Significance of Art in Development of Creativity

Art fosters curiosity and imagination of children and gives them the opportunity to express themselves, experiment and problem solve. Art activities in early childhood activate sensorial exploration and holistic growth because they combine emotional, cognitive, and physical growth (Boyd & Cutch, 2015). Painting, drawing, and sculpture help children to make decisions, risk and make decisions symbolically. (Howard & Mayesky, 2022) claim that creative art process does not emphasize on product so much but rather on the exploration to enable teachers to support individuality and confidence. Art can enable children to create meaning and, in the process, glorify the diversity of perceiving the world.

Creativity Theories and Perspectives

The art-based creativity is related to the constructivist and socio-cultural theories that consider children as active creators of knowledge through exploration and social interactions. The focus on the zone of proximal development by Vygotsky (Garvis et al., 2019) justifies the use of scaffolding to develop creativity by choosing a teacher as a guide. Reggio Emilia approaches treat art as a language of children that represents one of a hundred languages of children, that is, communication, as well as interpretation (Stonehouse et al., 2012). The theory of multiple intelligences developed by Gardner has also accepted visual-spatial and bodily-kinesthetic creativity as important forms of intelligence. These models validate that creativity is brought about by process, interaction,, and reflection as opposed to imitation.

Resources, Materials, and Digital Technologies

Teachers can also use open-ended materials like natural substances, recycled objects, clay, paints, and collage equipment to inspire creativity in the form of art (Howard and Mayesky, 2022). Children can be able to interact with textures and colours using digital resources such as child-friendly design apps (such as Tayasui Sketches or ArtRage). Tablets or Smartboards allow group artworks which combines technology with physical creativity. According to, multimodal literacy and agency can be facilitated with the help of a combination of physical and digital resources. The materials used by teachers must be safe, varied, and inclusive to the different cultures, promote the use of imagination and the use of senses.

 Age Group Learning Experiences

0-2 years

  • Finger Paint Sensory Play: Infants use fingers to play with the non-poisonous paints with natural objects. This facilitates tactile and self-expression (Mayesky, 2015).
  • Textural Collage Mats: Infants will be provided with soft materials and pieces of paper and will be asked to place them on the sticky board, where they will explore the sense of cause and effect (Howard and Mayesky, 2022).

 

2-3 years

  • Nature Brush Painting: Kids paint with leaves and sticks and relate the creativity with nature and fine motor skills (Boyd and Cutch, 2015).
  • Clay Impressions: By pressing daily items into clay, one will discover and imitate patterns, which are essential to early symbolic thinking (Garvis et al., 2019).

 

3-5 years

  • Emotion Colour Portraits: Children are asked to draw faces in colours associated with emotions to combine art and emotional literacy (Isbell & Yoshizawa, 2016).
  • Collaborative Mural Making: Groups create murals on huge pieces of paper, which develops team building, planning, and negotiation skills (Stonehouse et al., 2012).

 

6-8 years

  • Digital Art Storyboards: Digital comics about community experience are illustrated with the help of tablets and are combined with art and storytelling (Howard & Mayesky, 2022).
  • Recycled Sculpture Project: The students create sculptures out of found objects, which is a sign of sustainability and aesthetical design (Boyd & Cutch, 2015).

Critical Reflection and Descriptive Enactments

Activity 1: Emotion Colour Portraits (3-5 years) - Children were proposed to talk about emotions and paint self-portraits. The expressive vocabulary was modeled by teachers (joyful, curious), and the feelings were associated to the colours. Children tried all sizes and textures of a brush and got different results.

Activity 2: Recycled Sculpture Project (6-8 years) - Small groups used the insights of brainstorming ideas about sculptures with the help of recycled cardboard and plastics. The design discussions were guided by the teachers and it promoted innovation and problem-solving.

Reflection

Both enactments were effective in promoting creativity in an open-ended exploration and dialogue. Children were independent and proud of their results, which corresponds to the principle of process-oriented creativity of (Howard & Mayesky, 2022). Teamwork and oral communication were especially high. Nevertheless, the enhancement may be provided by adding more reflection time during which children will write down artistic decisions in photos or journals to demonstrate metacognition. More cross-curricular connections, such as relating the sculpture project to environmental studies, could be built into the implementation in the future to enhance the understanding. Increased utilization of online documentation may also provide more audience and accomplishment to the children.