Transient Art With Syeda

We are only too aware of the need to look after our planet. We support children in understanding ways to do this by thinking about waste: recycling and reusing things, fixing them and repurposing them. We support children in enjoying playing and exploration without always having 'something' to take home. Budgets also mean that many of us have less money to purchase resources that then get used up and disappear!

Thinking about how we can work meaningfully with children whilst being sustainable and supporting children in not consuming lots of resources, we have a rich variety of transient art materials. Transient art is moveable art: art that is made of loose pieces that can be moved around, placed and arranged and then put away for another day.In short, it is a cheap and easy way to provide children with a rich and stimulating creative experience.

​Syeda has been supporting children to explore and create with our transient art materials: there is a range of pebbles, feathers, sticks, leaves, petals, wooden disks, shells and gems.
Firstly children spent time exploring the items - touching them, naming them and looking at them closely. They were encouraged to use descriptive language to talk about the colours, texture, shape, size and pattern of the items. Children then set about placing and arranging, making patterns and grouping objects to create their piece of art. Some children sustained concentration for considerable amounts of time.  
​Transient art, because it is process-orientated, is inclusive and low risk for children: it encourages children to imagine all sorts of possibilities because there isn’t any one product that is expected of them.

Maybe your child can gather resources in the park and create their own designs. A mirror makes a lovely base to create pattern and designs. 
You might like to look at the work of artists such as Andy Goldsworthy and Georgia O’Keeffe for inspiration.