Process Art v. Product Art

Think of the last Kinder or school art room you were in. Did you see gorgeous, perfect works of art, all carefully pinned up and looking identical to one another? A little bit like these:

This is known as Product Art. The kind where a child is sat with a group of similar aged children and a teacher instructs them on what to draw, paint or make. There is a clear end result in mind. This kind of art is often found in schools because it is easiest to teach a particular skill or technique while controlling the mess that comes from teaching art to a large group of children. It also makes predictable creations to send home to parents who all want to hang their child's cute school art on the fridge.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good arts and crafts class as an adult. I recently attended a class where I learned to use alcohol inks on ceramics using a blowing technique - it was a lot of fun and I came away with some gorgeous new planters!

Process Art is very different. It is child led, open ended and authentic. It is an approach that has been around for a long time, but is a new concept to some. Process Art is all about the experience, the doing, the creating. There is little to no emphasis on a "correct" finished product. Children can select, touch and manipulate tools and materials in thousands of different ways.

Pour, paint, dip, sew, grab, stack, glue.

At Discovery Time, we just don't have the time for Product Art! The children are too busy exploring, learning and creating in their own hundred, hundred languages. The closest we come to Product Art is explicitly teaching a new technique or demonstrating how to use a particular tool if it is necessary.

The benefits of engaging in Process Art include:

building confidence

increasing sensory awareness

improving fine motor skills

engaging in play

developing decision making skills

working collaboratively

working independently

problem solving

scientific reasoning

practising linguistic skills

self-regulation

gross motor skills

Some Process Art that we do at Discovery Time

mixing paints with brushes, hands, spoons, and directly on paper

squeezing and pouring different types of paint over objects like pumpkins

swirling balls around in trays filled with paint

dropping watercolours and food dyes onto different types of papers and using a straw to blow the paints into interesting shapes

rolling, brushing, smearing and splashing paint on canvasses, paper and cling film suspended between trees

using piping bags, graters, fruit scoops and more to manipulate clay

gluing, taping, stapling and sticking different colours and types of papers to make collages

creating transient art using all kinds of beans, seeds, dried flowers, herbs, sticks, rocks and leaves

making potions using biodegradable glitters, glues, water, paints, pebbles and dried flowers

If you're ready to take a leap into the world of Process Art, you can try some of these things at home! Or, better yet, come and join our beautiful community at Discovery Time!