Understanding process art

People often think that art means a finished masterpiece but that’s not always the case. Children are critical thinkers and enjoy using open-ended materials and loose parts to create with.

Process art is amazing for this, and children develop independence and creativity with very little adult help during this process, they can simply use their imagination and create whatever they want. Now, that’s not to say project art does not play an important part in their development. It helps children to follow instructions, along with developing problem solving and fine motor skills to name a couple.

Creating your own art

Here is an example of process art, using some of these wonderful, high-quality resources such as the natural materials collage set, wooden hearts, dried coloured leaves, bark stars and vine stars. But you could use some recycled items too, such as bottle tops or fabric scraps etc. Use coloured paper as a base for the artwork, I personally love using earth tone colours! Try to encourage children to create anything their imagination wants.

 

I always have glue in the craft area so the children can glue down their creation to become a permanent piece of art or they can leave it loose, to use the pieces again.

To extend the activity further, why not add a section tray to bring in some mathematical skills? Such as colour sorting and counting.

This blog was kindly written by our brand rep Gillian Holbrook, an experienced early years educator, mum of 3, and owner of the innovative @my_three_little_strawberries Instagram account.