paint cut paste

one of my dearest, oldest longest(!), and most talented friends, kelley schoger, is gracious enough to share her wisdom and skills with us today in the realm of puppetry arts with children. grab your cuppa joe and enjoy this inspirational interview with kelley!

kelley with kids performing a puppet show

jen: can you tell us a bit about your background and about the work you’ve done with children and puppetry?

Kelley: I am an actor and teacher. Just after I received my BA in Theatre Arts, I moved to New York City where I lived and worked for nine years. One day, I bumped into an old friend and she told me I needed to contact her puppet-building friend, thus my foray into the world of puppetry. I became a lead puppeteer for four years in the Off Off Broadway production of the jazz children’s puppet show The Adventures of Maya the Bee. As I continued to perform with puppets and witnessed puppet builders conceiving, building, and performing their own shows, I gained such a reverence for this most ancient and creative art form. I then moved to the British Virgin Islands where I was a teaching artist in K-12 schools facilitating hand puppet workshops to children in grades 1-5. Most recently, I designed and taught an Introduction to Puppetry Arts course for BFA theatre students at Virginia Commonwealth University, where I am now a graduate student working on my MFA in theatre pedagogy.

jen: how do you think puppetry helps children to express themselves?

Kelley: Puppetry is a wonderful art form for children because it is interdisciplinary. The skills gained from making and using puppets are many. This is because to engage in puppetry is to engage in the visual AND the performing arts. Puppetry provides an arts experience that affirms the creative potential of each student, augments technical knowledge and ability, inspires imagination, and stimulates the expression of personal vision. Puppetry helps to improve fine motor skills and encourages imaginative role-play and listening. Creating a voice for the puppet aids in speech development and the enrichment of language. There is something about performing through an object that feels safe. Even the shyest child can express him or herself through this character “mask” Puppets were actually the first masks and date back to prehistoric times. Even though the mask/character is physically separate from the child, the puppet is a reflection of its maker, which instills a sense of confidence and accomplishment. Self-expression is found not only in performing with the puppet, but also in each paint color chosen and button glued on to create one’s  completely unique and special character.

jen: can you share your favorite types of puppets that would be appropriate to create with children ages 3-7?

Kelley: I have worked with hand, rod, hand and rod, Japanese Bunraku (manipulated by three puppeteers), marionette and shadow puppets. I have also worked with non-traditional and found object puppets. I find that building and performing with hand puppets is the easiest and most effective for children ages 3-7. With a hand puppet the child uses the arm, wrist, hand and fingers to manipulate the puppet from the inside, like a glove. This gives them the most control. Rod and even hand and rod (like the Muppets) are harder to control due to the rods that are held with the opposite hand outside the body.

Two dimensional shadow puppets are also easy and fun to experiment with. You cut out a shape in profile and fasten movable parts together. Hold them up to a sheet and shine a light from the back and you have a shadow puppet.  The shadow puppets in these photos are simply made with folders from Target and fastened with brads and scotch tape.

jen: how would you suggest making a puppet with a young child?

Kelley: The answer to this is limitless, as anything can be a puppet! I’ll outline two types of puppets that are really great to make with kids: sock puppets & hand puppets.

Sock puppets : great for younger children because they’re soft & easy to make

Materials:

• one long sock
• one thick rubber band
• art supplies to create the character (wiggly eyes, puff balls, sequins, buttons, paint or fabric markers etc.)
• glue (preferably a fabric glue)

When putting the sock over the hand – hold the hand with the fingers on top and the thumb on the bottom. The thumb will serve as the jaw. Put the rubber band over the sock between the thumb and top fingers and then stretch over the top around the knuckles. This will create definition for the “mouth”.

The key to manipulating this kind of puppet is use of the wrist. Working with your puppets in front of a mirror is the best way to work on performing with puppets. If you don’t have a puppet stage for performances, use a table as your stage. You can turn it over on its side or you can leave it upright and drape a sheet or blanket over it to hide the puppeteer.

