‘My 10 Fave Artists’ Connects Kids With Inner Creative Force

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Who are your ten favorite artists? And why? Is it their art that you love the most, or their life story? Or more likely, a combination of the two? Based upon the idea that we can engage with art most effectively when we understand the context from which it comes, local, artist, and art educator Blanca Rosa Raussman has created My Ten Favorite Artists, an arts and crafts summer program for kids, running from now until the end of August.

Raussman, who was born in Beijing and studied at the Barcelona School of Design and the Art Institute of Edinburgh has designed a program that delves into the art and life of ten major artists including Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso, and is aimed at getting 4-10-year-old kids thinking both critically and creatively via artistic instruction.

Each class will focus on a different artist and craft, and the 9-class program will culminate in a specially curated exhibition so the children can showcase their work with parents. We talked to Raussman about what inspired her to design the program and what previous attendees have gotten out of it.

Firstly, why these ten artists? “For me, these artists are some of the most relevant modern artists that have shaped the way we currently perceive art and I think that they are a great introduction for kids into the art world,” Raussman explains. “Since all these artists have a very strong identity it is fun to get to use their techniques and ideas to create new works of our own”

Indeed, these artists served as an introduction to art for Raussman when she was a young child herself. “These artists have had a big influence on the way I create my own work. I still look at them a lot for references, and they are certainly some of my favorites.”

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“But as I’ve grown older I have slowly been including a lot of new references in my art and discovering new artists that have impressed me and that I look up to such as Paula Rego, Henry Darger, Katsushika Ōi, Ana Mendieta, Nicholas Party as well as different art styles in general such as Medieval art, outsider art, Indian and Chinese art amongst others. But having those ten first artists gave me a strong foundation on how to go look for other artists, that is for sure”

Raussman’s program includes not just learning about the artist’s process, but also their life story, as in her opinion it’s impossible to separate an artist’s creative work from their life. “In my opinion, a lot of artists’ works ends up being biographical or linked to their own experience in some way or another.”

“When we study Van Gogh for example and we look at his painting “Starry Night” it wouldn’t be as powerful to look at for the kids if they didn’t know that he had depression and that that was the view from his hospital room. When we study Picasso’s Blue and Pink periods I also introduce them to the different periods in his life that made him paint in those particular colors.”

Another advantage of covering ten different artists is that the children are able to get try their hands at a variety of art materials “After each class, all children get to leave with two art pieces, either a painting a drawing, a print, a sculpture or a craft that they have made on their own. It is very gratifying for them to be able to show that. We also hold a little exhibition at the end of the program so that kids can get a little peek into what it means to set up and curate an exhibition and choose their ‘best work’. It is also a chance for parents to see all the work done in class and get together.”

As well as this program, Raussman runs regular art programs throughout the school year, but all with one main goal: to introduce kids to art, and enhance their natural creative instincts. “I believe that creativity is an essential tool for life no matter in which industry you go into, and also that it can be taught. As Picasso put it, “Inspiration exists, but you have to find it working”.”

The My Ten Favorite Artists program is running until the end of August. The cost per child is RMB 250 per class or RMB 2,000 (9 classes) and includes all materials, sketchbooks, and a final exhibition. For more information or to sign up, scan QR code. 

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Photos: Courtesy of Blanca Rosa Raussman

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