Inspiring Young Minds With Art

Paints for an artistic excercise with Lulu Carter

Several artists recently pitched in to help support the August summer camp at Grace Place for Children and Families. I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to Lulu Carter and Janet Weisberg of Outside The Box Studio at the House of Gaia, Gordon Campbell of Southwest Florida Outdoor Photography, Elizabeth Smith of LizardArt and A Nature Art Journal for sharing their generous time and talents to help inspire these wonderful children with art.

The children were exceptionally receptive to the creative learning opportunities with Lulu Carter’s Tree of Wishes from recycled materials, Janet Weisberg’s Web of Life game, Elizabeth Smith’s nature journaling at Freedom Park and hands-on nature discoveries and art at Grace Place, as well as composition and the rule-of-thirds in photography by Gordon Campbell and myself.

JOEY - Lulu Carter's world traveling monkey

With Lulu Carter and her world-traveling monkey Joey, the second and third grade summer campers got to share something they loved about nature, from trees, flowers, and butterflies, to monkeys, lions, and giraffes. Next, Janet Weisberg taught the children about trees and how they benefit our lives. Learning the concept of “community art” the children worked with Lulu and Janet to put together a tree from recycled materials.

Grace Place children paint the border of their tree

As part of their tree building experience, the children used torn wallpaper pieces as the leaves and shared symbolic wishes for the tree. So thoughtful were the wishes of these children:

I wish trees had more food.

I wish for clean water for all the plants.

I wish every tree had fruit.

I wish cheetahs could talk.

I wish we could have clubhouses in the trees.

I wish all the storms were gone.

I wish that wasps sting but that it doesn’t hurt a lot.

In the Web of Life game with Janet Weisberg, the children learned about being connected to and attracted to many other parts of nature. What a great experiential exercise this was for the children!

Web of Life game at Freedom Park

Elizabeth Smith shared her illustrations and nature art journals with the children, then guided them through Freedom Park and discussed being “nature detectives” and sharpening their observation skills for drawing.

Elizabeth Smith illustrates the art of nature journaling with Grace Place children at Freedom Park

During the following week of hands-on art, Elizabeth brought in a wide variety of nature items for the children to select and draw. The children displayed their own creative talents in capturing the colorful imagery of nature.

Replicating the beautiful colors of nature

With the fourth and fifth grade campers, Gordon Campbell explained photography composition and helped the kids photograph various scenes within the classroom.

Gordon Campbell guides a child through the basics of photography

On the second day of the hands-on art lesson, I had the pleasure of working with the children on the topic of photography. I was impressed with how quickly they caught on to the concepts of the Rule of Thirds, being at eye level with one’s subject, and working around the light source. Displaying ordinary items from my home, the children were able to photograph various settings and get a feel for being on a photo shoot, like a professional photographer. They even took the initiative to recompose their setting for a more versatile and creative shot.

Home decor items provide great subjects for photography lessons

A horizontal object creates a nice subject for photography

Now, as the children get started with the new school year in Collier County, our hope is that the inspiration continues and the creativity thrives in the classroom and beyond. When provided the environment to express themselves, the children seem to grow in ways beyond what words can describe. The key is to continue the creative growth in the weeks and years to come.