MANAGING THE ART ROOM

Some of the beautifully decorated papers that emerged from our material exploration.

Keriann Kirkeng

I feel fortunate to have worked with several wonderful occupational therapists at my schools. As a teacher who works with adaptive arts, my OTs are an important source of support and knowledge. Our school’s OT often visits my art classes to see her students, so if I have a problem or need someone to bounce an idea off of about how to adapt a lesson, she is one of the first people I will talk to.

Planning a New Challenge
This school year, we started out with a collaborative project centered on making art with broad movement. We discussed what this project would look like and the tools we would need to be successful.

We knew we wanted to throw around and splatter the paint, and we wanted to coordinate our project with music. We looked through our supplies and decided we would paint with tempera on large boards covered with paper and use large canvas sheets to protect the ground. Then we went shopping and purchased mops, plungers, brooms, toilet brushes, spatulas, and Goblies throwable paintballs.

The event was messy, but everyone had a good time, and we ended up with beautifully decorated papers to display in our school.

Once our planning was complete, I sent out invitations to the classroom teachers that included information on what to expect and the purpose of the project.

Outside Setup
On the day of the event, we set up the creation zone outside. We had two boards propped against trees with paper draped over them. We also had two areas with canvas sheets laid out on the ground. We had bowls of paint, some of which we watered down. We put the Goblies in a separate bowl, and we had a variety of tools for students to choose from.

Material Exploration
When students walked up to our creation zone, they could hear music playing, and we welcomed them. Students were encouraged to explore the materials, and the OT suggested activities for her students that matched goals they were working on.

I started students off using a plunger, which they would dip in paint then lunge and jab it against the boards. We might next choose a smaller tool like the toilet brush to swipe paint onto the paper or a spatula or fly swatter to hit the paper with paint.

Launching Paint
Among the most popular items we used were the Goblies, which could be thrown at the paper to create a splatter effect. They were a little sticky and messy, but students had a lot of fun with them. Some students lacked the strength to throw the paint balls against the paper, so they used a launcher, such as an egg separator or a large serving spoon.
Overall, the event was messy (as expected), but everyone had a good time, and we ended up with beautifully decorated papers to display in our school.

Keriann Kirkeng is the education and community engagement coordinator at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater. She taught this lesson as an art teacher at Genessee Lake School in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. kirkengk@uww.edu