Artasia at CH Norton
Today's Family Early Learning and Child Care
🖌️ Artist Educator: Mais Enaya
Is it a Tree, yet?
“I recognize you from last year, do you remember me?” one kid shouted as I entered the room.
This quickly turned into a game that I turned into a round of introductions. Once everyone was introduced, I pulled out my Artasia iPad to help explain what Artasia is and what I am doing here. I showed them the StoryMap from the previous year and Generational Park from Artasia 2021. One little girl noticed that the Generational Park Roblox game made to showcase Artasia 2021 kids creation is not accessible to everyone, sparking an important conversation about inclusivity.
Then, pretending to be puzzled, I exclaimed that today we are exploring “Trees?”. This sparked the kids’ curiosity, and they eagerly shouted out all the things that made a tree a tree, expanding on each other’s ideas.
“Trees can turn into papers!”
“I have paper and cardboard, can we turn it back into trees?”
“No, but we can use to make tree craft”
“Is this a tree, then?” I asked
“No, this is flat drawing of a tree”
“Is this a tree, then?” I asked
“Not yet!”
A boy covered their cardboard tube with brown tape to resemble tree bark.
“Trees also need roots and soil and sun”
“They give us air”
one camper shared
“No, they give us Oxygen,”
another corrected them.
CH Norton Gallery
A camper’s tree evolved over the weeks to include a house for a pet hamster, adorned with food and water. This evolution exemplified the children’s growing understanding of the interconnection between natural elements and human habitation.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Scroll through this gallery to witness the diverse artworks children created.
Can you hear the stories behind each of them?
