"Unity in Diversity"CHILDREN'S ART COMPETITION

This event has been created to celebrate the essence of life and that is ‘UNITY IN DIVERSITY"

"All of us have a rainbow of attributes within ourselves and this colourful rainbow unites us in our personalities to create that one shining flame of everlasting sunshine, one spirit that we all seek. That is what we want to see all around us under the one sunshine of Unity in Diversity, with blossoming children. Always celebrating the light and the rainbow at the same time and with the same spirit". - Event Director, Meena Chopra

Saturday, November 16, 2013

The Importance of Art in Child Development . Music & Arts . Education

By Grace Hwang Lynch: The Importance of Art in Child Development . Music & Arts . Education 

Skulls for Kids at Quirk Gallery
Skulls for Kids at Quirk Gallery (Photo credit: Noah Scalin)

In recent years, school curricula in the United States have shifted heavily toward common core subjects of reading and math, but what about the arts? Although some may regard art education as a luxury, simple creative activities are some of the building blocks of child development. Learning to create and appreciate visual aesthetics may be more important than ever to the development of the next generation of children as they grow up.

Developmental Benefits of Art

Motor Skills: Many of the motions involved in making art, such as holding a paintbrush or scribbling with a crayon, are essential to the growth of fine motor skills in young children. According to the National Institutes of Health, developmental milestones around age three should include drawing a circle and beginning to use safety scissors. Around age four, children may be able to draw a square and begin cutting straight lines with scissors. Many preschool programs emphasize the use of scissors because it develops the dexterity children will need for writing.

Decision Making: According to a report by Americans for the Arts, art education strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. The experience of making decisions and choices in the course of creating art carries over into other parts of life. “If they are exploring and thinking and experimenting and trying new ideas, then creativity has a chance to blossom,” says MaryAnn Kohl, an arts educator and author of numerous books about children’s art education.
Visual Learning: Drawing, sculpting with clay and threading beads on a string all develop visual-spatial skills, which are more important than ever. Even toddlers know how to operate a smart phone or tablet, which means that even before they can read, kids are taking in visual information. This information consists of cues that we get from pictures or three-dimensional objects from digital media, books and television.
“Parents need to be aware that children learn a lot more from graphic sources now than in the past,” says Dr. Kerry Freedman, Head of Art and Design Education at Northern Illinois University. “Children need to know more about the world than just what they can learn through text and numbers. Art education teaches students how to interpret, criticize, and use visual information, and how to make choices based on it.” Knowledge about the visual arts, such as graphic symbolism, is especially important in helping kids become smart consumers and navigate a world filled with marketing logos.
Inventiveness: When kids are encouraged to express themselves and take risks in creating art, they develop a sense of innovation that will be important in their adult lives. “The kind of people society needs to make it move forward are thinking, inventive people who seek new ways and improvements, not people who can only follow directions,” says Kohl. “Art is a way to encourage the process and the experience of thinking and making things better!”
Cultural Awareness: As we live in an increasingly diverse society, the images of different groups in the media may also present mixed messages. “If a child is playing with a toy that suggests a racist or sexist meaning, part of that meaning develops because of the aesthetics of the toy—the color, shape, texture of the hair,” says Freedman. Teaching children to recognize the choices an artist or designer makes in portraying a subject helps kids understand the concept that what they see may be someone’s interpretation of reality.
Improved Academic Performance: Studies show that there is a correlation between art and other achievement. A report by Americans for the Arts states that young people who participate regularly in the arts (three hours a day on three days each week through one full year) are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a math and science fair or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate

Read More: The Importance of Art in Child Development . Music & Arts . Education 

Art House for Kids: Call  Meena Chopra 905 819 8142 for Art Classes

Sunday, December 9, 2012

StarBuzz Online: Art and its incredible effects on mind - An insigh...

StarBuzz Online: Art and its incredible effects on mind - An insigh...: Starry Night by Van Gogh Author: Meena Chopra Art House for Kids -Art as healer has always improved the quality of life and mind givi...

