children's teaching some of the artists some of their art _______ home :: sculpture :: writings :: biography :: email Milena here

The inspiration for this program originated in my own childhood. I spent many happy hours playing with Legos in the early 1960s. As I started teaching art in three dimensions, I looked for ways to relive this experience in the form of creative play. I explored various materials and combinations of forms and came up with a synthesis similar to the one I use in my own creative work. The human being is an incredible entity and nowhere more so than when very young. In introducing the projects, I give a fairly flexible structure, knowing as an artist that I do not want someone else to guide me toward an expected end product. Along with presenting new materials, I familiarize students with images of architecture and art. Structured, beautiful music in the background often helps to act as inspiration for the visual process. My young students play at being grown-up architects and artists: they imagine and aspire to build new worlds, or even improve on this one. From within their imaginative selves – since building and creating are activities natural to children – they bring forth combinations of forms and possibilities that can inspire us all.