I’m often asked about setting up art spaces in a Montessori home, so today I’m interviewing Hannah Lord, artist and owner of Flying Fish Studios in Sheffield, United Kingdom. Hannah is AMI-certified and her art studio is a shining example of how a prepared environment and a prepared adult allow children’s creativity to flourish. Having met her in person, I can vouch for how thoughtful, caring and warm she is, and have found many gems of wisdom in her attitudes towards art, praise and cleaning up, as you’ll read below.
1. Hi Hannah! Please introduce yourself?
Hannah: Hi Jasmine, first of all I’d like to say what a pleasure it is to be interviewed by you on how and why I use Montessori principles within my art studio. Sheffield has been my home for pretty much my entire life, and this is where I have chosen to set up my art studio. I started studying Biological Sciences at Durham University in 2014, and after just 6 weeks knew in my heart that this really wasn’t something I could continue with – and to put it plainly, it wasn’t my passion. Instead, I knew that my passions and strengths lay in working with the young people in our society. Just this week in fact I heard something that really resonated with me: “Do what makes your soul shine”. I have always loved using art as a means to be creative. Returning home from University wasn’t by any means easy, but I was certain that I’d made the right decision, and for this I am very thankful.
After a short while I began working in schools as a teaching assistant. I learnt so much, but I was saddened by the lack of time that schools set aside for music, art and drama – subjects that I believed would benefit children’s self-esteem, confidence and help towards fulfilling their physical, emotional and social needs (and perhaps improvements in ‘behaviour’). I began to look into other forms of education and decided to study Montessori education in London during the summer of 2017. These ended up being two of the best weeks of my year – studying alongside men and women from all around the world, discussing our admiration, and questions, towards this form of education. Meanwhile I was looking into setting up an art studio, and between April 2017 and April 2018, I spent my time developing a website, ensuring the legalities were in place, designing the studio, networking with other artists, running trial workshops and all the while developing my ideas and vision for this space, with Montessori principles in mind. In April 2018 we officially launched!
2. Your statement of Montessori principles is so powerful. How different is teaching art in a Montessori way versus conventional methods?
I would say that the aspect of my workshops most contrasting to conventional ways of teaching could be observed through how I handle praise. It may be surprising for people to hear that I avoid saying things such as: “Wow, Katie I love this landscape you’ve painted” or “Everybody look this way please, I’d like to show you what Peter has made. Isn’t it amazing!” Such phrases are regularly used within society, however external rewards, even if only through spoken words, have the potential to make children dependent on others for approval. Handling praise in this way is not always easy but in the end we all want children to gain fulfillment not through other people’s praise but instead through their own sense of accomplishment.
This is not to say that I do not encourage the children – this is vitally important! I encourage children in a way that I hope will develop an intrinsic motivation, with the children engaging in learning because the learning is the learner’s reward, rather than the judgements of others. Linked to this intrinsic motivation is allowing children to freely pursue learning about issues that personally interest them, and as Dr Maria Montessori writes, to stimulate the “seeds of interest already sown”.
Children often ask “Do you like it?” – this can be such a hard question to respond to! Of course you like it – they’ve made it(!)… but sometimes saying this doesn’t actually help the child. Responses such as “Wow there are lots of bright colours” and “Would you like to tell me more about the piece?” show that I am genuinely interested in what they have created, without making them dependent on pleasing me.
Children know in the afterschool workshops that they can use any of the art materials, but that there is an expectation for them to tidy the space before leaving the studio. I would be lying if I said that no reminders were necessary! Sometimes, many reminders are required, but it is something that I believe will help them both now and in later life – knowing that they have a responsibility towards looking after their environment. The children can choose whether they’d like to keep their shoes on or take them off when entering the studio – I say it’s whatever they feel most at home in. A couple of weeks ago, we realised half way through the art workshop that quite a bit of mud had been transferred from a child’s shoes and had spread across the studio. I pointed her in the direction of the dustpan and brush and a few minutes later she went to sweep the dirt off the floor. It wasn’t a big deal – it simply had to be cleaned up. Much of the time it would be quicker for me to tidy up after the children, however my afterschool workshops are based on much more than purely creating a piece of art. It is all the other learning outcomes – social, emotional and physical, that accompany it.
3. You have created a studio space that is inspiring and functional. What are one or two design tips you have for parents wanting to create an art space at home?
