The Magic of Making Mistakes

Michelangelo once stated, “If people knew how hard I had to work to get my mastery; it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”

Mistakes are important in art. I like to encourage the children to use mistakes as a learning tool, and to view them as an opportunity to learn and grow. Mistakes are a part of the creative process, just as they are a part of daily life. As soon as children learn this concept, the more fun and creative they are.

In turn, when creativity is in flow, it builds self-esteem and is a way to express ourselves. We learn to focus and enjoy ourselves, and it gives us a sense of accomplishment.

We talk a lot about not comparing ourselves to other students in the class. Artistic confidence empowers the children to make art in their own way, while still appreciating how amazing and different other people’s art is.

Our recent foray into print-making was an eye-opening learning experience. The Grade 5s and 6s were encouraged to design their own foam board print. We learnt what worked and what did not, and how we could improve our ideas and designs. One student said, “It didn’t work as well as I thought it was going to, but that’s okay. I will try again.”

The Grade 4s made beautiful tissue paper bowls for Mother’s Day. We talked about layering the tissue paper to make them as strong as possible. Again, some worked well, and some needed more layers. Ultimately, the artists were all incredibly happy with their work. The children continue to use their creativity and are designing a ‘Storm Collage’ – a mix of acrylic paint, charcoal, photography, and marker pen. 

 The Lower Elementary students have been very busy creating their ‘Save the Planet Posters’ and ‘Tiger Collage’ pictures, which have been particularly challenging for the children. They had to draw a tiger head using just a white oil pastel, without the option of erasing. They were all incredibly pleased with the project, although some children thought at first that they would not be able to draw without an eraser; with encouragement and determination, they surprised themselves and the tigers were all beautiful!

We are now getting messy with papier-mache. Can you guess what we are making?