Process vs Product

Way back in the dark ages, (ok, in the 70’s) when I was in college, it was drummed into our heads that we should be concerned with the PROCESS of art, rather than a product. I still believe it. I’ll admit, sometimes we make a product type project, but often it will have a different learning objective.

With process art, the children explore materials and techniques. Adults usually have no clue what it is. A product is exactly that. It looks like something. In preschool, there is probably a lot of adult help.

The following candle paintings speak for themselves. I could have given them rectangle, let them paint it with a candle, then glued on a “flame.” When asked, “What did you make?” I would have gotten 17 identical answers: candles.

The children were asked, “Tell me about your painting.”

"This is fireworks."

"I make this with blue and yellow and green. I make it like a full circle and a semi circle. I did the bottom of the candle."

"A big chicken. And it has green on it. It has red on it. It has this on it. I painted with paint and some paper. I was rolling a candle on the paper."

It’s a monster. "It’s a good monster that puts out fires. It’s a special monster cause it wears glasses."