Wall painting, an activity tailor-made for pre-schoolers, kicked off a three-week ”Exploring the Arts” workshop at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
”It`s a reindeer with horns,” said Susan Dreeben, busily painting a figure on wrinkled brown wrapping paper taped to a wall. ”I`m still making it.”
An art form rarely encouraged at home, wall painting capped an exciting, action-filled session in which youngsters heard an animated tale, made brushes with tree twigs and fur and helped teachers Colleen Conley and Jackie Seiden crumple paper to simulate a bumpy dirt wall.
”I don`t want to hear anyone say `I can`t`,” declared teacher Conley, slipping in a lesson for life in the day`s assignment. ”If it is hard for you, say `I am having difficulty doing it.` ”
When it came time to paint as prehistoric cave dwellers, not one of the pint-sized Picassos showed any sign of difficulty.
”I`m making a turtle,” declared Christopher Tyre about his black blob with brown projections. Wesley McCoy preferred a straight study in black, while Jonathan Rao favored birdlike squiggles.
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When it was all over, the youngsters` joy was reflected in the faces of beaming parents-relieved that this artistic exuberance had been saved from the walls at home.