Teacher Reflections: Why can't we just make pictures?
- colringbk
- Nov 3, 2013
- 2 min read
This was one busy, whirlwind, art-making sorta week. I got my Kindergarteners to paint a wonderful Jungle border as the base of their artwork. In the past, I've always emphasized the grassy brushstrokes, but this year I really pushed for all sorts of leaves. First, we discussed one of Henri Rousseau's artworks and discussed the habitat of the tiger. Now they have the painting finished, we'll be drawing animals in the middle of their image next week.
Now my 6th graders are on a different idea. They are working on small 2 inch compositions in which they are finally putting together into a larger composition. To prepare them for this, they arranged their mini drawings into a radial, eye-moving composition and photoed them with iPads. Then, they leave the iPad next to their art and moved to someone else's composition, rearranged it, and took a photo of that one with the available iPad. By the time they get back to their own composition, they should have a few options to consider when they put together their final composition.
This week, I've been pushing my Jr. High students to consider what makes art meaningful to them and to others. The first day, they voted on the latest projects on which piece they improved most on skills, what project had the most message, what art project was their least favorite, and what art piece they were most proud of. So after they voted, we could make a better assessment about the types of projects that were important to them. The next day, they got in groups and discussed some questions such as "What makes art meaningful?" It was at this point that one of the students groaned, "Why can't we just make pictures instead of talk?" I think that's why we need to discuss these ideas. I really want them to dive into their own pieces and discover what it takes to make an artpiece they will be proud of. But, the third day, I felt like they just needed to be creating, so we worked on some skill building with our reduction printmaking piece. By Friday, they needed to create a sketch for their final printmaking plate with the emphasis: WHAT DOES A MEANINGFUL ARTWORK LOOK LIKE TO YOU?
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