Arts Explorer #1- What does Creativity Mean to You?

When I think of creativity, I think of the word open.  Sometimes open means the ability to use any and all material, colours, canvases and medium while other times open means using the material that is available to make something completely unique to you.

ART WORD OF THE WEEK: The element of             s   P   A   c   e

Schirrmacher and Fox describe space as “determined by the size of the canvas, be it paper, cardboard, wood or a shoe box” (143).  Space can be described by either positive space or negative space.  Positive being the space taken by the subject matter (the lines, colours, shapes, etc) while the negative space describes the space that surrounds it.  Both create the space for an artist to plant and sprout their own creativity.   

Figure 1: Children working on the 8361m2 Guinness
World Record's Largest Pavement Art Drawing




 

My inspiration for my blog about CREATIVITY and SPACE is sidewalk chalk.  I love sidewalk chalk.  I love idea that you can use it on driveways, brick, sidewalks, and concrete walls, really anywhere and everywhere.  It can be used for small drawings or large ones and the actual chalk comes in a huge variety of shapes and sizes.  Small pieces of chalk can be used for more intricate work and large fat pieces can be used for children who are just developing the ability to grasp (palmer grasp rather than tripod or pincer). 



Figure 2: Above view of the creation.



In the summer chalk is always one of the outdoor activities we have available for the children at camp.  I have seen them lie down on the ground and have another child trace them to make life size portraits of themselves.  I have seen them colour every brick individually to create a “rainbow wall”.  I have seen them roll pieces of chalk on their sides and talk with each other about the different texture it creates compared to a single drawn line.  I have even seen them work collaboratively to create huge drawings.  I have seen them draw streets and parks and houses and use the chalk as cars to drive around their made up world.  There are endless ways to use their space and endless ways to use the one medium they have available.  That is being open.  That is creativity.

The above images are of the Guinness World Record's Largest Pavement Art Drawing created by Mark Wagner and 5678 children.  Below you can find the links to the documentary of the process called, "Small Town, Big Vision" filmed by Kevin Carrel Footer and Victoria Zorraquin.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G45XR1DERKk
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psCz8IB4lr0
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J57XGWH4TwU&feature=related
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5momdrIiy8&feature=related

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J.E. (2009). Art and creative development for young children (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.

Figure 1. Nurture by Scott Haefner (June, 2008) Retrieved from
http://scotthaefner.com/photos/kap/2402/

Figure 2. Lizard Stare by Scott Haefner (June, 2008) Retrieved from http://scotthaefner.com/photos/kap/2402/