Week Four
Week Four of our art journey focused on colour, expanding on our discussions about colour and feelings to think about what we might choose to name colours of our very own creation. Thinking about colour tied in perfectly with Mental Health Week, with a particular focus on how our children are feeling and how they might relate that to colour. We have been reading The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas and this has been an incredible starting point for thinking about colour and our emotions.
Dragonflies and Grasshoppers both experimented with powder paint, mixing different colours together in order to produce their own shades. We asked them “what is your colour called?”, encouraging them to use their imaginations to consider the imagery and feelings triggered by their brushstrokes. Suffice to say, we had some brilliant suggestions, all worthy of being included in the Pantone colour chart for certain! They are also distinguishing between different shades of the same colour, with one child looking at last week’s beautiful art canvas and asking Dan which the ‘normal’ green was, and – without being prompted by adults – considering other resources they might use in place of traditional paintbrushes: for example, dipping a toy car in paint and using the wheels to make marks on paper and using the toy dinosaurs to make footprints across the page.
Take a look at our colour swatches to see this week’s creations!
How can you help?
Colour is all around us! Encourage your children to ‘notice’ colour within their home and their local environment and give names to the colours that they see. We would love to hear what they – and you! – come up with.
We are also eager to hear your feedback on the project so far. Contact us by email with the subject ‘Arty Beginnings’ and let us know your thoughts on the first four weeks: brightbeginnings@leeds.ac.uk.