Beautiful Stuff! . - Reviews - book review

Arts & Activities, June, 2001 by Ivan E. Johnson, Jerome J. Hausman

BEAUTIFUL STUFF! Learning With Found Objects (1999, $19.95), by Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini. Davis Publications, Inc., 40 Portland St., Worcester, MA 01608-2013.

Often times, teachers feel frustrated because of a lack of funding for more conventional art media and materials (paper, paint, clay, crayons, etc.). Yet all around us are scrap materials and other "odds and ends" that can serve for artistic creation. These same materials can be used for instruction. Indeed, for our students, the act of collecting, discovering and organizing found objects can itself become part of an enriched educational experience.

This book's authors bring a rich background in early childhood education to their writing. Cathy Topal has been an art teacher for over 20 years and currently teaches at Smith College. Lella Gandini teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has been involved with the educational program of Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Rather than focusing on "finished art products," this publication is based upon the observations and recordings of the artistic processes of both children and teachers. The emphasis is on a creative journey--organizing, noticing, sorting, categorizing, being attentive to children's thoughts and actions, involving parents and creating aesthetic order. The book describes a laboratory for creative accomplishment--thinking, acting and reflecting upon what has been done in visualizing and verbalizing ideas.

The book does not dwell upon complicated or convoluted language. Rather, through images, the words of children and the descriptions of knowledgeable teachers, the book describes an approach that meets the requirements for "higher order thinking." The chapter headings describe the work's content: Collecting, Discovering and Organizing Materials; Connections; Constructing With Wood Scraps; Extending and Displaying Our Work.

At a time when so much attention is being paid to language for "meeting National Standards," it is refreshing to see a book that puts aside verbal abstractions and moves directly into providing "real life" suggestions for teachers and students. The result is a publication that is interesting as well as informative. More important, it makes real and reachable, the values that we in art education have been advocating for years.-J.J.H. For information about this publication, circle No. 396 on the Reader Service Card.