Funny Story

Do you know what I mean when I say “cookie cutter art”?

A while back I found out that some people don’t.  Let me clarify.  Cookie cutter art is those art projects that all look the same.  You know the kind.  You walk into a room and on the bulletin board there are 24 pieces of dark blue construction paper, each has 3 white circles glued on them, an orange triangle, and a little black hat.

That’s not art.  Art is a creative process with no limits.  You put out paint and glue and markers and crayons and all sorts of things and just let the children create!

“Cookie cutter art” is better known as a craft and has limits to the creativity.  Allowing the children to put the three circles on where ever they want doesn’t make it art…it’s still a craft.

Anyway, now that you know what cookie cutter art is, I have to tell you a funny story.

A while back I was doing a training with some new teachers.  I explained that at our agency we do not allow “cookie cutter art”.  I explained open ended art and all that.

A few weeks later, I was following up with one of the teachers and she said to me, “Why can’t we do cookie cutter art?  We have so many cookie cutters in the cabinet, it’s suck a waste!”

She was very serious.

I was completely taken off guard.

I paused a moment and clarified for her.