“Is that color real?”
— Rebecca, Room 3

Dear Families,

It’s been an exciting month in the Duane Art Studio. Washington Market School was able to purchase a few digital projectors from parent support and donations a few years ago. This year I wanted to try to install one from the ceiling of the studio to project images and light onto the table top. The overhead projector (a la 1980’s math classes) has long been a favorite school wide tool to explore light, shadow and color with children. But now if you walk into the Duane studio we can experience both sources of light in dialogue with hand drawing.

We began the exploration with just the white light and our shadows. Next, we were able to play with drawing on the Ipad connected to the projector. While the interaction of color and line is something I would like to further explore, I wanted to ground and connect the children’s experience of digital light to something more familiar. For the past three weeks the children have been interacting with images taken in Washington Market Park – “That’s my park!” – is a familiar remark from the children. With the digital projector we are able to look more closely and communally at a photograph, to notice the leaves changing colors on the trees AND on the children’s skin as they reach into the light. Children had fun drawing monsters and ghosts in the park last week, no doubt inspired by the fun Halloween decorations they saw in person there! One child said, “That’s my dad’s office!” as she pointed to one of the buildings that surround the park. And a team of young builders used our entire collection of birch tree blocks to recreate the Freedom Tower inside the park!

The children continue to be enthusiastic and curious about this way of working in the dark and light so we plan to continue this exploration and carefully reflect on the child’s experience. It’s truly been an inspiring month in the studio that I’m delighted to share with you here.

All my best,
Kate Mangold