About Pip Dot
"The only way to do great work is to love what you do". - Steve Jobs
Pip Dot Creative Art classes encourage freedom of expression and put the focus on the process, rather than the end result. In this way children can relax, enjoy their art and celebrate their work.
At Pip Dot we believe there are no rules in art; if you want to paint the sky black, the trees blue, and the water yellow with pink spots, then that's okay! There's no such thing as a mistake. Art is a journey, let’s make it a fun one!
At Pip Dot, children of mixed ages: 3-5 year olds (preschool) and 5-12 years (school aged) engage in art activities together – this is something we have always done and it works amazingly well. The younger children are motivated by the older children while the older children assist the younger ones.
At Pip Dot, your child will experience and develop the following:
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A fun, freely creative time
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Fine motor skills
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Visual-spatial skills
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Focus and attention to detail
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Understanding of the importance of process rather than the end product
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How to complete a task on time or to plan for a task that goes beyond one session
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Enhanced creativity – how to turn nothing into something, an idea into reality
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Patience
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Social interaction
Why the Pip Dot Art Classroom Belongs to the Child
Over the course of my career in teaching and running a small business I have concluded that it is in the best interests of the child that parents do not stay in the Pip Dot art studio. However, parents are always welcome to stay at the beginning of a class to settle their children into the new environment.
All children have the right to be in their own creative space, uninterrupted by distractions and given the time to create autonomously without fear of failure. The Pip Dot Art studio is an environment for children and and it is their space that they get to own.
Unlike school where children are required to follow precise instructions and follow rules about their learning, our space has minimal instruction and allows children to create freely and to take their time. Our teachers are there to guide them along the way and to assist when needed.
In providing this unique learning environment we are not trying to keep parents out because they are unwelcome, it is because we want parents to understand the importance of the child’s learning environment and to respect it by allowing it to belong to the child with the least amount of distraction and interruption.
Our child led environment allows children to develop freely and to create freely. With the best of intentions, parents often distract from this environment by wanting to help: informing the child what to do, or where they went wrong. Even as an experienced teacher, I am still learning when to step in and when to observe, when to speak and when to show so as to not interrupt the creative process. My aim, like all of our teachers is to guide and facilitate the child’s opportunity to create independently.
The Pip Dot Art Studio is not a place that parents aren’t welcome or a part of, but a community where a child’s personal growth in independence is respected.
Finally, it is also worth noting that some of the most magical moments created in the studio have been artworks about the people that children love and adore the most - parents, guardians, carers friends and other extended members of the family. When these special artworks are created freely in the weeks before Christmas, Valentines Day, Mothers Day or Father’s Day - the beautiful dialogue that is heard from the children as they freely create their masterpieces for the people they love the most - is a part of teaching that I and the others teachers will never tire of. I have seen overwhelming joy from children over the years when they not only create the art for their loved ones but also have autonomy in being able to wrap the art, create a card and ‘hide’ the art from their parents until its time it gift it to them.
We understand our environment in the studio is not for everyone’s needs but our way of doing things is what we feel is part of our success in getting the best results out of the children who attend.
By Julie Kennedy (Founder)
Pip Dot has a constantly evolving program of activities, sometimes based around a theme, at other times working with a particular medium.
Areas we’ve worked in include:
*Watercolour *Papier mache *Upcycling *Collage *Diaoramas *Manadalas *Self-portraits *3D models *Pastels *Weaving *Drawing *Construction *Sewing *Fabric painting *Screen printing *Lino printing *Etching *Beading *And many more!
