Amy in the Studio

Last week we welcomed Amy into the studio and the children worked with both of us, Amy in clay and me with mixed media self portraits that became feeling portraits.

There were some beautiful overlaps, as children expressed themselves in both two-dimensional and three dimensional media.

Of course, in the studio themes emerge (like portraits) but there are always a great many other discoveries going on.

These two boys busily built a castle out of clay.

While many children just explored the properties of the media, guided by inner questions like, "What happens if I do this?" and share their research and discovery with the group.  In this way our collective understanding of the "language" of clay, or paint, or wire or any other media continues to develop over time and so does what we are capable of expressing through a given media.  This is one of the a many reasons that we celebrate mixed age classrooms and the Reggio/Montessori combination.  Everyone is researching personal and shared questions, sharing them through action, words and effect with one another.  Through this ongoing dialog our conversation evolves in unexpected ways, with depth and shared understanding.