Frame shops donated the matte boards. I asked how she coaxes work out of kids who may have seen nothing more creative than cartoons. She tries to convince kids that art is not about the ability to make a precise likeness of something but about the possibilities that exist in heads, hearts and hands. I'll ask every child in the room to put their finger in the air and draw a circle for me. I see their fingers going all different ways, but it's still a circle.
Contour drawing is very hard for kids to understand.
But that's what it is, drawing the edges of something. Then I'll tell them to draw a circle on the table. Then I'll have them draw a circle on a piece of paper and cut it out. Then I'll have them draw a circle on a piece of colored paper. Then they can lay all this out on the table and everyone's will look different.