Rediscovering

Ruth Faison Shaw and

Her Finger-Painting
"Finger-painting belongs
to the people. It is an art.
It is an activity of people"
Ruth Faison Shaw
Method
Ruth
Faison Shaw was an art educator who
I developed a nontraditional educational
i perspective of teaching and a different vision
about children's art. As such, she is considered by some to be the
initiator offinger-paintingin America {The Histoi-y of Art Educaiion
Timeline 19S0-19S9,2002.) Shaw developed the technique of finger-
painting and a method for teaching it. Later, Shaw applied frnger-
painting to therapeutic uses. Finger-painting reached the height of its
importance at the time of the Progressive Education Movement in the
1930s, and educators continued its successful application until the end
of the 1960s. The work of Shaw and herfinger-paintingmethod should
he understood and appreciated in context, according to the paradigms
prevalent in her time. This article focuses on three aspects related to
Ruth Faison Shaw and her finger-painting method: her personal and
professional life; the context in which fmger-painting was developed;
and the use of fmger-painting in education in the present days.

Shaw's Background and Philosophy

Ruth Faison Shaw was bom in Kenansville, North Carolina in 1889.
She was the only girl of five children. Her father was a Presbyterian
minister in a Southern parish in Eastern North Carolina. Shaw began
her career as a teacher in rural Appalachia but did not receive specific
training in pedagogy like most young women teachers at that time
(Stankiewicz, 1984.) When World War I began, Shaw joined the Y.M.C.A.
as a canteen worker in France for several years. During her spare time,
Shaw drew and painted. When World War I ended, Shaw spent nearly 2

BY V E R O N I C A MAYER

ART EDUCATION / SEPTEMBER 2005


years in Constantinople researching the
(raditional patterns an<l colors of Asian
iiiginaking while teaching history "on
location" to young sailors. She took her
si udents to historic places and the class
played games on ancient history and
made recreations of battles. (Telfer, n.d.).
Shaw decided to remain in Europe and
opened a school in 1923 for British and
;\merican children, aged 5 through 12, in
Rome, Italy. She believed that education
should be eryoyable. Her philosophy of
education was based on the fact that
children learn from playful sensory
experiences with simple materials and
playing games of their own invention.
Shaw also introduced the dictation
method using a dictaphone with her
students in order to encourage creative
wTiting. She took dictation from stories
created by 5 and 6 year old students and
then published children's stories as
hooks, like 00'erings ofOff'sprhig, The
Old Shoe, aiuniieSerond Old Shoe
(Telfer, n.d.). Shaw began to experiment
with finger painting in 1929, trying to
foster children's expressions and experi-
ences in a visual way (Stankiewicz, 1984).
It all began, in the most natiu-al way
in the world, with a little boy at the
school who smeared the bathroom
wall with iodine. All the children
liked to "smear""smearing" with
the hands is a primary impulse, a way
of having fun and of learning. So. I
went about the task of compounding
a suitable medium with which they
could smear to their heart's content
without damaging results. (Shaw,
1947, p. 5)
Shaw named this medium "finger-
paint," butfinger-paintingwas not a new
technique. Finger-paintings were found in
Etruscan tombs in France and in Pompeii.
In addition, the Chinese painter Chung
Isao painted with this technique in the
year 750 (Bedford Betts, 1963). However,
finger-painting did not become well-
known in America until 1932 when Shaw
returned and took a posit ion as an art
teacher at the Dalton School in New York,
one of many progressive schools that
supported art education (Stankiewicz,
1984). At the same time, she also opened
the Shaw Finger-paint Studio ;md began to
travel around the country conducting
demonstrations based on her methods.
ThefirstAmerican exhibition of finger-
paintings by children was held in a
Manhattan Art Gallery in 1933. The new
medium was an innovation that
impressed critics as well as arlists (Telfer,
n.d.). As a consequence, Shaw began to
publish books about her finger-painting
Red Eyed Dragon by Sam Vincent, age 10.
technique. "Reviewers discussed the
flowing lines and dreamlike forms which
gavefinger-paintingsabstract qualities...
They also emphasized the simplicity of
the material and its power as a means of
emotional release" (Stankiewicz, 1984,
p. 21).
The materials forfinger-paintingwere
an important part of the Shaw Finger-
Painting method. Shaw experimented for
a long time trying tofindformulas for
finger-paints. In the early 1930s, Shaw
started to make the paint in a small
factory in New York with the aid of her
assistants. The demand forfingerpaint
grew, and in 19)36 she contracted with
Binney and Smith to manufacture the
paint. In addition, many manufactur-er-s
began to make similar products (Bedford
Betts, 1963). Homemade recipes for
makingfinger-paintappeared in art book
activities from the 1940s to the 1960s.
The colors in the fmger-paints are
made from earth pigments.
Immediately when you say this you
explain that earth pigments are non-
toxic. They will not hurt your skin
even if you have hives or anything
else. The pigments will not hurt your
skin if water does not hurt it. They
are perminent colors. (Shaw, 1966,
p.125)
SEPTEMBER 2 0 0 5 / ART EDUCATION
 In Shaw's books, Finger-Painting and
How I Do It (1947) and Shaw Finget'
Paint: llie Child's Perfect Medium for
Children were Self Expression (1937), she defines finger-
painting as a new medium of expression
considered artists and describes her techiiique step by step.
who had unique In her method, she developed a process of
painting that ranges from materials and
creative potential. equipment, basic motions, and technique,
to cleaning up, and the role of the leacher
The intellectual And, she remaiked that, the teacher
should never assign a topic.
ideas of that time In order to get tlio greatest
enjoyment and the most delightful
were based on results from Finger-Painting, there
expressive ideology. are certain procedures which I
believe important. No one can or
should tell another how to paint or
how to "make a picture." Creative
work must come from imagination
and personal experience. But to
undei"stand the nature of a medium
and its logical use is important, if one
is to derive tJie greatest benefit from
it. (Shaw. 1947, p, 5)
Finger-painting was based on a variety
of hand and arm movements, and Shaw
always demonstrated each step in the
procedure before allowing children or
adults to experiment (Shaw, 1966). Shaw
noted that "exercises preliminary to
Finger-Painting are not a recipe or
fomuila. They show you how to get your
whole self into playnot the fingere
alone, but palm, fist, and forearm, as well"
(Shaw, 1947, p. 9). In her books, Shaw
explains each movement. For example,
she explains how the whole body is used,
how the skin is moved, how the muscles
are moved, and how the child can feel the

