Education Partnership, 1998)
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when he
grows up.”
-- Pablo Picasso
childs' development.
Art and the preschooler.
What is Art? This is an age-old question that many have sought to answer.
Is art in the eye of the beholder or in the heart and soul of the one who is
creating the art? For children it is a creative process and one of the first
ways of expressing themselves. Creative art allows a child to represent
the world that surrounds them, to express their feelings and to bring what
is in their imaginations to life. Being able to think about something they can’
t see and then create it in a drawing or painting is a big accomplishment
for a preschooler. What an empowering and wonderful thing!
It is important to distinguish creative art from crafts. Many confuse the two
but there is a big difference. Creative art is a process in which children
and adults are free to choose materials and how to use them. Craft is the
making of a product using specific materials and following specific
instructions. To create art on their own, children organize, reason, invent,
and solve problems when we allow them the freedom to do so. Telling
children that they are all going to make a lion or a snowman stifles the
natural learning and discovery that occurs when children are given the
opportunity to create with out pre-conceived end products in mind.
It might seem as though art activities are just messy and chaotic, but they
provide such important learning experiences for children. The hands on
process of art, from holding a crayon, pencil or brush to sculpting with clay
and playdough increases children’s small motor skills and is important
precursor to learning how to write. In talking with the children about their
art, children develop language skills and understanding of basic concepts
of descriptive language and communication. Children develop a sense of
space and pattern as well as measurement while creating art; these are
all basic math concepts necessary for later learning. Above all, “art
teaches preschoolers to believe in themselves, to try new things and to
trust their own imaginations,” and “that there are surprises, possibilities
and wonder in imagination, and they can control how it all happens.”
(MaryAnn F. Kohl)
Our focus at Creative Endeavors is on joy, on development, on cognitive
and emotional growth, and on discovery, not on the finished product.
What the experts say about the importance of art for children…
“The best creative environment encourages children to be playful or silly,
to be alone or bored sometimes, to explore or even fall sometimes...
children may not choose to “go with art” as they grow older, but it will
always be a part of their life. The most valuable things they get from art ---
the flexibility, the decision making abilities, the confidence in their intuition,
the feeling of celebration they bring to any creative endeavor.”
--Sally Warner, Encouraging The Artist in your Child, (St. Martins Press,
1989)
“ From the time she first discovers that a crayon can mark a sheet of
paper, this kind of play will be important to your child. Through drawing and
painting she will not only learn to manage the preliminaries to writing, she
will also learn…to express some of her views about the world and her own
problems… as well as the pleasure which can only come through her own
efforts… She is exploring the material and its potential, so of you try to
make her ‘draw Mommy’ or ‘cut out a star’ you will be interfering with her
play.”
--Penelope Leach, Your Growing Child, (Knopf 1994)
“A Close look at what constitutes the best kind of experience for infants
and young children leads quickly to the arts. From a baby’s first lullaby, to a
three-year-old’s experimentation with finger paint, to a seven-year-old’s
dramatization of a favorite story, developmentally appropriate arts
experience is critical. For all children, at all ability levels, the arts play a
central role in cognitive, motor, language, and social-emotional
development.”
--The Task Force on Children’s Learning and the Arts: Birth to Age Eight,
(The Arts Education Partnership, 1998)
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when he
grows up.”
-- Pablo Picasso
| A creative young man with a work well done! |
Two of our Summer Program
participants working on their
watercolor techniques.
participants working on their
watercolor techniques.
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