Wednesday 28 July 2010

Busy, Busy BEES

bee mosaic 

mosaics inspired by cartoons drawn by the children

'things you find in the garden' mosaic

How gorgeous are these mosaics? 
I mean who would not want the busy bees mosaic somewhere in their home or garden? These photos are of an Art Project my Mum has just completed in Gladstone, Australia.
Mum has been working  for the last several months creating and facilitating this exciting project. She worked alongside the  children, staff  and my sister (who is a group leader) of Rainbow Valley Early Learning Centre for children. The idea was to design a new, curvy path around and through the children's play area and sandpit and inlay the path with small coloured concrete inserts and feature mosaics. The children were involved in making designs, helping with the coloured inserts and even mapping out the route of the path. Because the children are so young they could not  make the actual mosaics themselves however Mum created the mosaics in direct reference to the cartoon drawings the children created. It is a wonderful example of how, even at a young age, we can encourage children to put a stamp on their environment and through art, help map the world in which they live.
'birds'

feature mosaics

part of the curvy, winding path

4 comments:

Nadia said...

I love these cute mosaics. What a great project! Your mom is very talented.

Janet said...

These are amazing, I love love love them!!! Well done Helen....and looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks x

Miss Blue said...

I was reading an extended discussion on my sister's Facebook page yesterday (she's a fantasy artist, sketch, painting and digital, with a considerable amount of adult content in her work - nothing graphic, but nudity and erotica). She often works at a local café and was pondering why people would show her photos (on phones) of their children's artwork and ask for an opinion on it. Aside from the fact that her own work is not generally suitable for children and as such she was mystified why parents want an 'expert' opinion from her, her feeling is that children's artwork should not be judged in any way because it's so young, so lacking in 'skill' and experience and should just be enjoyed for what it is, an expression. I think this project is a perfect example of what she was talking about. And your mum has created something that's unique, beautiful and far, far from the dross of 'mainstream' art 'for children' - ie pictures of Disney characters - that so many of these places feel is appropriate.

Karin said...

I was apart of this project and am proud to acknowledge the children's contribution to the project. At Rainbow Valley the teachers and staff are working towards a substanible art/creative program that allows the children to develop theories and techniques in relation to their creativity.