1889 1914 1919 1923 1929 1932 1933 1936 1937 1939 1940 1945
born in service opened special returned first Binney book started
North with th ( school paint to the American & Smith Shaw her work
Carolina Y.M.C.A in Rome, was United finger- manufactured Finger- at the
in Franc i Italy invented States painting finger Paint Menninger
exhibition paint Clinic,
Kansas

World W ] r l World War II

teachir g of art for art appreciation and creative expression art f o r
drawing moral creativity creativity i
educa ion and self-expression strongly
throug 1 art now appearing supported
activiti es is
introdi jced

1907, Maria Montes; ori

opened the first
Montessori School n
Rome, Italy

f
1919, The Progressive
Education Movement
was founded

1856 Sigmund Freud 1939

1859 John Dewey
1865 Franz Cizek
1870 i^aria Montessor
1875 Karl Jung
1882 Florence Cane
1990 Margaret Naumberg

Table 1. Timeline: Ruth Faison Shaw.

AR7 EDUCAT / SEPTEMSEfl 2 005

 rhythm. Shaw discovered that "each The Progressive Paradigm
person paints according lo his [sic] own When Shaw lived in Europe, she
movements, the texture of his [sic] skin developed a nontradJtional way of
and the thinking that goes in back of the teaching at her school in Rome, and two
painting. And so it is a simple thing" famous educators, the Italian Maria
(Shaw, 1966. p. 124). Montessori (1870-1952) and the Viennese
Beginning in 1940, Shaw used frnger- Franz Cizek (1865-1946), might have
painling as a medium of expression and influencefl Shaw in some way. They
solf-exploration for i)sychial ric patients created a new method of teaching art to
at the Menninger Clinic in Kansas. In the young children (Logan, 1955).
1950s, she moved back to Chapel Iliil,
In 1907, Montessori introduced a
North ( aroiina and continued her work
method that emphasized the development
with cliildren and mental patients at
of initiative and self-reliance by permit-
I'NC'sDepariinent of Psychiatry. From ting children to do by themselves the
1960 to 1961, Shaw hosted an educational things that interested them, within strictly
television series onfinger-paintingin disci])lined limits. Montessori lived in
North Carolina (Collins & Saiidell, 1984). Italy until 1934. Her method of teaching
Ruth Faison Shaw died in 1969 in became successful, and Montessori
North Carolina. schools were opened in Europe and the
United States. Cizek, one of the most
important educators to influence the
Progressive Education Movement in the
United States, considered his young
1947 1950 1960 1969 students as artists. He was an "artist-
book moved conducted died in teacher" and thought that to expose a
Finger back to finger- Chapel child to adult artwork could influence his
^ainting Chapel Hill, painting Mill, or her creativity in a negative way. Cizek
nd How NC series on NC also allowed children to experiment with
1 Dolt educational
television
different media. Montessori and Cizek's
NC visions about ieamiug and leaching are
very close to the ideas tliat Shaw
expresses in her books. For example,
emphasis on creativity
Shaw refers to the teacher as a guide who
creativity Is no longer wins the child's confidence and learns
still strong dominates from the child at the same time that the
reemerging/ child is learning from the teacher (Shaw,
art appreciation 1966). She believed that it is important for
and history
a teacher to let children create but to
accompany them in the process of
discovering and learning.
Finger-painting developed and
expanded within the context of the
philosophy of the Progressive Education
Movement after World War I in the 1920s
in the United States. The Progressive
Education Movement emphasized
creativity and self-expression as the
fundamental principles of ils philosophy
and were related to the liberal ideas of the
1952 1920s (Wygant, 1993). In addition, the
1946
theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung
1952
infiuenced the progressive philosophy in
1961
1952
education. Applying art as a medium was
1983 a way to integrate the personality through
expression (Wygant, 1993) and children
