Shaker
Library
Building Creative Thinkers
Through Art…
Art plays an important role in child
development. Using brushes, scissors,
pencils, and other supplies helps
children develop fine-motor skills, and
research shows it also helps to advance
reading skills. At the Library, staff
encourage children to focus on the
“process,” not the product.
Process-focused art has no stepby
step instructions; it’s about the
experience. Creating artwork encourages
children to use their imaginations and to
make decisions – whether to use red or
green paint, to draw with a pen or pencil
– and, most of all, it’s fun.
According to Hanjal Eppley,
department director of gallery teaching
at The Cleveland Museum Art, “Processbased
art allows for an open-ended
experience. The act of creating is where the
learning happens as learners make choices
and express ideas.”
Process-focused art encourages
children to create with freedom and
without the pressure to copy a picture
or stay within the lines. The Library’s
programs encourage children to
explore different techniques, tools,
and materials. Children have the fun of
getting messy and bringing home a truly
original piece of art.
And, since process-focused art explores
why certain techniques work or don’t work,
it’s a natural component of the Library’s
focus on STEAM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, Art, and Math) learning.
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22 SUMMER 2018 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
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