“Experience in the field of the arts is due to the integrity of experiencing and creating an important factor of a balanced child development and mental health.” (Bahovec, 1999, p. 38) The purpose and goal of art activities at the preschool level is never an art product in and of itself; more important is the creative process, which has an impact on the child development and at the same time depends on that development. A drawing, painting, sculpture or graphic can be the result of art activities (Vrlič, 2008), but not necessarily. Cognitive processes, which are part of thinking and are created via visual thinking, develop when children actively participate in visual and art activities (Marjanovič Umek et al, 2001), with “the role of artistic expression in the enablement of the development of a creative personality” also playing an important part. (Podobnik, Bračun Sova, 2010, p. 258) Since the mid-1990s, when Carlina Rinaldi published a chapter on the pedagogy of listening, the dialogical nature of the educational paradigm of the Reggio Emilia approach has been additionally refined. (Kroflič, 2011) Listening demands from adults that we give children an opportunity to express themselves and to really listen to them, that we treat them as competent beings and respect their subjectivity. At the same time, the so-called relational pedagogy enables the articulation of their own ideas about reality around them and of their thoughts, the sharing of ideas with their peers and the creation of common knowledge that broadens their mind, their willingness for group participation and the fulfillment of their social needs; listening namely satisfies the need for communication with others, without which children would find themselves in a state of lack of ontological security. (ibid)
“Very young children and children with special needs may have problems with verbal articulation of their view, but they can be encouraged to do that through art.” (Rutar, 2013, p.77) “We can only talk about the participation of children when they know what and why they are involved in, when they can influence the course of events, follow events and receive feedback on their influence on these events.” (ibid, p. 96) Space and time are defined components that are essential for expression. A space where children create is determined either by the organization of preschool education (for example a playroom) or by a preschool teacher assistant that prepares materials for group activities (for example the surface that children use for creating, a particular format). Children can only in rare cases choose or decide on which medium and which tools they want to use, and in what way. My experience in working with different formal educational institutions (primary schools, kindergartens) and informal institutions (Slovenian Association of Friends of Youth, Red Cross summer camps), active in the field of upbringing and education, shows that in guided as well as in unguided art activities, the choice of format is rarely left to children.
This is the reason why the greatest attention in the thesis is paid to this subject. The focus is on the importance of and different types of formats, on how frequently a certain format is chosen and used, on the influence a certain format has on a particular art activity, and on the format layout. Motor skills of young preschool children themselves usually dictate (at least occasional) use of big drawing formats. (Tomšič Čerkez and Podobnik, 2015) In the same book, both authors also mention the importance of choosing big formats, which enable an opportunity for movement games and art experimentation.
The empirical part of the thesis focuses on the importance of art formats and the cooperation with three Slovene visual artists, each of whom understands and uses the basic surface for creating in a different way. The empirical part of the thesis describes and analyses a cooperation with three visual artists – Danilo Jereb, Staš Kleindienst and Nande Rupnik – who were directly involved in the practical part of the thesis by being present in the kindergarten and working with a group of children between 3 and 4 years of age. Modern trends in pedagogical practices are in favor of art activities; they enable children a more direct contact with the visual arts (and art in general) in artistically-authentic environments (galleries, museums) and in the company of artists from different fields (Podobnik and Bračun Sova, 2010). Findings of a research into some elements of art and teaching praxis in Slovene kindergartens, which was conducted under the first assembly of the first Professional training of preschool teacher assistants for the implementation of elements of special pedagogical principles of the Reggio Emilia concept in preschool education 2008–2013, showed that not many Slovene preschool teachers make use of the above-mentioned art practices. (Podobnik and Bračun Sova, 2010). Just the opposite – more than three out of four (80.7 %) perform art activities together with a visiting associate, for example a visual artist, rarely or very rarely. This piece of data encouraged me to organize art activities with local visual artists, preschool teachers and children. In Reggio Emilia kindergartens, this role is played by an atelierista, i.e. a regularly employed member of staff and an indispensable part of the professional team. Atelieristas are not necessarily visual artists by profession; they can also be musicians, dancers, photographers etc. Atelieristas should have different expressive skills, a subtle feeling for children’s (artistic) language and the knowledge of how to elicit a creative (artistic) response from children. (Podobnik and Bračun Sova, 2010) Because the Slovene system does not have such professional staff members, I made the decision to cooperate with three visual artists from the environment where I conducted the research. The influence of the cooperation with visual artists was analyzed with the help of instruments (observation sheet). As art content differed greatly from artist to artist, I made analysis separately, based on children’s artistic results. Observation sheets enabled the collection of data on specific work of a particular visual artist with children and a comparison of what they had in common, how they differed, and how their way of creating and working with children affected children’s responses and creative process.
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