Nature Held Painting (Age 4-8) - August 14-17

This week's camp is one of the three weeks of Creative Seed Art Block taught by Artist JiuYu Xiao.  During this week, we will gather nature materials to build a fairytale land. We will explore building and making structures with paper, rovings, and a variety of found objects. 

Nature holds us in her embrace, and provides us with all resources needed to grow, to be nurtured, to love, and to make art. Children are born in tune with nature, and in the time we spend together, they will reconnect with the freedom and the language of nature through painting.

We will not focus on techniques, but will instead allow your children to explore and experiment with colors and forms that they absorb from all around them. This class will focus on experimental expressive painting, and is guided to immerse your children in the wonderful abundance that is available to us at our fingertips.

We will be introducing many nature-based mediums such as plant paintbrushes, plant pigments, ice, wax resist, and stencil imprints.

Sample Schedule:

9 - 9:30 drop off

9:30 - 10:00 movement/game/circle

10:00 - 10:30 snack

10:30 - 11:00 transition/walk to outside space

11:00 - 12:00 tale/art-play/relaxation and integration

TIME: AUGUST 4-7 (Monday - Thursday), 9:00am - 12:00pm

VENUE:  South Whidbey Community Center

CLASS SIZE: min 5, max 10 students

NOTE:  Ticket already includes $20 for buying materials

ABOUT CREATIVE SEED (3-hour block for age group 4-8)

Creative Seed is designed for young children who are in the introductory stages to art materials. During this stage of life, children innately have a sense of curiosity and openness to creativity, which means the curriculum is designed to protect that and plant seeds of inspiration. A typical block starts with movement, exploration walk, and moves into circle/tale, art-play, and ends with game/relaxing integration.

THE CREATIVE SEED ART BLOCK IS TAUGHT OVER 3 WEEKS. YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR ONE OR ALL OF THESE WEEKS.

Week I - Hands and Earth (July 31- August 3)

Medium: Clay and Earth Pigments

In the first week, we start with the material of clay to ground the body into the space and cultivate a sense of safety and anchoring.

Week II - Color in Nature (August 7-10).

Medium: Natural Dye and Organic Cotton

In the second week, we move into the fluidity of the water and nature pigments through natural dye. We will explore the whole process of preparing the cloth, sewing, dying, drying, and using the dyed patterns to tell stories.

Week III - Nature Stencil/Kingdom Building (August 14-17)

Medium: Found objects, Paper, rovings etc.

In the last week, we will gather nature materials to build a fairytale land. We will explore building and making structures with paper, rovings, and a variety of found objects.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Jiuyu Xiao is an Integrated Creative Art Instructor with backgrounds in various medium. Her art follows an integrated approach combining Body-based Arts, Buddhism, Taoism, Yoga, and Waldorf Education. A Chinese native born to a Buddhist family, Jiuyu spent her childhood and teenage years traveling and living around the globe, where she found her passion for nature, community building, meditation and contemplative art-making. In teaching art, Jiuyu uses elements of movement, storytelling, meditation, art-making, and weaves together multiple aspects of the creative being.

Jiuyu graduated from the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago. She has experience in teaching both young children and adults.  She believes that for young children especially, art is one of their primary languages of communicating with the outside world. Through art, children can process emotions and soften their approach to the world.  They build capacity for reverence,and learn to express love in a non-linear way.