The idea for exploring the artfulness of play was initially sparked by my observations of children’s creations on @junkymonkeys junk play sessions in schools. Something in the scale (the large loose parts) as well as the occasionally surreal or dystopian repurposing of discarded every day items reminded me of instillation art - and I wanted to use that visual association to represent the creativity, and therefore importance of open-ended play - particularly in art galleries where I feel there is a lack of advocacy for children’s activities which are process rather than product focussed. Simon Nicholson (son of sculptor Barbara Hepworth) who first coined the term Loose-Parts Play in 1971 was also concerned with a lack of egalitarianism in society’s appreciation of art / culture - a lack of reverence for process, for creativity. I borrowed the title for my project - Art and Play - from one of the projects he devised and delivered. Just over a year in and a few different avenues explored, Art and Play will have its first event which aims to give adults a gallery experience where the art on display is representative of child-led play. On Thursday this week, as part of Midtown’s Third Thursday Street Party, myself, Tracy (@fabricofplay ) and Kate (Junky Monkeys) will invite you to view photography as well as sensory play equipment with wine, nibbles and conversation about how to safeguard children’s uninhibited play. This event will mark the closing of the three weeks of display and play sessions we’ve had on at 21 The Strand Arcade and we hope very much to see you there!
#art #play #creativity #process #childrensart #sensoryplay #advocacy #playwork
Next Art and Play x @thefabricofplay session tomorrow 10 am - 1pm @ 21 The Strand Arcade. Free! Ideal for for parents / carers w/ small children and / or those interested in sensory play. Last week’s session was an absolute dream. Tracy’s hand sewn creations are a seriously impressive range of textures, shapes, sounds and weights. We had an older child last week who told me her special interest was ‘sorting’ (highly relatable to me and my own ND) and she loved sorting the different circles by weight, texture and colour 😍
‘I Made a Memory’ is a display of aesthetic photography (by dear friend @jordanmarkwindsor ) combined with verbatim words of children - all captured on a single day of @junky_monkeys play. The intention is to capture the chaos, collaboration and creativity of loose parts play in order advocate for its importance. If you’re in downtown Auckland over the next few weeks you can check it out as we occupy a shop space on The Strand Arcade. We’ll also be hosting free play sessions with @thefabricofplay and a very special art opening style event for adults working in / advocating for / interested in child-led play as part of the monthly Midtown Street Party… watch this space for info on that incoming #art #play #photography #junkplay #cbd #thestrandarcade #queenstreet #tamakimakaurau #auckland
Flights booked to come back to London for a while so here is a preemptively nostalgic throwback to my busy Aotearoa Summer of sensory play and prep. Very grateful to my patient NZ family who put up with me dominating the space with a lot of mess at times and blessings to my fabulous assistant Violet hard at work on play dough creation here. #playwork #chapelleroan #playdough #mess #messyplay #tapioca #orbeez #summer #aotearoanz🇳🇿
Orbs! (Made by freezing water balloons) Of all of the ice I played with over the summer these are the ones where, in my opinion, risk might outweigh play value. Some of the play value: can roll, looks intriguing, at Messy Play they were used in buckets of water for little feet to cool down.
Some risks : dense / heavy and hard to hold (slippery) - unlike the cakes or bowls it’s harder for little hands to change their grip on an ice orb meaning much more risk of dropping on toes, heads etc and also… ice burn? They’re more dense than bowls / cakes and would cause a lot more damage if thrown… and because of their shape are very tempting to kick (which would undoubtedly hurt)
So… be careful out there!
Thank you to the inspirational @lucyfjones for the support and for the pics of the ice experiments she’s doing with her smalls 💛 It is very nice to get feedback! #orbs #ice #assessingrisk #riskbenefit #playwork #sensoryplay
Not sure how everyone feels about playing with tools but - along with learning how to use them ‘properly’ and of course safely - I think there is a case for playing with them. Play allows us to explore, to feel that we’ve made them our own somehow and to have more confidence in our relationship to them. And yes ice cakes, bowls and even orbs, as subjects of destruction, are useful for this type of mastery play. #mallet #saw #hammer #masteryplay #children #tamariki #outdoorplay #summer #aotearoa #playwork
And the just as important destruction process…
Playworkers know that the impulse to destruct is just as valid as that to create and I reckon ice - particularly ice cakes and bowls - are a pretty good way of facilitating that.
An observation : At the Conscious Kids holiday programme there was a child who was very excited at being allowed to make fire with flint and steel / magnifying glass on cotton wool but he really struggled with sitting still do it - particularly because sitting still, which I would presume is always a bit tricky for him, was made significantly harder by his excitement - specifically from the freedom and responsibility as well as the new-to-him tools and skills. One or two other kids were getting on a bit better than him and when they started a small fire he would be inclined to put more ripped paper / twigs in the bowl and inevitably put the tiny fire out by starving it of oxygen. When I got the ice cake out he was the first to come over to see what it was and almost immediately wanted to destroy it - I think because deconstructing something is another way of exploring it. At CK holiday programmes we have little hand saws and peelers on hand which he started with and then I got the mallet out for him to use as well. More kids came over to see what he was doing and he was happy to give them bits of what he broke off to play with - which became an important part of his social / collaborative play. It was real joy to be able to give this boy the time / space / tools and subject to explore and play exactly how he wanted - at one point he looked at me gleefully saying “I’m not normally allowed to use the tools!!” To which I could only smile.
