Stages of Art Making

Children explore the world around them through intellectual, physical and emotional methods – all of which play a part in their art.

Several studies have established a series of stages of development in a child’s art making process – simply stated as:

SCRIBBLE – LINE – OBSERVATION – REPRESSION – POTENTIAL ARTISTIC REVIVAL*

(*stated by art historian Herbert Read, co-founder of the Institute of Contemporary Arts)

I have explored the first few that Oscar has either worked or is working at…

SCRIBBLE (around 14 months) ✔︎

• shapeless and purposeless;
• The primitive cell from which all graphic art grows;
• little muscle control needed;
• sweeping movements of the arm from elbow or shoulder;
• tangled movement like a pen attached to a pendulum or string.

VIKTOR LOWENFIELD’S 4 STAGES OF SCRIBBLE: 

• Disordered – uncontrolled markings that could be bold or light depending upon the personality of the child. At this age the child has little or no control over motor activity.
• Longitudinal – controlled repetitions of motions. Demonstrates visual awareness and enjoyment of kinaesthetic movements.
• Circular – further exploring of controlled motions demonstrating the ability to do more complex forms.
• Naming – the child tells stories about the scribble. There is a change from a kinaesthetic thinking in terms of motion to imaginative thinking in terms of pictures.

SCRIBBLE AND CONTROL (around 18 months) ✔︎

• Mark making change to include circular movements, interspersed with lines – basic lessons are being mastered;
• Initially chance, watching another child/adults/teachers/parents drawing, slowly brought under control of mind and body;
• control of muscles in hand, wrist and arm;
• collaboration of mind and body.

SCRIBBLE AND PRECISION (2 years) ✎

• more demanding lines, angles, zigzags and crosses;
• use of arm, wrist and finger muscles;
• challenges to perception, memory and co-ordination of hand and eye movement;
• building of a store of knowledge about motions and products with varying results;
• can continue alongside gradual increasing skill in formal, recognisable pictures…

Other stages that Oscar should progress to in the next few years are: line, descriptive symbolism and realism; and eventually reach: visual realism, repression and artistic revival.

Fundamental Principles of Reggio Emilia

Children are capable of constructing their own learning:

Children are driven by their interests to understand and know more.

Children form an understanding of themselves and their place in the world through their interactions with others:

There is a strong focus on social collaboration, working in groups, where each child is an equal participant, having their thoughts and questions valued. The adult does not give knowledge.

Children are communicators:

Communication is a process, a way of discovering things, asking questions, using language as play. Playing with sounds and rhythm and rhyme; delighting in the process of communicating.

Children must be encouraged to use language to investigate and explore, to reflect on their experiences. They should be listened to with respect, believing that their questions and observations are an opportunity to learn and search together. It is a process; a continual process. A collaborative process. Rather than the child asking a question and the adult offering the answers, the search is undertaken together.

The environment is the third teacher:

The environment should be recognised for its potential to inspire children. Space encourages collaboration, communication and exploration. The space respects children as capable by providing them with authentic materials & tools. The space should be cared for by the children and the adults.

The adult is a mentor and guide:

Our role as adults and responsible citizens is to observe (our) children, listen to their questions and their stories, find what interests them and then provide them with opportunities to explore these interests further.

The Reggio Emilia Approach takes a child-led project approach. The projects aren’t planned in advance, they emerge based on the child’s interests.

The Hundred Languages of Children:

Probably the most well-known aspect of the Reggio Emilia Approach. It is the belief that children use many many different ways to show their understanding and express their thoughts and creativity.

A hundred different ways of thinking, of discovering, of learning. Through drawing and sculpting, through dance and movement, through painting and pretend play, through modelling and music, and that each one of these Hundred Languages must be valued and nurtured.

These languages, or ways of learning, are all a part of the child. Learning and play are not separated.

The Reggio Emilia Approach emphasises hands-on discovery learning that allows the child to use all their senses and all of their languages to learn.

The Reggio Emilia Approach

Through collaborative practices with my son and reading up on the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence, I have come across a philosophy called the Reggio Emilia Approach. Below is a little bit more about the approach to teaching and how it places creativity and play as an integral part of a child’s learning.

The Reggio Emilia Approach originated in the town (and surrounding areas) of Reggio Emilia in Italy out of a movement towards progressive and cooperative early childhood education. After the destructive events of World War II, a teacher named Loris Malguzzi along with parents and citizens of this Italian region believed that children were in need of a new way of learning: assuming that children form their own personalities during the early years of development and are endowed with ‘one hundred languages.’ The aim of the approach was to make these ‘hundred languages’ useful in everyday life and as a base for respect, responsibility and community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment based on the interests of the children.

The Reggio Emilia Approach is an innovative and inspiring approach to early childhood education which values the child as strong, capable and resilient; rich with wonder and knowledge. Every child brings with them deep curiosity and potential and this innate curiosity drives their interest to understand their world and their place within it.