Hannah Taylor-Rose reviews Ziggle! The Len Lye art activity book by Rebecca Fawkner for Magpies Magazine:
‘Ziggle! The Len Lye Art Activity Book has the goal of helping children see themselves as artists. It seems that it certainly will achieve this, with each page posing questions and tasks that inspire creativity and curiosity. The book, written by a teacher from the Len Lye Centre, follows Lye’s philosophy of art, making it a journey of discovery for readers. This focus on exploration and fun supports young readers in taking risks and steers them away from perfectionism. This helps children enjoy the process of making art and be less worried about the inevitable mishaps or flops.
Information about Len Lye as a person, and his artistic approach, is woven throughout the book alongside information about art concepts and creative activities for readers. The book loosely follows his life journey, beginning with his childhood inspiration at the start of the book. A timeline of Len Lye’s life is also included at the back. The wide variety of activities covered in the book mirrors the vast scope of Lye’s work. Readers explore movement, emotions, sketching, sculpture poetry and many more creative pursuits in the 65 tasks included.
The book is designed for readers to work straight into, recording their progress, however, I think some ideas could work well with larger groups. I am keen to try out the drawing / doodling emotions with students.
A strength of this text is that most activities do not require special equipment or skill prerequisites. This makes it very accessible. Examples include making a pots-and-pans sound sculpture, and creating a poi from a sock. To get full benefit from the book readers would need to be upper primary onwards, however younger children could work through it with adult support.’
