field trip

A group of us visited the studio of a local architect. He showed us the wooden miniature models he was making for a future neighborhood development. The students were enchanted by the scraps of wood in his studio and wanted to sit down and create block sculptures after the discusssion. The idea of creating the world around us in miniature was of great fascination to the students.

Making projects with wood scraps (if you have access to them) is an excellent project for older children. I used to play with blocks all the time when my kids were younger, but for some reason I hadn't thought about letting the art club have at them. The complexity of older children's designs and their ability to talk about concepts of modeling is intense. I was very happy to rediscover this simple pleasure.

Going on field trips and visiting other artists in their studios is an excellent way to keep inspired. People are open and excited to have the art club visit their work spaces. They often want to join themselves.