Little Artists Shine at the ELC Art Museum

This week, the Early Learning Center was transformed into a vibrant art museum, proudly showcasing the creativity and imagination of our young learners. The exhibit featured a variety of expressive and colorful pieces, all created through process art—an approach that emphasizes the joy of creating rather than focusing on a final product. Students arrived along with their families, strolling through the colorful displays, admiring the wide variety of artwork created by their talented friends.

Each piece reflected the children’s exploration of different artists, materials, and techniques—from expressive Kandinsky-style circles to neon drips, mixed media collages, and collaborative murals. Throughout the past few months, students have been learning about colors, shapes, textures, and the stories behind famous artists.  In honor of Black History Month, children learned about Alma Thomas, whose bright, mosaic-like paintings inspired students to explore color and pattern in their own work and they even helped prepare their own materials for class. For Music Appreciation Month, we studied Wassily Kandinsky, who believed music and color were closely connected—leading to beautifully layered circle art while listening to different types of music and learning new words like tempo and rhythm. We also dove into the energetic world of Jackson Pollock, encouraging children to move their whole body as they dripped, splattered, and even threw paint balls to experiment with paint in new ways.

Families joined the celebration by becoming artists themselves! During the event, they were invited to explore open-ended art experiences with their children. Guests drew directly on the walls (with paper covering it, of course!) using tempera paint sticks, sprayed paint outside onto large fabric cloths, and collaborated on a community art piece that will remain on display in the school. Inside, families also explored color mixing through light play, combining transparent materials on light tables to observe how colors interact and change.

Walking through the museum and engaging in hands-on art experiences, visitors could see the joy, curiosity, and imagination that fueled every creation. With bold colors and swirling shapes, sensory-rich exploration and family collaboration, the ELC Art Museum was a celebration of creativity, connection, and expression, where we used everything but paintbrushes to bring our ideas to life!