It happened to be the last camp day needed and I happened to wait until the end of the day to start the project, not realizing just how much pleasure the kids would get out of creating their own books.
I really wanted a "do over" so that the project would get the just time it deserved so the kids could get the full benefit of enjoyment.
Well I finally got my "do over" this week during the camp I ran for the North Vancouver Community Arts Council called, "Jungle Jive".
I created a book for each child using 9X12 watercolor paper folded in half, each book had three folded papers.
Once folded, I put the three pieces of paper together and stapled them. The made a front and back cover, plus four pages for the kids to create art animals upon.
I then divided the first picture page into thirds, placed the other three pages together to it, and cut along the divisions I had made- tada! an Exquisite Corpse book ready for children's creations.
These did not really take that long to do at all and I was thankful I did this part of the set up myself so the kids could concentrate solely on the pictures.
Because this project took every ounce of their concentration skills.
And their problem solving skills.
And fully engaged their imaginations.
Win, win, win.
Once they had four sketches created that they were happy with, I asked them to pick their favorite sketch and lightly sketch it on the first page.
6 year old
Lightly because there was erasing going on no matter how well their sketch had been planned out. Getting the head and neck only in the top part, the arms and body only in the second part, and legs/tails in the third part was not as easy as they first anticipated.
Once the first animal was in place, each subsequent animal was checked against it.
Here's what I mean
Once they drew the head of the second animal on the page, I had the artist then check it against the body of the first animal to make sure it matched up. Once they made any necessary changes to the second head to make the match, they then added the body to the second animal and double checked it against the head and bottom of the first animal. This process was followed again once they added the bottom of the second animal.
And then each subsequent animal was always checked to the first animal because if it matched the first animal, then it would match all the other animals.
Now you see why they were concentrating so hard.
And why this project utilized every ounce of their creative problem solving skills and put their imaginative skills in overdrive.
When they had all their sketches working in the book, I gave them a Sharpie pen to go over all their pencil lines and then they erased any extra lines.
7 year old
(if the parents of all these artist are reading this, I hope at this point you now have a new appreciation for those books in your house)
Then they were given liquid water colors in only the primary colors and they created all the colors they needed from that point...including the brown! I was so proud of them all as they created the most marvelous colors, working together and sharing ideas with each other on color formulas.
I had them put a scrap piece of paper between the page they were working on and the other pages so the color didn't accidentally bleed on them and then once done, a paper towel on top of the finished page so when they turned the page to work on the next one, it protected the work they just finished.
9 year old
All in all this project took almost four hours to complete! And look at the ages of the kids too. I will have you know that all of them were completely engaged in this project from beginning to end. Time flew and they were all having a good time, which is so rewarding for me to see since they grow up in a culture of instant gratification. They were enjoying the time consuming, hard work required for this particular project. Kudos to the parents who have obviously worked hard to instill such qualities in their children.
We finished the first day, two hours, with almost every child finishing the sharpie pen on paper. For the couple of artist who had their pencil sketches complete, I sent them home with a sharpie pen to trace their lines so they would be ready to add color the next morning.
7 year old
For those that were finished a bit earlier, I let them decorate and paint the cover and back cover of their books.
6 year old
Now about the above artist, on the fourth page for her "animal drawing" I came by and saw she had done something completely unexpected. She wrote a note to her mother and father and I did not have the heart to ask her to change it.
How could I? A love note to her mama and papa? My heart might of melted a bit when I read it and I figured if it didn't work, who cared? I mean it was a love note to her parents! And when I spoke to her mother on the last day of camp and mentioned that I didn't have the heart to ask her to change that sweet little note, her mom told me she had just learned how to write and was so proud of the skill she was leaving little notes everywhere.
I was so glad I hadn't asked her to change the words to a picture even more when I heard that because typography, in my mind, is an art skill too and one she was quite proud of recently mastering.
8 year old
The artists spent about an hour and a half the next day adding all the color. I did break from this project and work on something else first thing in the day to give them a bit of a break. I did not anticipate the amount of time this project would actually take to complete to be truthful.
6 year old
We finished with about 30 minutes to spare in the day and the kids were spent. It was hot. The brains were tired and a bit of down time was necessary.
9 year old
And what better way to unwind and relax than to gather around in a circle and enjoy a book! Even better if it's a book you personally worked hours to create too. Children should get to spend the time to sit back and admire the fruits of their labors.
9 year old
And then something magical happened.
A moment that as an art teacher I will cherish for years to come.
Once each child had spent time looking at their work and giggling as they put together different combination of animals, I suggested we pass the books around so everyone else could enjoy each others' books too.
8 year old
This was met with a very enthusiastic, "YES". I think they were equal parts proud to share their own work and eager to enjoy their peers work knowing the animal combinations would be just as fun to look at as their own.
9 year old
And they did.
They laughed.
They shared.
They were so proud of each other and they complimented simply by eagerly stopping the group to look at a particularly funny combination they had put together from another artist work. I could actually see the chest swell of the child whose work was being shared with the group by another.
I just sat back and tried to disappear as I was honored with the opportunity to be caught in in the magic that is childhood. This project exceeded any hope and expectations I had imagined and I am just so extremely happy to go a chance at a "do over".
It was so worth it in the end.
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