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| "Combustion" watercolor by 7th grader |
Wet-on-wet watercolor is the preferred painting technique in Waldorf schools because it allows children to experience the qualities of different colors in a fluid way. During guided painting lessons, the students submerge heavyweight woven paper in a tub of water until saturated, then sponge off the excess moisture. Paint is applied with wide brushes dipped into jars of color.
“Watercolor is a medium that requires great discipline,” says Waldorf teacher Helena Niiva. “You have to learn when to let go and allow the colors to live and also when to exercise more control.”
Starting with clear primary shades in kindergarten and first grade, the students discover how certain colors advance while others recede, how some colors excite while others calm. They also discover how each color interacts with others to create new colors.
As students move up, their work becomes more sophisticated. They learn how to lift colors and how to bring out form and detail from the colors. They use proportionally more pigment and less water.
Waldorf students often paint themes from their morning lessons—an animal from Aesop’s Fables, a scene from the Peloponnesian War, or a map of the continent of Africa, for example—as a way of experiencing the content more deeply. Weekly painting lessons also help develop powers of observation that serve the students well in other classes—particularly in science.