StarBuzz, Toronto

Art and its incredible effects on mind - An insight

Author: Meena Chopra
Art House for Kids-Art as healer has always improved the quality of life and mind giving a third dimension to the human personality in many ways. Art is a beautiful thing to be enjoyed, and knowing the powers it can have on the human mind is certainly an added bonus.

Music, dance, painting and other forms of art have shown to have an incredibly significant and positive effect on children and adults both.. 

Starry Night by Van Gogh

 


Art therapy has been used to awaken the senses of underprivileged children through both the viewing and creating of art by them.Through their artistic endeavours they subconsciously associate themselves with their past. The memories come more freely since they are not elicited by direct objects, but indirect thought instead. 



Sun Flower by Van Gogh

 

Due to many past experiences many children begin to develop nervousness, anxiety, sleeping excessive or too little, a lack of verbal, social and language skills. Many times depending on the color within a piece, or may be some other quality of the artwork, different emotions can be evoked by the observer unknowingly. Awakening of the senses through experimentation with the different types of art these children experience an untapped emotional world within themselves and with this association with their own inner being, they are able to show increased abilities in their cognitive, motor and social skills. 

Many of the most famous pieces in the Pop art movement have utilized popular advertisements that could be easily tied to past memories. Pop art is known very well for its use of bright, vibrant colors. 

Piccaso - Woman with Fan

Pop art is specifically tied to nostalgic thoughts since many of these works utilize old comics, food wrappers, advertisements and other types of art that people may recognize from past events in their lives.  Pop art is especial useful in helping evoke past memories and gain insight through the use of bright colors. Nostalgic undertones emotions and feelings surrounding past events can be easily conjured up through the study of Pop art.


According to a 2010 study conducted by researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine, viewing paintings as opposed to photographs of similar objects evoked more of a sense of reward within the brain. Participants in the study were shown pieces from different artists such as Van Gogh and Picasso, and then they were showed photographs that depicted very similar objects. When they studied the brains of the participants through imaging technology, the ventrial striatum, which is part of the reward system, became more strongly activated when the participant saw a painting rather then a photograph of a similar object. Even if only momentarily, the memories they experience have shown to increase positive moods and improve their quality of life.

Pop art, for example, impacts different people in different ways. Clearly different aspects of art and the participation in the arts can have a profound and positive effect on the human mind. Most forms of art are able to impact the human mind in one way or another.With its strong ties to commercial consumerism and found art, it is easy to evoke emotion in someone when utilizing the properties of Pop art. But Pop art is not the only type of art that can be used to help stimulate areas of the brain and help in the process of resolving issues. 

Beatles
Bright yellows often evoke a feeling of happiness, which is a very common color in Pop art pieces. For example, if someone is dealing with a childhood trauma, memories from childhood can help them figure out exactly what happened and how to move past it.
Utilizing pop art to delve into past memories can be very therapeutic for many different reasons. Alzheimer's patients are often involved in music therapy, which has shown to help them recover and reconnect with past memories therefore acting as a healer and giving a positive impact to the mind towards their improvement and well being .  

What is most important is to explore the impact art has on the human mind and figure out how to positively harness the impact and minimize any negativity.

Friday, December 2, 2011

StarBuzz: Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets the Burlington...

StarBuzz: Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets the Burlington...: Burlington, Ontario - Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets the Burlington Teen Tour Band inside the newly built Burlington Performing Arts...

Unity in Diversity with Children

StarBuzz: PRIME MINISTER HARPER VISITS NEW BURLINGTON PERFOR...

StarBuzz: PRIME MINISTER HARPER VISITS NEW BURLINGTON PERFOR...: 2 December 201 - Prime Minister Stephen Harper participates in an event at the new Burlington Performing Arts Centre StarBuzz Weekly, To...

StarBuzz Weekly, Toronto-

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Art classes in Mississauga ON - Call 905 819 8142

Unity in Diversity with Children
Art classes in Mississauga ON - Call 905 819 8142

Unity in Diversity with Children - Rogers TV