Jul 24, 20232 min read

Invitation to Explore Wayne Thiebaud

This week during our summer enrichment program we are exploring famous artists! Through reading books, looking at images of their art, & setting out different invitations of process art, loose parts, sensory, & open ended play will be inspired by their art.

Most of us know that art is important for children. But beyond why it is important for them to create art it is just vital to expose children to famous artists. Art connects us all. It can take us through history, introduce us to other cultures, the world around us, and to ourselves. Therefore the more a child is exposed to the arts, the more techniques they are aware of, the more they can problem solve to think critically, the more they can creatively express themselves, the more accepting they are, and the more beauty they can see in the world around them. Art is one of the fundamental components of what makes us ALL uniquely human.

Today we learned about Morton Wayne Thiebaud who was an American painter known for his colorful works depicting commonplace objects—pies, lipsticks, paint cans, ice cream cones, pastries, and hot dogs—as well as for his landscapes and figure paintings.

We set out two invitations to explore & create:

1. Invitation to Create Ice Cream:

With shaving cream, Colorations liquid watercolors, pipettes, spoons, cups, and bowls we invited the children to create their very own ice cream inspired by Thiebaud Ice Cream Paintings.

2.Invitation to Create Desserts with Loose Parts Play Dough:

With white play dough, pastel wooden loose part, translucent stones/squares, ping pong balls, textured/regular rollers, we invited the children to create their very own desserts inspired by Thiebaud paintings.