In yetzirah this week we had several projects going on at once! Everyone was weaving. Shorashim was exploring the sanctuary and sketching what will be the focus of their stained glass project. Nitzanim was doing a “practice stained glass” project with contact paper and little “gems” of colored tissue paper. And Anafim started sketching and completed a clay carving of mudejar stucco.
In yetzirah I work one-on-one, in groups and sometimes very small groups with the children to execute projects and make their ideas and imagination come to life. Their creativity fuels the whole process, but sometimes they need a helping hand and maybe some other suggestions on how to get to their end result, their final product. It’s true, some children find it overwhelming to start from square one and work all the way through a project until it’s complete. So I’m here to talk them through it and also hear their ideas of how to make it not only possible but their best work.
For example, when an Anafimer boy seem to be getting frustrated about his clay project I asked him why. It sounded like the tool he was using wasn’t giving the desired effect. When I switched out the tools for him and gave him some advice on how to use his new tool, his project went a little smoother, allowing him to see his project through to the end.
When a Nitzanim boy doing his stained glass project was using the tissue paper “gems” in an unintentional way I asked him why. It turns out he was very excited about all the colors! So I sat down and planned with him how he could include all of those colors but still having a clear image come through in his stained glass.
Something I’ve discovered recently is that if I can get a child excited about his or her way of executing a project and make it applicable to our project, the end result is not only more doable for them but it is unmistakably their work, their best work! The Nitzanim boy’s work is full of color and that says something about his artistic style! The Anafim boy’s carving had many unique and deep cut details that also made the work his own!