were considered artists who had unique
creative potential. The intellectual ideas
of that time were based on expressive
ideology.
Each of us at birth has special poten-
tialities which are slowly crushed and
destroyed by a standardized society
and mechanical methods of teaching
... Each man's, each woman's
puri)ose in life is to express himseif to
realize his full individuality through
creative work and beautiful living...
(EHand, 1990,p. 191)
The Shaw fmger-painting method found
in this paradigm an adequate place for its
development. From the 1920s to the
1940s, artist-teachers developed creative
self-expression as a method of teaching
art. Most of them taught in private
[)rogressive schools (Efiand, 1990).
Among others, Florence Cajie (1882-1952)
ajid her sister Margaret Naumberg (1890-
1983) were advocates of this pedagogy
and fommlated the first concepts for what
was later called art therapy.
From the 1930s to the 1960s, creativity
and seif-expression still had a strong
influence in the elementary school art
curriculum (Kern, 1985). The writings of
John Dewey (1859-1952), Herbert Read
(1893-1968), and Viktor Lowenfeld
(1903-1960) were fundamental during that
period. These educators supported the
idea of progressive education practices in
art. In addition, during World War II,
finger-painting was used in a therapeutic
context in workshops, for example, in the
Army and the Red Cross (Bedford Betts,
1963).
After World War II, creativity, self-
expression, aesthetic awareness, and
mental health were the major goals in art
education. These standards were an
extension of the contribution of art
activities values from tlie Progressive
Education Movement in the 1930s. The
concern was a humanistic education
where, "The artist became the exi.sten-
tialist hero, the creator of something out
of nothing; the child in the school became
an existentialist challenge" (Wygant, 1993,
p. 100). Hence, in books puhhshed in the
1950s and 1960s, fmger-painting appears
SEPTEMBER 2005 / ART EDUCAT
 as one of the recommended art activities
for elementary stmlents. For example, in
Teaching Art in the Elementary ScJiool,
ErdI (1956) recommends finger-painting
while listening to music because in this
situation, movements can be free and
quick. Other examples are the Nu isety
School. Guideby Rhoda Kellogg, (1949),
and Finger-painting in (heNnnnery
School by Rhoda Kellogg, (1955). These
books focus on the nursery school level.
Kellogg (1949,1955) classified the struc-
tural sequence of the basic scribbles made
by fmgerpainting in terms of stages of
development.
The New Trends
Many educators have criticized the
finger-paijiting method. For example, in
Cmative and Mental GmwlhLowenieM
(1975) recommends against using fmger
paint as a medium with children at the
scribbling stage.
Flower by Kimberiy
Foechterle, age 5.
Finger-painting based on
self-expression fits perfectly
into the flourishing liberal
ideas and progress
produced after the two
World Wars.
L RT EDUCATION / SEPTEMBER 2005
If we think of art materials as
primarily providing the opportunity
for the child's self-expression, then
the misuse of materials may interfere
with the activity for which the finger
paint was originally planned. Instead
of improving control over their
muscular activities, children can
become involved in the pastelike
consistency. (Lowenfeld, 1975,
p.149)
Lowenfeld also explains that there is
evidence that the child may regress to an
earlier stage of behavior because of the
fmger paint consistency. On the other
hand, he notes that finger paijiting could
be a good medium for working with tense,
timid, or fearful children. Likewise, in
Appmaches to Art in Education, Laura
Chapman (1978) does not recommend the
use offinger-painting for children who
have learned to make simple visual
symbols. However, she explains that
"fmger paint is of some value for the very
young child who is seeking motor and
kinesthetic pleasure" (Chapman, 1978,
p. 227).
At tiie end of the 1960s, and with the
development of a new paradigm in which
art was seen as an intellet tual and scien-
