Creativity in ArtFrom Process to Expression

Art is a primary vehicle for creative expression, sensory exploration, and problem-solving in young children.

The Importance of Art in Fostering Creativity

In early childhood, art is not about creating a masterpiece, it is about the process. When we facilitate art, we must shift our focus from the final product to the child's experience of exploration, discovery, and expression. Art provides a fundamental "language" for children to communicate ideas and feelings they cannot yet express with words. By making choices, which colour to use, what mark to make, how to join two materials, children build confidence, practice decision making, and develop fine motor skills. This open ended, sensoryrich exploration is a powerful way to nurture divergent thinking and intrinsic motivation.

Creativity Theories & Perspectives in Art

The role of art as a tool for creative development is supported by key educational theories. The Reggio Emilia approach, for example, champions the concept of "The Hundred Languages of Children," which posits that children use many symbolic "languages" including drawing, painting, and sculpting to explore their world and express their understanding. This view aligns with Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, where artistic activities directly engage and develop Spatial and Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligences. By providing rich materials (an "atelier"), educators facilitate a process of inquiry and construction, allowing creativity to flourish (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 2012; Gardner, 1983).

Resources, Materials & Digital Technologies

An effective creative art space (or "atelier") prioritizes open-ended materials that allow for multiple outcomes.

Physical Materials

  • Clay, playdough, finger paints (edible options for infants)
  • Loose parts: tubes, fabric scraps, buttons, pebbles, twigs
  • Large paper rolls, collage papers, natural pigments

Tools

  • Sponges, eye-droppers, rollers, scrapers
  • Natural stampers: leaves, bark, seed pods
  • Sturdy joining: masking tape, glue sticks, clips

Digital Technologies

  • Tablets with drawing apps (e.g., Tate Kids; Procreate for older children)
  • Digital camera/tablet for children to document their process
  • Simple stop-motion apps for storytelling

Age-Appropriate Learning Experiences

0–2 Years (Sensory Exploration)

Edible Finger Painting

Place a small amount of non-toxic, edible paint (e.g., yogurt with food colouring) onto a high-chair tray or a mat. Allow the infant to explore the texture and colour with their hands, feet, and whole body.

Purely process driven. It encourages sensory exploration, cause-and-effect (my hand makes a mark!), and motor development, with no "wrong" outcome.

Sensory "Treasure" Bags

Securely fill zip-lock bags with different materials (hair gel with glitter, water with oil, or shaving cream). Tape them to the floor or a low window.

This promotes visual and tactile investigation. Children explore properties of materials, light, and movement.

2–3 Years (Motor Skills & Cause-and-Effect)

Playdough & Loose Parts

Provide playdough with a tray of loose parts like large buttons, popsicle sticks, pebbles, and small plastic animals.

This supports symbolic representation (a stick becomes a tree), early engineering, and problem-solving (how to make the stick stand up).

Painting with Water

On a warm day, provide small buckets of water and large brushes or rollers on a concrete or brick wall outside.

This experience is entirely about process. It encourages large-scale expression and observation (evaporation, change) without the pressure of a permanent product.

3–5 Years (Symbolic Representation & Planning)

"Junk Art" Sculptures (Box Construction)

Offer recycled materials (cardboard boxes, egg cartons, plastic bottles, tubes) with safe joining materials (masking tape, glue sticks).

This promotes 3D spatial reasoning, problem-solving (How do I attach this?), planning, and imaginative, symbolic play ("My sculpture is a rocket ship!").

Collaborative Mural Painting

Tape a very large sheet of paper to a wall or the floor. Provide several pots of paint and invite a small group to paint together.

This builds social creativity as children negotiate space, share ideas, and iterate together on one collaborative piece.

6–8 Years (Expression of Ideas & Skills)

Clay Story Characters

After reading a story, invite children to sculpt a character from air-dry clay and consider how to show personality.

This translates a 2D literary concept into a 3D object and encourages interpretation, critical thinking, and media-based expression.

Stop-Motion Animation

Using a simple stop-motion app, have children create a short story with clay, small toys, or loose parts.

This integrates technology and develops narrative skills, planning, and sequencing. It encourages step-by-step problem solving (e.g., "How do I make it look like it’s flying?").

See full references on the References page.