Hand puppets : perfect for grades 1-5

Materials:

• 1 Styrofoam ball (3 inch) – for head
• 1 Styrofoam block (3×3 or larger) – used as a base for puppet drying
• popsicle sticks for puppet drying (stick in styro base) and for sculpting
• Celluclay paper mache (natural and safe for kids) to cover Styrofoam ball and to sculpt features like ears, mouth, eyeballs, eyebrows etc.)
• Tempra paint in colors of your choice
• Paint brushes (at least two—one fine tip for detail and one larger for overall coverage)
• Fabric (for body pattern—your choice of color/pattern; must be somewhat thick to maintain shape)
• Felt (for hands and anything else you want—colors of your choice)
• Yarn (for hair or anything else you want—color of your choice)
• Ribbon, buttons and any other decorative items for puppet “costume”
• Fabric glue
• Scissors

sculpting hand puppets

In creating this kind of hand puppet and then performing a show with them, children learn about sculpture, painting, design, writing and acting. In terms of building, attach all parts with fabric glue so there is no sewing involved. A paper pattern should be used for body and hands. For younger children, you will need to help with pre-sculpting the styrofoam balls (eye sockets, nose and hole in bottom of head where fingers will go-the best way to make this hole is with a broom end!) and cutting the fabric. Also, when gluing fabric, glue edges inside out and when dry, turn right side out and it will look like the fabric was sewn.

jen: what can parents do to encourage puppet play at home?

Kelley: The best way to introduce your child to the idea of puppetry is to encourage puppet play with puppets you can purchase or by animating stuffed animals. Also, in any city there are usually puppet performances at children’s museums or other venues. The best way to expose children to puppet performance is by attending a live performance. One of the rules of puppet performance is the puppet must interact, or at least address, its audience. Thus puppet theatre is very interactive and engaging for children. In my experience performing children’s puppet shows, we always let the audience come backstage to “meet the puppets”. It is amazing to see the child approach the puppet, tentative and awestruck, as if it were real despite the fact that I was standing right beside it, in full view, making it walk and talk. Magic is intrinsic to puppetry. I love that.

waiting to come to life

jen: is there anything else you’d like to add?

Kelley: For small children, puppet performance is very much about creating a character and playing that role. This involves creating, naming and even performing the voice of the character. Encourage your child to come up with a specific puppet voice for their puppet. For older children, encourage them to find different ways to manipulate the puppet. This involves close observation of movement. If your child has created a lion puppet, encourage them to observe lion behavior and characteristics on the internet and then have them try to recreate it, including movement and sound. Most importantly, “breathing the puppet”, or giving the puppet breath, is the golden rule of puppet manipulation!  The puppeteer exaggerates their breathing so the puppet will move up and down with that breath, giving the illusion of breathing. Lastly, puppet theatre is highly collaborative. When performing a puppet show, the puppeteer/puppet must really take time to listen to other puppet in the scene and then react. Performing puppet theatre is a way to really encourage your children to pause and listen.

Anyone can learn to build and perform with puppets. While I have a lot of experience performing in puppet theatre, I am not an advanced builder. I am definitely more of a performer than a visual artist, but I have managed to improve upon these skills over the years. If I can learn to sculpt, anyone can!

kids enjoying a puppet show

thank you to my amazing friend, kelley, for sharing all of this awesome puppet info with us! now i really want to make some shadow puppets with N!

mosaics have been near and dear to my heart since my first semester of graduate school when i created a lifesize one as part of a semester-long self-exploratory “container project.” we created a small one for my daughter’s bathroom in the early days of this blog, but thought my little treasure-lover would enjoy making one for the backyard.

summer’s here and we’re in outside a lot, so we’ve been sprucing it up with handmade art and splashes of color. recently we created a garden mosaic stepping stone together, and i wrote a guest blog about it for the good hands community. click over to check out our step by step process of how and why we created this piece.

the theme of our mosaic was around this quote my mom has shared with me: “there are two lasting bequests we can give our children: one is roots, the other is wings.”

can you tell N had a hand in creating this according to good ol’ ROY G BIV? i adore my little rainbow lover – a girl after my own heart.

today i have the absolute pleasure and honor of guest blogging on one of my super-duper-favorite blogs, mamaroots! chris willow, of mamaroots, is a talented toymaker extraordinaire and such an inspiring writer, healer, and momma!

chris makes these beautiful wooden toys, which bless our home in just about every nook and cranny… so what on earth was i thinking when the art material i shared on her blog was WOOD when i know nearly nothing about woodworking!?? haha! perhaps it is the inspiration of chris and our lovely pacific coastline with its magical driftwood…

but i was called to post this simple driftwood mobile we created as a family. it’s a paired-down, less-is-more version of the beach treasure mobile we shared here last week. don’t you love how mobiles are all about moving in the wind and all about balance? please hop over to mamaroots to check out my guest post over there today.

so easy, so lovely. so perfect for father’s day.