#inclusiveplay #fireandice #fire #ice #adhd #outdoorplay #tools #saw #mallet #elemental
Creation process…
So I started this journey with ‘ice cakes’ for @consciouskidsnz holiday programme - very simply just put water in a bowl, throw in anything you like - I found a lot of leaves and flowers and used food dye (I’m a huge fan of the vivid colours of food dye and of how easily it washes out of clothes). I froze it over night - the density of the cakes, as opposed to bowls, meant they never froze all the way through and the unfrozen parts made for some some liquid - y, bubbly - y bits inside which the kids enjoyed.
Ice bowls! Suggested by a parent on a @thecreativekidscollective mud pie event who simply said - you know that ice pie / cake could be a bowl… Yes of course! You just put a smaller bowl inside the bowl you’re using… freeze over night again and you’ll end up with both an ice bowl and a smaller ice cake. I would put water in the smaller bowl to weigh it down and found the leaves etc in the bigger bowl really useful for keeping the small one in place while they froze.
Ice paints - simply food dye in longish ice cubes, ideal for mark making on calico.
Orbs! The messiest (in the making) and most experimental! Natalie from @creativekidscollective has since explained what she meant when she suggested ice orbs for our sensory play collaboration but I’ll tell you what I did… in trying to work out how to hang ice orbs from trees I froze string in small dyed ice cubes (learning point : food dye takes longer to freeze than water). Then stuffed the frozen ice cube inside a balloon and filled with water from the tap, tied in a knot as usual, leaving the string hanging out. At the event I cut open the balloons. Learning points : impossible to get the balloon tie off string, the orbs will fall as they melt, the faff (and hazard) of getting them to hang is not with it in terms of play value - there is value in ice orbs though (to be covered in later post 👀)
Transport : I just used two K Mart zip up cool bag with some ice blocks in it - was cheap and light to transport and did a good job of keeping the ice pretty solid. #children #childrensplay #howto #tamakimakaurau #auckland
As the long, busy and mostly hot Aotearoa summer comes to an end this Playworker is reflecting on how much fun I’ve had facilitating play with ice - partly a natural evolution of my fanaticism about sensory play, helped by the weather, supported by play providers I’ve been working with - @thecreativekidscollective@consciouskidsnz - and undoubtedly due also to having access to a huge chest freezer - I’ve had the opportunity to experiment with ice in many forms and contexts. Inspired by a conversation I had with @seeme.play (thanks to instagram for bringing us together) I’m going to share some info on process, observations on uses and reflections on the benefits of playing with ice pies / bowls / orbs and paints 🧊 #sensoryplay #reflectivepractise #ice #chestfreezer #childled #aotearoanz🇳🇿 #summer #outdoorplay #inclusiveplay
‘Process over product’ and a playworker practising what they preach… the importance of process (rather than product) is a core message of I Made a Memory (and of the Art and Play project more generally). So as an artist who struggles to produce art and finish projects I really had to take my own medicine to see this make its journey from the inside of my head to the streets of Auckland. The deadline of Play Week as well as the input of time and expertise from respected peers (@junky_monkeys , @jordanmarkwindsor ) helped but ultimately it was forcing myself to take my own medicine and appreciate the process. And it was essentially play - I was exploring my interests, developing skills, working collaboratively etc etc - and even though it was more stressful than fun, it was certainly formative. The process over product mentality allowed me to approach it with more curiosity and less self-flagellation so that when it was done and out there for everyone to see, everything I’d planned I’d done but the over all effect was less high art and more a particularly fire school notice board I thought… fine, yes that makes sense of course I make art that children ‘get’ and brings them joy… that makes total sense! Inviting curiosity to the table is essential to children’s play - challenging themselves, and how they interact with the physical world, how what is inside can come outside, and doing it all without judgement is key to how they develop understanding of themselves and the world around them. #art #play #artandplay #looseparts #junkplay #playweek #tamakimakaurau #process #creativeprocess #playprocess
Getting Messy with @thecreativekidscollective this summer was such a fun collaboration! I began my foray into ice on Natalie’s suggestion of ice orbs. The focus was sensory and inclusive we had play dough of different colours, scents and textures, ooblik for days (which was great combined with Natalie’s mud kitchen utensils), slime by way of shaving foam, washing liquid etc (I forgot that pva glue is essential and won’t do that again!), tapioca balls, collab painting on calico with chalk paint (made with flour, water and food dye) sprayed, thrown and flicked as well as ice painting on the ground (with food dyed ice cubes). It was a very busy but delightful day featuring @elenaverity new to playwork and bringing her joyful vibes along with her #slime #messyplay #auckland #childled #sensory #inclusiveplay #playwork #playmatters
