The Puzzle Painting Project

Authors

Barry GoldbergFollow

Files

Description

In this project, each child is given a single sheet of cardboard that has been cut to form a useable puzzle. These puzzles can be as simple or as complex as suits the age of the child. Older children may be able to draw the shapes they want. A teacher can then use a mat-knife to cut the shapes out.

Publication Date

1-2026

Keywords

children's art, creativity, artmaking, imagination, puzzlemaking

Disciplines

Art Education | Early Childhood Education

Comments

This work accompanies the Occasional Paper Series essay "Seeing Meaning"

Goldberg, B. (2014). Seeing meaning. Occasional Paper Series, (31). DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1025

All the art in this archive was created by children who were either four years old when the school year began or turned four within the school year. My hope is that the images and texts in this archive will serve as a resource and essential companion to the ideas found in the essay Seeing Meaning. Perhaps, while watching a child paint, a teacher will realize they are seeing a completely other means to making meaning, one that is rooted not in words but in the non-linear pathways of visual imagination, exploration, creativity, and invention. The archived projects are meant to stimulate ideas, as well as provide some practical advice. These are not ‘recipes’ to be followed. They are a point of departure for teachers who recognize visual thinking as something distinct and uniquely important.

Every teacher will approach this subject in their own way— have their own values, level of comfort, desire to explore, and willingness to take risks. They will also have the constraints of space, time, school budgets, and resources to materials, to name but a few. The most important aspect of the archived projects is that they underscore the central theme of Seeing Meaning that children making art are children thinking, using materials as the currency of their thought, and expressing their valuable ideas in the art they create.

Barry Goldberg

Recommended Citation

Goldberg, B. (2026). The Puzzle Painting Project. https://educate.bankstreet.edu/partners/4