*wink wink*

…i believe you can get me through the nii-iiight… you guessed it! we created a dreamcatcher, and surprise: it’s WAY easier than i thought it would be! i wrote a guest post about our dreamweaving experience on allstate’s good hands community, so be sure to click over to check it out.

the weaving always looked kinda complex to me, but it so isn’t.

to clarify, it isn’t simple enough for my 4 year old to do herself, but she certainly assisted in choosing the branch from the yard to use for the loop…

and in choosing the colors and materials that held the energy she wanted in her bedroom.

check out our guest post on the good hands community to see a how-to and to find out why a dreamcatcher can be an empowering art idea for children.

sweet dreams!

allstate’s good hands community approached me about writing a brief and simple guest post on the importance of artistic expression for children and how to create positive art experiences for them. hop on over to their site to read my reminders and tips.

i’d love to hear from you all:

why is art important to your children?

and

what tips might you offer about inviting children into an art experience?

i’m so very excited to have a dear friend and one of the most laugh-out-loud funny mom bloggers out there guest blogging here today — the awesome ms. hannah, from to the moon and back, writes here about creating a totally inspiring, whimsical, and heartful piece of art for her son:

sleep has always been a place of hardship, terrible stress and many tears for our almost three year old, j. and quite frankly, for his mom, dad and often little sister, h. it’s just oh-so-hard when your child is struggling with something out of their control; everyone’s control. we’ve been working through and around and in this place for a long time and {hopefully} have learned a bit about how to move forward and beyond. i’ve been visualizing a dream catcher or mobile of sorts that would symbolize the love, strength, and optimism we want to fill our son’s room and his sleepy little head with. i started by explaining my vision to j – a piece of art we could make together to hang in his room that would make him feel safe, remind him how much he is loved and help him through his trying nights. he was beyond excited. it was a rainy day so we geared up and headed out to find inspiration.

we found the perfect sized stick; and with just enough bend in just the right places for the base of a wall hanging. we headed inside to create the artwork and inspiration. without any specific pre-conceived thoughts I dug through our arts and crafts closet and came up with some materials: shrink film, ribbons, watercolors, finger paint, colored pencils.

h is a watercolor girl. she could play among their liquidy goodness for hours. ok, let’s be honest, minutes. like 32 of them, maybe. while she painted, I cut two sheets of the shrink film into smaller pieces to decorate. *the instructions on the shrink film are to use permanent markers – which can be a daunting thought with a 19 m.o. and an almost 3 y.o. but hey, what’s the worst that can happen?

before baking our shrink film I punched a hole in the top of each piece so they would be hang-able later.

watching shrink film bake and contort and form in the oven is just oh so cool. and voila!

h’s water color was just so vivid and great that we decided it should be our focal point. to add some texture I cut the paper into four pieces, punched holes in each and threaded with ribbon. (the ribbons re-used from a friend’s baby shower last weekend.)

j decided he’d like to hang h’s watercolor from the center of the stick and from there we choose ribbons to tie and hang in random order along both sides. (these iridescent ribbons, symbolizing the love and bond our family shares, are from our wedding in 2006 where they were hung all over an apple tree to shimmer and blow in the breeze.)

next we hung our shrink film creations. for this I opted to use fishing line to keep things airy and light. from the baby shower gift I re-used  two leaf shaped pieces of paper; punched holes in them and cut a few more to add.

we simply threaded the large ribbons through the holes in the leaves  to add a “feather” dream catcher effect – but in keeping with our nature theme, of course.

and there you have it. our whimsical, colorful, bad dream squashing, peaceful night evoking, sweet dream mobile.

and so far, so good. j went to sleep with a smile on his face and excitement in his eyes. the journey through parenthood and childhood is so challenging.  in so many ways. acknowledging j’s fears and angst around his sleep and showing him, in this way, that we are here for him and love him and will help him through this {I hope} will be just the boost his little body needs. and a little help from the best sweet dream mobile ever has got to sweeten the pot, no?

thanks for the opportunity to share with you, paintcutpaste fans!

