Turn up the contrast

Chaos reigned at music school today. Take 20 children with 9 irons and stir briskly for an hour. Repeat with a fresh set of children. By the end of the second period I was getting a bit ratty.

We were trying to grasp the concept of contrast. You take your piece of pelmet vilene and you make it very dark on one side and very light on the other. Contrast? Yes? Lots of pattern one side, little pattern the other. More contrast? Yes? Remind me not to do anything else that requires concept grasping, even with visual to show them. Grasping of irons, grasping of large paintbrushes, fine. Grasping of concepts, less fine.

Unfortunately another concept grasping session looms on Friday when I'm going into their music class to brainstorm the visual characterises of instruments with them. Between then and now were going to tackle cutting holes but I'm going to have them practice on paper first. See, I'm learning, even if they aren't!

One lovely child did make my day by saying she didn't like the kind of art where you had to draw but she did like this kind of art. A girl after my own heart.