Touch

I just lost what I had written about my self-portrait. I am trying to work with all the technology that is available, but the learning curve seems daunting to me at the moment and I really prefer working with materials like clay, plaster and dirt. I used to teach young children art and many of them had never used clay, made bread or played in sand. They had difficulty with moving their fingers and their fine motor skills were poor. However, once I started working with the group a shift happened and the children became engaged and excited with the rhythm of touch through the magic of clay. It also helped some children with their social skills and they were able to talk to one another. Touch is so important and it will always be important no matter what. An early childhood art educator Rhoda Kellog did many studies of art and creativity with young children and she discovered that no matter where she was children always figured out a way to draw with sticks, fingers, rocks, shells to make a mark to feel the sensation or pressure of marker to a any surface. This is my art musing for today.