-hannah

thank YOU, hannah, for sharing such a beautiful and meaningful project with all of us! hop on over to hannah’s honest and hilarious blog on motherhood, to the moon and back, to read more from her and “like” her blog on facebook, too!

one of my dearest friends and among the shiniest people i know, my brilliant art therapy colleague, sabrina bajakian, was kind enough to offer us a peek into her amazing art studio in bozeman, montana, where she engages in art-making with her 2-year-old daughter, who we’ll call S. i am always inspired by the mindful way sabrina approaches her own art process, and the thoughtfulness she puts into creating/holding an inviting and safe space in which S can begin to engage with materials. through sabrina’s lens and in her own words, she captures such pure creativity, beauty, and wisdom. let’s visit sabrina’s studio and her precious little artist. take it away, sabrina:

"I follow"

25-month-old S has been coming to my art therapy studio since she was in my belly. As you’ll see she’s got an affinity for the color blue. Today S suggested I make a snowman. I followed her lead. She then decided to add details & fill in the snowman.

"New Beginning"

After warming up with the snowman painting, I wanted to give her a clean slate that would be her imagery alone.

"Free Space"

I’m amazed, and as a parent, relieved, that S is beginning to work all on her own without assistance for a few minutes at a time.

"Flow"

I’ve titled the photo above after Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book. As an art therapist, I am very interested in how we might achieve optimal experience. This is the state of mind – state of being that we are all after – being immersed in an activity that we enjoy and is just the right combination of challenge and mastery.

"Proud"

Age 2 is prime time for a kiddo to say, “I made that!”.

"PreArt"

After she decided she had enough time at her big page on the wall, S continued her free play in the studio. She loves to make sense of things in her world and sort them by color. In the photo above, S is selecting blue chalk pastels, blue oil pastels, blue colored pencils. Clearly, Blue is the Best Color there is!

"New"

I offer S a box to paint and decorate. We haven’t ventured into the world of collage or assemblage together yet, so this is truly a first. She builds upon her skills with paint. What you don’t see in this string of images is how and when I am stepping in to give her a hand. As a general rule I wait for her to say, “I need help” or to be invited or directed: “Mama, paint!”

"Selecting Gems"

Again we’re seeing this budding experience of “Flow.” This kind of freedom, I think, builds confidence and imagination.

"Focused Work"

I also think this state of mind (only when we’re older?) is one of divine connection. For anyone who has worked in a creative capacity, we know that some of what we make comes from our preconceived and planned design. And, then there is what comes from our unconscious individual and collective consciousness.

"Gel Medium"

Gel Medium, how I love this stuff. It’s probably like Mod Podge, but I’m personally more familiar with this product. It’s a painting medium for acrylics, is essential clear, glossy paint, that can be used as a fairly strong, flexible, shiny, transparent adhesive. Dries quick, no smell, cleans w/ water.

I simply tell the little one that mama is putting glue on the box and she can stick things in it.

Together we pull out my bins of collage objects. I have one bin that I especially like that has shiny things. S digs around, selects a few things, puts the lid back on the box and carries her 3 selections to the little table. I’m amazed that she didn’t just get overwhelmed and lost in this process. She is a focused person for being so young!  This is definitely more fun for me than for her!!!

Her little fingers are getting some great fine motor training.  She has to practice pinching & picking up small gems & gets a little frustrated with sticky fingers.  I step in and wipe with a warm washcloth.  I ask her where she’d like me to pour out some glitter & she points to a spot on the table, “righdaar (right there)”.

Glitter

These opportunities to have choices are key for a child S’s age – or any age.  Little ones have to follow suit with the schedules & rules we adults impose so much of the time. From a developmental perspective, allowing a 2 year old to exercise autonomy and control are essential. What a fun way to help a child evolve through their developmental milestones!

"All done"

We both so enjoyed our art time together.  I didn’t have any expectation about how or if this piece would look finished to my adult eye.  S worked on it for as long as she wanted which was until she could no longer fit gems on the box top.  She tried to put heavy, glass beads on the side but learned that woudn’t work.  I let her try this out & before she got too frustrated I explained what I saw, “looks like those are too heavy” and offered her some blue star stickers to try instead.

"Washing up"

Washing up and helping to clean up are fun for S (so far!). These are glory days. Savoring every moment.

thank you, sabrina, for letting us join you and S in your artistic process in the studio! your perspective and offerings are so very inspiring!

if you’d like to learn more about the amazing work sabrina does in the world, visit her web site: artandsoulcounseling.com