The Studio is a Laboratory for Thinking: Flowers In Bloom

Spring in the Tetons begins with mud! Come join us for our fifth annual In Mud Workshop, April 23rd, 2022. We are looking forward to exploring the dirt together back in person! Recommended for Early Childhood Educators: preschool through lower elementary school. In the workshop session, The Studio is a Laboratory for Thinking, facilitated by Erin Solomon, participants will experience multiple provocations to see how children’s thinking can be transformed through new perspectives. We will use flowers in bloom to investigate through light and shadow, painting, sculpture, and fabric.

 

This workshop session will provide a plethora of provocations using flowers in bloom. By using what is in season and taking inspiration from that subject participants will use all their senses to be visually and physically stimulated. Engaging and connecting with the subject flower minimizes the divide of theory and practice and will allow the participants to engage in multiple mediums, providing different perspectives and learn what stories they can tell.

First observe flowers over a light table and under a microscope to become familiar with the subject. Really studying the light and shadows created by the flower, the mind begins to translate those observations into different perspectives to engage in the multiple art media available. Next, explore the colors and textures created when the flower is placed in canvas fabric and hammered, this observation can help translate the flower into a painting. Using wire and clay to create a three dimensional sculpture of the flower challenges the hands to navigate the changing perspective of the flower. The language used to describe the way the mind and hands translate the flower from one form to another changes, focusing sharply on observational skills. Through deliberate and thoughtful decisions of the media provided, the humble flower becomes the catalyst for different perspectives, allowing the participant to explore nature and visual arts with the mind and body.

In Mud is a day long Workshop with multiple sessions, including The Studio is a Laboratory for Thinking, described in this post. We are excited to welcome Jed Norris, early education program coordinator from Shelburne Farms, VT, as our keynote speaker this year! Following the morning keynote, participants will have the opportunity to peek into classrooms and then take a journey to our Teton Valley Campus in Victor, ID. Participants will learn more about growing food and connecting children to their natural surroundings through workshops that engage all senses!

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