To quote Maria Montessori, “If children are allowed free development and given occupation to correspond with their unfolding minds their natural goodness will shine forth.” This quote is something that I hold dearly and I designed the studio with this in mind, installing both an adult and child-height sink, alongside low shelves that children could freely access. A large part of what I believe discourages parents from having an art space is the belief that this space will be an eye-sore and detract from the aesthetics of a room. This may be true, if not handled carefully. Both children and adults are more likely to want to clean up if what they are using is beautiful in itself!
Finding cleaning equipment that is both practical and aesthetically pleasing is important. I have recently purchased a set of 8 reusable cloth wipes, handmade in Sheffield. Knowing that one of the girls in my workshop has a keen interest in Harry Potter, I asked if one of the cloth wipes could be designed with a Harry Potter themed pattern. The children will be able to choose which patterned cloth they’d like to use. Even though this may seem like a trivial choice, if a child feels that they are making a choice within the processing of clearing up, this will help in their eagerness to do so. Less reminding is therefore required!
4. You offer a wide range of art experiences, from needle felting to glass fusing to quilling. Could you suggest one or two art activities that might be easy for parents to set up?
So it’s here that I’d like to say a big thank you to my afterschool art tutor (and now friend!) – Lesley Warren. She now works as an art therapist but used to run afterschool art workshops for children a decade or so ago. I was one of those children! I remember always feeling welcome and never feeling judged. We experimented with materials that I had never even heard of before. We still have some of the pieces that I created on the walls of our family home now… all those years later! My parents have also been very supportive of me. Knowing that I loved creating, they encouraged me to attend art workshops. This is not because they thought it would become my career, but rather it was because they knew that it “gave me life”.
I would recommend Needle Felting as an art activity that might be easy enough for parents to set up at home. Although I have many boxes full of needle felting materials, the core materials actually take up very little space. All that’s required is a needle felting tool, needle felting brush, pieces of felt and some wool. The colour and texture of wool can be so beautiful and needle felting is open to so much experimentation.
The needle felters I would recommend are called Clover Needle Felters. These are the ones we use in the studio. They have five barbed needles and the tool comes with a clear lock cover for additional safety. Saying this, the tool is still very sharp and so, depending on the age and maturity of your child, adult supervision may be required. This brand of needle felter is amongst the more expensive on the market, but the ability to replace broken needles and the ease at which the needles puncture the felt, make this a very good buy in my opinion.
5. What kinds of freedoms and limits do you have at Flying Fish Studio so everyone can concentrate on their work while also being together happily?
I teach artistic techniques but allow the children to make their choices. Children have left the studio at the end of a workshop having created something totally unexpected. They have the freedom to do this. We stay clear of all aiming towards the same product and often I introduce the workshop with something like this: “This is just an example of the type of creation that can be made today, but there are so many different options available to you, so you might like to make yours completely different!”. The children will therefore know the type of piece that’s possible to make, without feeling like they have to create one at all similar. I recognise that only they know what they’d like to do, and that they’re able to go with that.
I set different freedoms and limits depending on the age and maturity of the children who attend the workshops. In one of my children’s groups, I tend to leave clearing up till just a few minutes prior to the end of the workshop because I know that they are able and willing to clear up efficiently and thoroughly. For other groups, children still benefit from a longer period of time to tidy and a gentle reminder on occasions! I understand that, especially once engrossed in a piece of artwork, tidying up doesn’t sound very appealing! However, I explain to the children in my afterschool workshops that we have the freedom to use whatever materials we’d like, as long as we recognise that clearing up is part of the process.
6. How do children cooperate in your studio, especially around ages 6-12? What do you think is valuable about cooperation and how can adults support it?
I often keep quiet when children are discussing between themselves how best to share. The children know that I’m there, and could step in at any time, however I hope that, by keeping quiet, the children pick up on the fact that I think they’re capable of coming to a solution between themselves, without any intervention from an adult. Children often do cooperate very well within the studio. This has been particularly evident through the play that they choose to do before the session, often choosing to use the Grimm’s rainbow, Leonardo’s sticks, and other miscellaneous items to construct something together as a group.
I model cooperation, kindness and inclusivity in our workshops. In response to the question “I wonder what you liked most about this workshop?” on a feedback sheet, one of the children wrote, “Hannah is very fun and active and she puts the children first”. I always hope to be in service to the children with a child-centred approach to teaching.
7. Last question: Can we come visit? 😍
You can find Flying Fish Studio here:
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