children's art,painting,drawing mississauga,kids art,children's art competition,creative writing

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

noreply@blogger.com (Meena C hopra) — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 09:28:00 -0800

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

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

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noreply@blogger.com (Meena C hopra) — Sun, 9 Dec 2012 08:38:00 -0800

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.

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Winners of the CHILDREN'S ART COMPETITION "Unity in Divesity" 2009 - CONGRATULATIONS

noreply@blogger.com ("Unity in Diversity" CHILDREN'S ART) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:59:00 -0700

List of Winners of the Children’s Art Competition "Unity in Divesity" held at the Grand Spicy Festival ‘Zaika’ at the Harbourfront Centre. On 9th August, 2009Age Group 5 Years to 8 YearsIst Prize : FATIMA POSADAS IInd Prize : SHAY IInd Prize : JENISHA IIIrd Prize : JOEY9 Years to 12 YearsIst Prize : SIDDANTHIInd Prize : KRISTINAIIIrd Prize : ISHA 13 Years to 15 YearsConsolation Prize : SIDRATUN MIAH 4 Years and BelowSpecial Prizes JUDE MAEDAOCEANE AGUAILHANNAH HUANG

ASTONISHING TALENT ABOUNDS AT CHILDREN’S ART COMPETITION : UNITY IN DIVERSITY by Kumkum Ramchandani - 2006

noreply@blogger.com ("Unity in Diversity" CHILDREN'S ART) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:20:00 -0700

Children know how to express themselves without inhibitions or preconceived notions. This was evident at an art competition “Unity in Diversity” at Civic Centre, Mississauga, held on September 16. Young ones, divided into three age groups ranging from 6 to 15 years, went wildly creative using all sorts of art materials to paint the rich diversity of Canada. Parents, well wishers and visitors enjoyed the wonderful weather and lush surroundings of the
Civic Centre gardens as the participants painted scenes like multi ethnic soccer teams, the globe of the world, colourful flowers and diverse costumes.
Several local artists were also exhibiting their works to inspire the young ones. Amongst them were Sharon Blanchette, Marlene, Kumkum Ramchandani and many others.
The carnival like atmosphere was enjoyed by the judges, Ms Linda Thomas, Executive Director, Mississauga Arts Council, Mr. Fred Troughton, Executive Director, Art Gallery of Mississauga and well known sculptor Mr. Colin Gibson, all of whom were impressed by the imagination shown by the children. Mr. Navdeep Bains, MP, Mississauga Brampton-South, lauded the efforts put in by the organizers Cross Currents Indo Canadian International Arts and the supporters including the Mississauga Arts Council, Art Unit of the City of Mississauga, Learna Education Inc, several sponsors and volunteers.

Choosing the prize winners was a difficult task for the judges given the enormous amount of talent and high quality of work. After much deliberation, the following winners were chosen: Level 3 Kynan deSouza 1st, , Maninie Kanagasooriar 2nd , , Tushar Goel 3rd
Level 2 Sreya Ghosh 1st , Kristen deSouza, Osheen Chibber 3rd, Kyle Blanchette Hon' Mention, Tashana Poblete Hon' Mention, Level 1, Kristina Silvester 1st, Kimberly Dimello 2nd, Abhinav Kargupta 3rd,Shruti Kumar Hon' Mention
The winners will be honoured at a ceremony at 5 pm on October 14 at Gallery Streetsville, where their work will also be on display along with that of all the other participants. Scholarships for the prize winners will be provided by Learna which has 12 established centres across GTA for children.
“We would endeavor to establish this event as an annual event in Mississauga where the children from vibrant social fabric of GTA and Canada would be invited to participate”, said Meena Chopra, President, Cross Currents - Indo Candian International Arts, who is behind the concept and the execution of this event.
- Contributed by Kumkum Ramchandani, a Mississauga based artist & writer

UNITY IN DIVERSITY:CHILDREN’S ART COMPETITION TO - by Kumkum Ramchandani

noreply@blogger.com ("Unity in Diversity" CHILDREN'S ART) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:10:00 -0700

“Unity in Diversity”, an art competition for children, is aimed at showcasing diversity at the grass roots level. The artistic creativity of children will highlight the theme of unity to bring home the message of harmonious existence, the main strength behind Canada’s unique social fabric.

