Tribal Art for Kids
{Originally published on Pepper Paints}
first appeared on Blog Nosh Magazine on June 25, 2008
Our afternoon started like this; with some Jackson Pollock splatter painting:
Then like this:
Then they realized how much paint they had on their bodies and it could have been all down hill from there.
But, really it ended up being the kind of experience that we (crazy parents!) hope for! I remembered that we have a book from the library all about body painting that we have really been enjoying. I have renewed it twice!
NATURAL FASHION TRIBAL DECORATION FROM AFRICA By Hans Silvester
We looked at the beautiful photos together-quickly-
and they were off!!
Then it was in the pool to wash off!!
Really it was extraordinary. I waited to actually read anything
from the book to them until they were cleaning up. But the information
on these tribes was fascinating. They paint each other and are the
mirrors for each other. Just as these girls did today. They took
turns painting each others backs and hair. It wasn’t enough to see
their own reflections in the mirror. They continually asked for the
others opinions. They loved the tactile, sensory experience of it.
And when they were finished, they washed each other. I took over 200
photos of them this afternoon-I am a little weary of posting many of
them as they are in their bathing suites and some creep commented on my
flickr page.
The author writes about the speed in which the Surmi and the Mursi
paint themselves. It never takes more than a minute! ” A similar
artwork created with painstaking meticulousness would not convey the
same modernist immediacy that is so pleasing to the eye…..Modern
artists like Picasso, Matisse and others, in the course of a long
period of development, eventually recaptured the spontaneity that comes
close to childhood.. It is this that marks the work of these African
tribes-movement with out self-consciousness or inhibition, doing what
comes naturally, determined by things that are ephemeral and perhaps
even more importantly, brief: they know the right moment at which to
stop. It is the same spontaneity we see when young children begin to
draw something, break off, grab another sheet, draw something else,
then start all over gain. As they grow older, they become preoccupied
with finishing touches…tiles on the roof, a fireplace, birds in the
sky, clouds and so on. They find it impossible to stop, and the more
they persist, the more cluttered the drawing becomes, lost in the
welter of higgledy-piggleddy detail.”
We used washable tempra paint and it all washed off. Molly thought
it was the best project we have ever done! Huh-it was all their idea!
Editor’s Pick by Amy from doobleh-vay: I love Pepper Paints, a camera totting Mama to three homeschooled kids 13. 9, 4 who lives her
days creatively in Middle America, and who inspires me with her art and education that she chronicles on her blog. Read more, visit the original post, and dive into her archives to be delighted and to get great information for your own children!
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Editor
Amy Turn Sharp
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March 10th, 2010
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Category:
Art Ideas, Author- Pepper Paints, Books, Channel- Education, Children, Kids, Teenagers, Connection with Arts, Editor- Amy Turn Sharp, Education, School, Featured 2, Friday 1, Homeschooling, Literacy, Parenting
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This was so fun to see. And the look of wild abandon in their eyes was great! I think my kids might die of shock if I told them we were going to paint ourselves. It would be fun to try, just to see their faces.
[...] instance, did you catch Tribal Art for Kids by Pepper Paints? A brilliantly gorgeous post about a simple day of finger-painting turned [...]
[...] of your parenting arsenal, we are thrilled to present Tribal Art for Kids by Pepper Paints, our first feature, published on June 25, 2008. Be sure to click through to [...]
gosh that looks like so much fun!
There are many interesting books for kids inspired to Gond Tribal Art.