Listed below are just a few of the creativity-building exercises suggested by Cane in her book:
Body Liberating Exercises
When students show evidence of contrived images or restrained structures within their artworks, Cane proposes these beginning-level techniques to help them open up their minds and bodies to the art making process. Some of these exercises are drawn in the "air" and some are drawn on paper.
* One such exercise: Students stand with feet apart, bending to touch the ground and rising while extending the arms apart. Students are asked to visualize themselves tracing a tree from the roots, trunk, and upward to the tips of the branches.
Many exercises involve controlled breathing, exploration of a student's reach and span, and the liberation of the shoulder joint, which allows for better passage of messages through nerves from the brain to the hands.
* Example: Students stand straight up, breathing in as they lift the right arm forward and up from the shoulder (without bending the elbow or wrist) as high as they can reach. They bring the arm down in the same fashion, breathing out as the arm comes down slowly. Students practice the exercise again with the opposite arm. Movements are slow, firm, and rhythmic. Other visions such as tracing up a mountainside can be suggested to make the movements more grandiose.
* Paper-based exercise: Students draw circles, lines, zig-zags, waves, and figure-eights in the air using each arm (from the shoulder) and switching directions and spanning space from the ground up. Students move around the floor, using swinging motions and knee-bending to find balance for each "mark." Then the exercises are translated to large pieces of paper fastened upright to an easel using soft chalks. The paper size can be reduced each time, focusing first on movements from the shoulder, then the elbow, then the wrist as the paper gets smaller.
Exercises such as these encourage the student to utilize their entire bodies in the process of mark-making and give balance, rhythm, and movement to their images, instead of the usual stagnant images that come from pinched finger muscles in a seated position (the writing stance).
* One such exercise: Students stand with feet apart, bending to touch the ground and rising while extending the arms apart. Students are asked to visualize themselves tracing a tree from the roots, trunk, and upward to the tips of the branches.
Many exercises involve controlled breathing, exploration of a student's reach and span, and the liberation of the shoulder joint, which allows for better passage of messages through nerves from the brain to the hands.
* Example: Students stand straight up, breathing in as they lift the right arm forward and up from the shoulder (without bending the elbow or wrist) as high as they can reach. They bring the arm down in the same fashion, breathing out as the arm comes down slowly. Students practice the exercise again with the opposite arm. Movements are slow, firm, and rhythmic. Other visions such as tracing up a mountainside can be suggested to make the movements more grandiose.
* Paper-based exercise: Students draw circles, lines, zig-zags, waves, and figure-eights in the air using each arm (from the shoulder) and switching directions and spanning space from the ground up. Students move around the floor, using swinging motions and knee-bending to find balance for each "mark." Then the exercises are translated to large pieces of paper fastened upright to an easel using soft chalks. The paper size can be reduced each time, focusing first on movements from the shoulder, then the elbow, then the wrist as the paper gets smaller.
Exercises such as these encourage the student to utilize their entire bodies in the process of mark-making and give balance, rhythm, and movement to their images, instead of the usual stagnant images that come from pinched finger muscles in a seated position (the writing stance).
Limited Color Palette
Cane believed that each child has his own color chemistry or affinities to color due to how brilliantly simple the child sees color (in two dimensions), similar to the moods and emotions connected to colors in color theory. In this exercise, students are presented with an array of chalk pastels in boxes of single colors and are asked to choose the color that they like. Students will naturally choose the color that calls out to them the most or that they feel the most drawn to or responsive to. Cane believes that this single color choice describes the key color of the child's internal body and spirit. Next, the child is asked to hold their chosen pastel over the boxes of the other colors and to choose the next pastel based on what the first pastel "wants" to be with the most. By activating the inert pastel in his/her hand, the child is led to make a decision on another color based on a perceived inner relationship between the colors. Cane believed that the second color that is chosen is the child's "stimulus" color. The child will then create a drawing with his/her two chosen colors and the image will become more meaningful to them because of the power behind the choice of colors. Black and white may be added to these colors to create a range of values, but the child will be forced to be more careful with his/her decision-making in coloring the image instead of haphazardly coloring subjects due to an unlimited amount of choices in a color palette, thus developing creative thought. The child is also more likely to create a wider range of tones with this limited palette; exploring the potential mixtures that can be created with the media and learning a color "vocabulary" as well as the principle of harmony. Typically, the child explores a simple value scale approach using the two colors (and black and white) first, and after he/she has experimented with creating a range of tones, then the student will choose an image to create with the colors in the form of a drawing. This exercise may also be completed using watercolor paints.
Sound Chanting
Just like the instinct for design and rhythm comes about from movement of the body, Cane also believed that colors could come about from sound, similar to the idea of synaesthesia. By humming, chanting, and repeating single vowels sounds while closing one's eyes, colors and bold forms will appear in one's mind. By using simplified vowel sounds instead of musical compositions, the mind can focus on stronger imagery and colors instead of being confused by multiple sounds, notes, instruments, etc. Also the music will be stemming from within and will create a closer tie to the internal process. She suggests that students begin by standing up, stretching and yawning. Then students close their eyes, breathe out completely, and lift their arms above their head, breathing in with the chosen sound (ex: "AH"). Then students bend over at the hips and when they near the ground, they breathe out the same sound deeply and slowly. Students repeat this process and may choose to sway or swing their bodies as they continue. Curved, sharp, or angular body movements will add to the variety of images in the mind. This is repeated until the child sees something that they want to draw, or they choose to switch to a different sound. When an image comes to the child, they are directed to a table where a piece of black paper and colored chalk await them. They can choose the colors that they saw to draw the image from their mind. Cane believed in using dark paper to bring out the intensity of the colors. This deep breathing and movement is thought to cleanse the mind and bring oxygen to the bloodstream which stimulates the body and mind.
