Parent’s Guide for Art and Design
I am delighted that you are interested to know how you can encourage your child within Art and
Design.
“Be CREATIVE, WORK HARD and ENJOY !” is our department’s intention and that means
being creative in all sorts of ways – CREATING with Lego, Plasticine, paint, collage, wood, metal,
shells, pencil or whatever. It is what children do naturally and it should be nurtured and valued in the
family home…Frame it, display it and give praise when it is deserved!
….but all creating needs INSPIRATION
Encourage your child to ‘look’ and really ‘see.’ We are surrounded by fabulous graphic design which
persuades us ‘visually led’ customers to buy ‘that’ breakfast juice, ‘this’ beauty product or ‘the other’
more expensively advertised coffee product.
Be aware of architecture, old and new, that you pass every day, the interior design of cafés, hotel or
public foyers and the landscape gardeners designs in your local park or National Trust property.
Be aware of the clever packaging on our foods, drinks, clothes, shoes, jewellery and how successful
advertising is on us, the visually gullible public consumer!!
If your child can see through this ‘visual trickery’ then they may want to pursue a career in the
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES designing wisely for a specific consumer sector.
Be inspired by the patterns and colour schemes we see in shops, on TV in fashion collections in
theatres, in magazines and then your child can possibly recreate them in paint at a later date.
Be inspired by NATURE – the trees, waterways, clouds, insects, birds, beetroot leaves, the beach etc..
High definition photography has brought fabulous images to our TV screens as well as books and the
internet.
Be inspired by ARTISTS, CRAFTSPERSONS and DESIGNERS…..visit galleries or go to their
internet sites, observe the sculptures that are on roundabouts in NI, the public sculptures that are
synonymous with a city and find out which new piece of ‘Art’ is stretching the boundaries of what art
means each year for the Turner Prize.
Once inspired your child needs to PRACTICE their TECHNIQUE – Hand to eye coordination and aesthetic sensitivity. The skill of holding a paint brush properly, lifting the correct
fluidity of paint and then applying it to the page with accuracy and fine detail – This will improve
with practice… practice…. practice!...encouraged with liberal servings of renewed inspiration.
Allow your child to have an area (somewhere) that can be a ‘creative zone’ where paint glue
scissors, paper etc are easily accessible.
Practice by drawing what they see around them, by doing what TV programmes such as Art Attack
suggest, by copying from existing artist’s work, by building models, by copying cartoons or by
making collage on the beach! - Just encourage them to regularly lift up that pencil, pen, brush, glue
tube or sewing kit and actually make something!
Try taking photos of whatever interests them, then try closer and closer shots using ‘macro’ setting
and keeping the camera very still. Then encourage them to get clever and ‘look through’ something to
create an even more interesting image Try positioning the camera behind grass stalks, twigs of a tree
or behind a group of people so the main subject is visible but enhanced by the foreground ‘framing’
device.- remember foreground,. middle ground and background.
What about stop motion animation?...encouraging them to set up simple toy figures and take a
sequence of photos that will appear to ‘move’ when viewed in rapid succession via a computer.
Encourage them to make a scrapbook – Just for themselves to look at – full of receipts, tickets,
little doodles, clothes tags, buttons off a favourite shirt, photos of friends, lyrics from songs they like
etc.. Stick them in however they like ( ordered and square or higgledy-piggledy!) and add colour with
paint, crayon, felt tips or whatever to make it their own!!
This develops lots of creative practical skills as well as arousing their aesthetic awareness.
AESTHETICS means ‘pleasing to the eye’ but who’s eye? What you like to look at will not be
the same as your friend, neighbour or child – it is very personal!....so each person learns through
experience and practice what ‘looks good’ with what and what doesn’t. This VISUAL
SENSITIVITY with colour, pattern, line, text etc is crucial if your child is to pursue a career in the
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES.
In summary……
 Ensure your child has paper, pencils, glue, scissors and paint.
 Designate a creative zone for your child to feel comfortable ‘creating’ in.
 Assist with inspiring them by visiting galleries, sculptures and craft centres.
 Encourage them to really ‘look’ at the world around them and appreciate the beauty of the
ordinary.
 Allow them access to a digital camera and use ‘macro’ setting for close-ups.
 Allow them to research on artistic internet sites (with caution!) Try typing in ‘Art Galleries’ or
try searching in one of these gallery sites…….Eakin, Taylor, Tom Caldwell, Bradbury
Graphics, Mullan (all in Belfast) or Fine Art America, Gallery One, Daily Painters, Illustration
web, or look up Architects such as Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid or Gaudi. Also Craft Council NI
 Allow them to ‘create’ digitally on computer programmes if they have them. (if not all pupils
will be learning Photoshop in class time)
 And above all PRAISE their artistic and creative endeavours! –allow their work
wall space or display space and remember, yourself, how discouraging it is to be ‘put down.’
The greatest enemy of healthy creative growth is being told by your family that you will not be
good at something because your grand dad or mother was not good at it!....EVERY CHILD
is unique and can be great at any number of things – Allow your child the possibility of
exploring their talents and keeping all opportunities open for as long as possible…..
At Ballymena Academy Art and Design department we do hope that your child
can….”Be Creative, Work Hard and Enjoy”…. their artistic journey of discovery!
Mrs.R.Reid (HoD), Mrs.G.Hallam and Miss.D.McNeill