“The Dot” artwork

“Every so often you get called to do something extraordinary and be a part of an amazing collaboration. When my friend Kiki asked me to be involved in an art project to help raise money for her daughters’ school this is exactly what happened. The thought of doing an art project that involved the whole of Hatfield Montessori Pre-School was at first daunting, like what can I do that would incorporate and celebrate the teaching methods at the school? It had to be something that would honour each individual child and celebrate their unique gifts but at the same time make it a project that would involve everyone coming together. After much back and forth with the head of the school and Kiki and looking at past projects that the children had done we decided it had to be a Process Art activity or like I like to call it “Perfectly Imperfect art”. Perfectly Imperfect art is art that focuses on the process of creating and the journey the child takes rather than focusing on the end result. Not knowing what something will look like in the end may seem odd but the joy you see when kids create and follow their ideas and creations outweighs any end result.

A past project that I had done with my kids based on the book “The Dot” by Peter H Reynolds seemed like the perfect project. This book is all about a child who believes he can’t draw and then his art teacher just asks him to make a mark and see where it takes him. So, he starts with a dot and from there things spiral into amazing creations. The collaboration the kids created works on this same principal you start with a dot and then keep adding more dots and see where it takes you. Each child is allowed to add onto another’s dot but can not destroy someone else’s dot. It’s amazing to see the creativity that came from the kids at Hatfield Montessori Pre-School, because the school is founded on celebrating each child working and growing at their own pace, you could really see that uniqueness come through with the kids. They were so sure of what colours they wanted to use, they weren’t afraid to try new ideas, mix colours, add on details, explore, there was so much freedom of expression it was beautiful to watch kids that aren’t afraid of creating.

It is here I have to put in a special mention about how encouraging the kids were to each other and how they praised each other and talked about how they loved what the other person was doing, it was so heartwarming to watch. They shared so beautifully and took turns without arguing and shared ideas, I have to really give praise to the school for what a great job they are doing. This project evolved into a real community project not only did the kids get involved, but also the teachers and parents and in the end, everyone left their mark. The end result was beyond what I could have possibly imagined, a truly unique masterpiece. Every so often you get called to do something extraordinary and every so often that calling leads to something magical and on days like that I count my blessings for being a part of the magic.”

Marcia Sharpe Sissing of @minimatissediaries on Instagram or https://minimatissediaries.co.za/

This beautiful painting done by the HMP community is now available for purchase