The aim
To provide a stimulating environment for children’s artistic expression through exposure to variety of mediums/ techniques, to facilitate the breadth of experiences and to inspire them by looking at the works of great artists.
My desire is to take them on a journey to discover their talents, abilities, likes and dislikes as well as to build their self esteem, confidence, character, to sparkle a process of discovering their talents, to stimulate in a variety of ways so that they can become a creative individual.
Philosophy
I believe that art is one of the three pillars of a good education:
1. Knowledge
2. Religion
3. Arts (Painting, Music, Literature, Dance)
Bringing up a child with this in mind creates a steady, balanced platform (three pillars work as steady cornerstones) for the children to build their successful future and to live to their full potential.
There are known many benefits of art, we mention just a few...
Why involve with the art?
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Art therapy/ stress release
With the invasion of technologies our children are exposed to variety of devices, which can be addictive. Engaging in a creative activity releases tension, it also immerses children in 3D = the “real world”. There are different parts of brain involved in 2D or 3D activity, where only 3D involvement releases endorphins (happy hormones) which are the antidote to stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline).
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It allows them to stay in the NOW- a wonderful way of setting them up for the mindfulness and staying in the moment
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“The jobs our children will be doing are non existent now”
At our creative space we would like to encourage children to tune in to their creative side. The most recent research shows that there are 2 paths of career our children will be exposed to:
analytical vs creative
It makes perfect sense to equip them with experiences, how to build a creative mind, if analytical skills are on a weaker side, so that we help them to make choices and decisions about their future with an ease and confidence of knowing one’s abilities.
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K’s creative space is about Brain Bilateral Stimulation.
I was always interested in the way our brain works and could be stimulated for an optimal functioning, so much so, that I chose the article: “Successful ageing of the healthy brain” for my thesis. From that source one can learn that there are 5 factors to help the brain to reach a full potential:
1. Good nourishment of the brain cells ( it needs a neurotransmitter called "choline"- which is found in an egg yolk- the essential ingredient which allows the ends of neurons to connect ),
2. Challenge,
3. Activity/ Sports,
4. Arts
5. Love.
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Majority of us are right handed, so our left side of the brain is being stimulated more, where analytical and mathematical thinking prevail. Being involved in art and craft projects allows us to involve left hand more, which stimulates the right side - a creative part of the brain. All art and craft activities help to harmonise the hemispheres.
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The human race has made a milestone when it discovered how to ignite the fire; it was thanks to the manipulation of the hands, that the grey matter started evolving, making us more intelligent. Having this in mind we are providing the environment where the children can make crafts, use hands in a variety of ways and develop their dexterity.
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Art is an important part of children's education, let's see how is this represented in the curriculum across European countries.
There was an interesting article by Philip Springer titled "What Johnny hasn't learnt that John won't know"
on how many hours are devoted for art education in some European primary schools. It showed the following, shocking figures:
Lichtenstein ( 9 years ) 263 hours per year 2304 in total - which makes European Record!
Denmark (6 years) 1120 h
Portugal (8 years) 1110 h
Finland ( 9 years) 997 h
Norway (10 years) 997 h
Latvia (8 years) 800 h
Czech Republic ( 8 years) 636 h
Hungary (8 years ) 600 h
Romania (9 years) 550 h
Poland (9 years ) 255 h
UK (6 years) 180 h
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"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life" (Pablo Picasso)