tific activity, fmger-painting activities
were difficult to find in contemporary art
books for kindergarten and elementary
levels.
It is in the arts, however, where the
argmiients for creativity would seem
to be incontrovertible, and that our
ambivalence appears the greatest.
Tliis is never more clearly seen than
in schools. For here, despite the
evidence to the contrary of the
economic, never mind the personal
worth of being creative, creativity has
not had a good press for at least
twenty ye;irs. Part of its decline has
arisen from its close association with
the so-called progressiv e education
and, in particular, the notion that
academic standards have been
sacrificed on the altar of the personal
growth of the child. (Marshall, 2001,
p.117)
The emphasis in the new trend was based
on art production, art history, ail criticism,
and aesthetics.
No reference tofinger-paintingat all
exists in Adventures in Art. by Chapman
(1998) orFoiifolifis by Robin Turner
(1998); two books currently used as part
of a typical kindergarten and elementary
art cuniculum. On the other hand, some
contemporaiy books refer to this
technique and homemade recipes for
finger paint, such as Art in the EaHy
Childhood Krare (Haskell, 1979), Tfie
Creativity Handbook (Boriss-Krimsky,
1999), and The Arts in Children's Lives:
Aesthetic Education in Early Childhood
(Jalongo, 1997).
Even though fmger-painting is a
technique that is still mentioned in some
textbooks and is applied by various
teachers, it is often used with a different
objective. For example, Tarr (1995)
suggests one possibility.
 PeriodicaJIy teachers offer one
act!\dty which seems to serve as a
ritualized cleaiisiiig activity. This
ceremony involves the messiest art
activity teachers provide preschool
children: fmgerpaini... I suspect,
however, that deep inside, teachers
believe that if children have this
opportunity to muck in paint, they
will beciinie cleansed or purged of
this desire and other painting
opportunities will remain neat and
orderly. (Tarr. 1995, p. 26)
Contemporary an teachers do not seem
to apply fmger-painting as a tetrhnique for
tactile experiences, self-expression, and
creativity as was Shaw's vision.
Art educators still have much more to
research about Ruth Faison Shaw and her
finger-painting method. The I 'niversity of
North Carolina has documents about her
work thai are only available on-site as
reference manuscripts. The published
research on her work and pedagogy i.s
almost nonH?xistenl. The information
available about Shaw shows that she had
a distinct vision about teaching and
learning that constituted innovation
within the scoi)e of Ihe educational ideas
in the 1920s aiid later Finger-paijiting
based on self-expression fits perfectly
into the flourishing liberal ideas and
progress produced after the two World
Ware.
Stankiewicz f 1984) observes that
Shaw's method of teaching did not
promote self-expression because teacher
influence was strong. Nevertheless,
looking at her work in that context from
the 1920s to the 1960s, Ruth P'aison Shaw
made a worthy contribution to the educa-
tional field and toward understanding
the individual process of creativity and
expression.
Vcwnica Mayer is a graduate sludenl
in the art education program at the
I hii rersity of Ne^v Mexieo, Albuquerque.
E-mail: Vmayer@u7im.edu or
o.com
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Bedford Betts, V. (1963). Exploring finger Thompson, Ed., Vic visual arts and early
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Inc. The National Art Education Association.
Boriss-Krimsky, ('. (lil!)i)). llic rtvalirili/ Telfer, G. {\\.(].).Riith Fai.son Shaiv: Arti.<it and
kdiiithook. Spririgndd, IL: Charles T. educator. Retrieved September 18,2002,
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Chapman, L. H. (199S). Adventures in art. rfsinterview.htnil.
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finger-painting. .4/7 Education, 37(2), FREE Catalog Today!
20-24.
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SEPTEMBER 2005 / ART EOUCATIO