The "Scribble Technique"
Scribbling is the first stage of drawing for children and results from free play and flowing, continuous lines. Scribbling shows no inhibitions because there is no plan or design to the work and movement and rhythm are a natural part of the process. Florence Cane believed that scribbling taps the inner nature of a person and creates meaningful patterns that are only apparent to the creator, much like dreams. In this exercise, the child is given a blank sheet of paper and is asked to scribble lines, with eyes open or closed, with the right or left opposite hand, to free the mind. After the scribble is completed, the child is asked to sit quietly at a distance from the work and to gaze at it and contemplate it until pictures begin to emerge. This activity is similar to finding images in shifting clouds. The strongest image that lingers in the child's mind is selected and the child will continue drawing into the scribble to bring out the image in their mind. It is important that the teacher stresses to the child that there is not right or wrong answer, even if the image is abstracted or distorted. The imagery chosen will say something about the artist, usually symbols of objects encountered in their daily life, or deeper problems, conflicts, or aspirations. The trained teacher can then discuss the imagery and the potential symbolism of the content with the student through selective questioning to help them talk their way into understanding why they might have drawn the image through their unconscious. By making connections and revealing thoughts, stories, or emotions, the teacher can help make the simple scribble more meaningful and personal to the artist.
Add-a-Mark Composition Game
Cane believed that each child possesses a natural instinct for the principles of design, which is only lost due to the poor decisions that are made from growing older and becoming more inhibited. In this exercise, the child is asked to draw a few boxes on a blank sheet of paper with a pencil to create frames on the paper. The teacher explains that the boxes start the beginning of a design by framing in the pure white space. The teacher and student will alternate adding single lines to the composition, deciding where each line should be placed in relation to the other lines that are already there. Then the teacher draws a line on the paper, explaining that each added line changes the design's appearance. The teacher begins the process so that when the pupil takes his/her first turn, they must already decide where the line should go in relation to a space that is already broken. Then the student is asked to add a line to the composition where he/she thinks that it is needed. The teacher may also ask where the space is asking for a line and what kind of line will the student make. Cane notes that the child will almost always place the second line either parallel to or in opposition to the first line, which shows an instinctive sense of balance. The game continues until the student decides that the composition is finished or has had enough lines placed to become balanced and full. Then the teacher asks the student to create an image using the type of balance created in the game, using the slants, lines, curves, repetition, etc. to reflect subject matter. The child can proceed, now having a sense of balance and relationship of objects to each other and to the whole within a space. This exercise may also be completed by the child alone.
Observation Exercise
Cane states that there are three faculties of the mind- observation, recollection, and perception- and these are closely related (Cane, 1951, p. 144). It is imperative that the artist learn to take in every detail and impression about an object when observing it so that they will know how to better draw the object from memory when it is no longer seen. One exercise for training this aspect of observation is to set up a still life or select a pupil to pose for the class. Allow the students to study and draw the subject for 20-30 minutes. Take the model away, give the students a fresh sheet of paper, and ask them to draw the subject again from recollection using the same amount of time. In doing this, students will realize how inattentive they were and what details they missed and will take more care in their observation skills for the next model. Through this negative initial exercise, their power of sight will be increased and they will also be sensitive to how they perceived the model when recollecting it a second time. Feelings, associations, memories, conclusions, etc. will be discovered as they associate with the subject matter which will lead to more individualized, abstractive, or inventive works.
Another form of this exercise may be completed when a student reaches a roadblock in their work and becomes so dissatisfied that they can't go on. In this case, the teacher gives the student a new sheet of paper and asks them to draw the subject again. Chances are, the student will know exactly which steps went wrong and the image will still be burned in his/her mind so they can notice areas of weakness and focus on making them better the second time around. By tackling the problem head-on, the student will gain the courage to work through their problems and achieve success.
Another form of this exercise may be completed when a student reaches a roadblock in their work and becomes so dissatisfied that they can't go on. In this case, the teacher gives the student a new sheet of paper and asks them to draw the subject again. Chances are, the student will know exactly which steps went wrong and the image will still be burned in his/her mind so they can notice areas of weakness and focus on making them better the second time around. By tackling the problem head-on, the student will gain the courage to work through their problems and achieve success.
Memory/Emotion Recollection
When a teacher assigns a subject for students to create artworks, there is an absence of feeling or emotion attached to the subject and chances are the final image will be less original and more stagnant. When you pose a subject that sparks student interest, the resulting work will be much more energetic and personalized, leading to a truer form of art. Cane proposes an exercise for when a student seems to lack the "feeling" needed to produce personal artworks. In this activity, the trained teacher casually begins conversation with the child, asking Socratic-style questions and looking for memories or symbols that might spark an image from the child's past. Ask the child to begin drawing this image from memory and any time the child reaches a roadblock, have him/her close their eyes in a quiet setting to recall the image more vividly. The teacher may also carefully ask questions that connect the student's feelings with that particular memory. This way colors, lines, and composition are chosen that reflect these emotions toward the memory. Asking students to draw a scene from home may also bring about a more sensitive or symbolic artwork. If a child chooses a scene filled with emotion that still seems awkward or static, have the student stand up, close their eyes and pose like the person in the scene, to get a better sense of the angles required to complete the action as well as any emotions that the person may be having while in that pose.