Swings + Roundabouts Summer 2017

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end of the planet one day. The boys were
supposedly working on their own drawings
and I said nothing about what I had done.
However, the next day all drawings from
each boy had reframed the way they drew
Saturn’s rings. I then directed the children’s
attention to the new direction and explained
this aspect of perspective. Later that day, I
overheard them relating this piece of artistic
information on perspective to another
teacher. Clearly, they thought it was a
worthy piece of information to pass on.
On another occasion, someone asked me
why I was drawing dots all over my drawing?
After explaining that they were planets and
stars furthest away, and therefore not as
clear, we tested this theory by looking at
houses next door to centre, houses in the
middle of town and houses on the peninsula
across the harbour. It appeared that those
houses furthest away were much smaller
as well. Once the children were convinced
of the merit of this piece of information, I
noticed they employed this same technique
in their own drawings. I also overheard
his piece of information being passed on
to another teacher! These are examples of
pieces of art information that add onto what
they already know, and which the children
can now use to create with in the future.
From time to time I also offer images of
Space from the internet for the children
to colour in. I do this, confident in the
knowledge that the children I teach may
in fact benefit from these images, since
they have a diet rich in visually creative
experiences away from colouring in.
Incorporated in the context of a dynamic Art
programme, these images can be a source of
information, like any other image. Not all of
our Art practices need to be highly creative.
There is room for practicing colouring and
relaxing, via image.
Drawings throughout the Space project
concentrated on the elements of line, colour,
composition, space, and shape. Of these,
line proved to be the most valuable giving
us the shape and form of our subject matter.
We also explored it as a way of representing
action, after realizing we needed a way, of
describing the movement of meteorites,
comets, moons and asteroids travelling
through space. We made this exciting
discovery together, and it opened the door
to all kinds of explosive space dramas from
that point on.
Line is the considered the hero of drawing
and we certainly developed it to a high
level in order to describe a multitude of
real and imaginary subjects. The children
were encouraged to try out the things that
their peers have discovered, to copy for the
purpose of seeing how something works.
They were also encouraged to problem solve
ideas that no one has drawn or thought of
before.
During this particular project, as with
others, hundreds of drawings were created.
Evident in their drawings was a complexity
of knowledge expressed in the beauty of
drawing. A strong desire emerged in me to
preserve the essence of our journey together,
and so I documented a small proportion
of it (fifty drawings along with their own
captions) in a children’s Art book, It's Dark
in Space.
The book is a celebration of children’s Art
and the curiosity, imagination and creativity
that made these narratives visible. The
drawings are a visual reminder of a child’s
capacity to embrace the wondrous and to
express their identity through a series of
magical drawings. Their practices echo
their prehistoric ancestors, and in doing
so, the children have reinforced their own
uniqueness and humanity.
Drawing is a powerful platform for
transformation on many levels. Above all, in
the context of the ECE curriculum, it must
be fun, free, open and exciting, overlaid with
the discipline, mastery and reality of Art in
the ‘real’world.
About the Author
Rod Eales is a practising Artist (painter) and ECE teacher. She’s worked in a variety of roles including
ECE Tutor at Otago Polytechnic, Playcentre Supervisor, Kindergarten Teacher, Painting and Life
Drawing Tutor, Children’s Art Educator, Teacher Workshop Presenter and is currently a teacher at
Early Childhood on Stafford. Rod is a passionate advocate for making Art ‘REAL’ and making it visible.
For Teacher Workshops and copies of ‘It’s Dark in Space’, contact:
Email: (Please note the email address in ‘It’s Dark in Space’ is now no
longer in use, please contact Rod through this Gmail account.)
Website:
December 2017 { 24 }