The event, scheduled to be held at City Square, Square One, Mississauga, will start at 10.30 am on Saturday, September 16th. The children will be divided into three age groups, 6-8 years, 9-12 years and 13-15 years. Paper will be supplied but art materials will have to be brought by the contestants. Side by side with the competition, local artists from all backgrounds will be exhibiting their work

Prizes will be awarded for the best work in the children’s competition and judging will be carried out by a distinguished panel of experts. An awards ceremony for the prize winners will be held on October 14 at 5pm at Gallery Streetsville. The prizewinning entries and others will be exhibited at the gallery during the ceremony.

The event, the first of its kind, is the brainchild of Meena Chopra, director of Learna Education Centre and founder of Cross Currents Indo-Canadian International Arts, a non-profit organization. Learna, the main sponsor, is providing scholarships across its 12 centres in the GTA for the winners of the competition. The event is also being launched with the support of the Mississauga Arts Council, the Art Unit of Mississauga City and several other sponsors and volunteers.
Expressing her support, the Honourable Caroline Di Cocco, Minister of Culture, said in a message: “This competition sets a fine example of encouraging citizens of all ages to join together to strengthen the multicultural fabric of Canadian society.”
In another message, Mississauga Mayor, Hazel McCallion, pointed out: “Children in their innocence can achieve anything they want without barriers. They are not blinded by prejudice, colour or gender.”

Also supporting the cause is Omar Alghabra, M.P. Mississauga-Erindale. He affirmed, “Your hard work in developing young artists and celebrating diversity is well appreciated.”
Linda Thomas, executive director of the Mississauga Arts Council lauded the effort. “We live in a world filled with a wondrous diversity of experiences, opinions, physical appearance, cultures, religions. One of the challenges of this age is not only to find a way to live in harmony with people who differ from us, but to celebrate the diversity and learn from it,” she pointed out.
Said Ms Chopra, who is also an artist and poet, “All of us have a rainbow of attributes within ourselves that unite in our personalities to create that one shining flame of everlasting sunshine. One spirit that we all seek. That is how we want to see a blossoming Canada under the sunshine of Unity and Diversity. Always celebrating the light and the rainbow at the same time and with the same spirit.”
“We hope that people turn up in record numbers for the competition. If they do, we would like to make this an annual event,” she added.
For registration contact Meena Chopra 905-507-2579, 905-819-8142. Email:crosscurrents.ca@gmail.com. Registration forms are also available at http://www.learna.com/

_____contributed by Kumkum Ramchandani, freelance artist and writer

Youngsters can celebrate diversity through art http://www.mississauga.com/article/22223

noreply@blogger.com ("Unity in Diversity" CHILDREN'S ART) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:07:00 -0700

http://http//www.mississauga.com/article/22223

Young artists take part in last year's art competition sponsored by Cross Currents Indo Canadian International Arts. This year's event happens on Sunday at the Heartland Centre. File photo Think you've got a little Pablo Picasso on your hands?If so, you might want to bring the burgeoning artist down to the Heartland Centre this Sunday. Cross Currents Indo Canadian International Arts is hosting an art contest for youngsters at the Heartland Learna Centre, located at 808 Britannia Rd. W.The contest is open to youth aged 5-8, 9-12 and 13-15.Paper for the young artists will be supplied, but other art materials must be supplied by the contestants.The theme for this year's event is festivals."This art competition for children is to celebrate unity in diversity," said Meena Chopra, director of Cross Currents. "(Everyone's) very excited and everybody is helping to bring about the event. Festivities are the best way to bring people together."Prizes will be awarded by a panel of art experts. An awards ceremony for the winners will be held at a later date.In addition, the winners and a select number of other participating artists will have their pieces displayed at the Learna Centre.The event starts at 10 a.m. Cost to participate is $5.For more information, call 905-819-8142 or visit http://www.crosscurrents.ca/.
cclay@mississauga.net

children's art,painting,drawing mississauga,kids art,children's art competition,creative writing

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