A riot of art

Marisa de Silva journeys into the wonders of art education at the Cora Abraham School of Art

"Have you ever seen your little girl hop on one leg gleefully declaring she could fly? Does she delight in a rainbow-coloured pool she discovered in a puddle of rainwater? Perhaps you've seen your son sitting on your front doorstep, chin in hand, watching the construction of a huge cobweb in the garden, glinting gold and silver in the sun.

Pix. By M.A. Pushpa Kumara

Yet, do most of these beautiful experiences only belong in the past when we as children had the precious gift of 'Time' to dream and make believe?

Today our children are 'tuition-tossed' in a rushing, never-ending stream of class upon class. Could they pause for a moment to see a flash of yellow, fly across their garden announcing 'I am a Golden Oriole! I am a Golden Oriole!'? Most often they are trapped in a whizzing vehicle, their heads bent over homework they haven't done or in a state of tension because they're late for their class.

How can we bring back the Utopian era of The Child? Rabindranath Tagore, in his autobiography says that the freedom he was given as a child made him the thinker he became. No toys cluttered up his room. His favourite object to play with was an old palanquin at the bottom of his garden! It became his palace, his courtroom, his stage… whatever his imagination declared it was!" - 'Art Education' - Nalini Weerasinghe, Art Educationist and Principal of the Cora Abraham Art Classes (CAAC).

"The most important thing you need to keep in mind is that CAAC is not an 'art class' in the conventional sense of the term; it's got more to do with art as a part of a child's education and it's role in the whole developmental process of a child," explains Ms. Weerasinghe passionately. The children are not instructed at all; they are given the opportunity to think and express themselves freely, thus helping their personality growth and overall development as well, she added. As the famous Art Educator Viktor Lowenfield says in his book Creative Mental Growth: "Art Education introduced in the early years of childhood, may well mean the difference between a flexible creative human being, and one who in spite of all learning will not be able to apply it and remain an individual who lacks inner resources and has difficulty in relationship to his environment."

The founder of this school Cora Abraham, started it off way back in 1949, with the intention of giving children the freedom to express themselves. Ms. Weerasinghe, then a student, later trained under Ms. Abraham as a teacher and subsequently took over as Principal in1980, following her death. She then took over from where Mrs. Abraham had left off and carried on the good work and novel concept of art education.

For instance when she kept the art school open during the '83 riots, many kids kept coming for class and it turned out being quite therapeutic for them too, not only did they get away from the horrific reality of their houses and neighbourhood being in flames, it was also a catharsis for them to vent out their innermost feelings such as fear and confusion etc., explained Mrs. Weersasinghe. "The children just come sit down and paint.

They're mostly inspired by the environment, what they see, think and feel so it's quite fascinating to see what they (especially the younger ones) come up with," she said smiling.

They absorb their surroundings and then draw their own perspectives of what they come across. By this kind of freethinking, they also build up their confidence and learn to use their strengths and experiment on their own. "Teachers are only there to inspire, they don't tell the children what to do, they only provide the necessary material (paints, paper, charcoal etc.,) and the children are given a free-hand to draw whatever catches their eye," she emphasised.

For instance, the teachers create a particular experience for the 8-10 age group (e.g. come dressed up like their favourite animal and enact it at class. Thereafter, they are asked to draw these animals. Or even the 4+ age groupers, who are very intense in their thinking, draw what they know and not what they see, she explained. They depict their idea of a specific situation or certain people and not what they see before them. Another exercise the children do is pick up various objects from outside, observe them, then draw and paint what they see, she explained. "It's amazing to see their imaginations run riot!"

The over 150 students ranging from 4+ to 16 can use whatever medium they like or even opt to sculpt, if they so desire. All possible material (e.g. paints, brushes, charcoal, pens, papers, clay etc.,) is provided by the school. Students of the CAAC range from the likes of graphic designers, to artists, to jewellery designers etc., "And there's nothing more rewarding for us, as teachers, than a student who has genuinely befitted from art education, like for instance a past pupil of the school (who's now a successful graphic designer abroad) told me recently, 'this school made me'," she recalled with pride.

Contact :
Mrs. Nalini Weerasinghe,
Principal,Cora Abraham Art Classes,237/76, Polhengoda Road,
Off Siebel Avenue, Colombo - 05, Tel: 2852494