Words of wisdom created in 3D Collage

A while ago I was contacted by a teacher keen to develop the creative talent of a 7 year old pupil. Rather than inspire with paint, I hoped to inspire with words of encouragement.

Here is an excerpt from Devon Teacher Blog on WordPress

“On a recent trip to Cornwall I was looking for some inspiration for an art project. I have a seven year old child in my class who is gifted and talented in art. Her family regularly visit Cornwall and so this is a real passion for her.

At school I had already given her a special art book where she can do drawings and try out various techniques but she is always aiming higher. She wants to create something on a larger scale. So I needed inspiration…

So I took to the streets of Padstow (combining it with some much needed relaxation time over Easter) and visited art galleries and exhibitions. I found a lot of beautiful paintings which did inspire me but it was still hard to relate them to a Year 2 child.

I took down the names of my favourite artists and googled them, which also led me to find more cornish artists. I decided to email them explaining what I wanted to do and out of the few who did reply I found some true words of wisdom:

Painting is easy … have in your mind that there are NO mistakes. Be instinctive about where you put colour and what colours you use and the results can be great. Don’t judge your painting or let anyone else make a judgement… I/We should have done this or that. If it looks wrong, it just needs more work. Keep going with it. As adults we feel constrained by what we think it should be like or by convention, but there are no rules. Try spraying, dripping water into acrylic paint on canvas. Leave to dry, or rub some out before it dries to create waves. Scratch it out with a knife and then spatter paint over. “

The above was my advice and I was delighted to receive an update email from her with a photo of the resulting piece of work.

Finished inspired seascape collage by a 7 yr old

They thoroughly enjoyed working on the project

“She loved using your art work as inspiration. She did some super sketches and paint work based on your advice. Her Mum loved seeing your blog post. She then copied her sketches onto a big canvas and just let her creativity take over. She decided she wanted to make something 3D so built a collage like effect on top of her sketch. I have included a photo of her final piece – not bad for a 7 year old!

We had a brilliant time with this cornish art project so thank you for being a part of it.

There is a great use of materials and I love the layering effect with the fish motifs underneath. I think she has a great natural eye for composition and colour and hope that she will continue to be creative and work without judgement or self criticism in all aspects of her life.