22

Blog 22: Where do our notions of visual art as a solitary activity come from?

What are the benefits and limitations of engaging in collaborative works of art?

I would suspect that some people would consider visual are to be a solitary activity because there is much emphasis on self-expression through the arts. Some people would assume that it is impossible to express yourself, if the piece was being made by a team of people.

A second suspicion of mine is that the way in which we are taught art introduces the solitary aspect. From a very early age we are expected to make art individually. Young children are very often told to respect each other’s space and property, and not to interfere with one another. This is never more clearly exemplified when kids are given ‘art time’ and each child has their own 8”X11” sheet of paper to draw on. Sure the kids may share ideas and look at their peer’s work, but when are they encouraged to collaborate on a single drawing? How uncomfortable are we as adults when someone else works on our projects?

In school art assignments are usually skill acquisition based and therefore solitary art best facilitates the assessment of the individual.

The benefits to collaborative works of art are infinite. There is no way to calculate the possible benefits to human interaction. Collaborating on art is the same as collaborating on anything else, it is human interaction, and that has benefits on spiritual, intellectual, creative, moral, physical and just about every level. The greatest theme to collaborative works of art is the negotiation. Simply representing human interaction visually is its own benefit.

23! "the number 23 is everywhere in my life.."

Blog 23: What has this experience of working collaboratively added to your understanding of what one learns through art?

One aspect of art that is understated also happens to be one aspect that relates it more closely to the other educational disciplines. Works of art are packed with meaning. Metaphors and symbols, and statements and choices and questions that need to be addressed, dissected and answered. In that process, collaboration is essential to artwork, after all, a conversation needs multiple participants. Whether collaboratively critiquing or creating an artwork, a discourse is formulated in which profound intellectual and moral conflicts are (hopefully) resolved through negotiation and compromise. In that respect collaboration in art is a microcosm of society as a whole. Understanding art is very much akin to understanding culture. I really believe that to study and know the artwork of one culture is to understand that culture.

“Individual” art, if there is such a thing, has no negotiated understanding of an iconology, motif or technical choice. This lack of negotiation truly leads to a detached and delusional interpretation of everything, as there is no outside ‘corrective’ influence. By corrective influence I refer to those modest and constructive criticism that helps an artist refine their ideas, whether by defending the ideological basis, introducing new handling techniques, or simply having a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ to look at it.

Blog 19

Blog 19

1. What does learning in a community-based setting afford children?

2. What are they able to learn in a community-based setting that they would not be able to learn in a school setting?

3. What does teaching in a community-based setting afford the educator?

4. What can one do in a community-based setting that one could not do in a school?

1. Learning in a community setting provides children with a hegemony to fall back upon to support their learning. Not only will they have instruction, but in a community setting they will have the chance to observe others, and pick up things intrinsically from their environment.

2. A community setting offers the children self placement, whereas a classroom cannot. In a community the child has the opportunity to experiment with groups and roles. In a community the child has many places and roles to play. In the classroom the child is predominantly just the student.

3. Teaching to a ca community gives the educator the reward of impacting a diverse group, working with many personalities and developmental levels. It also impacts the educator’s understanding of negotiated instruction and the group leaders.

4. A community setting has the potential for a greater sense of self discipline. With community leaders and an established hierarchy present, the educator may have the freedom of not concerning her/himself with the discipline of the group. ( this is not always the case)

blog 17 (Boruqe's jersey #!)

Blog 17:

· Describe your most meaningful learning experience in a museum or art gallery.
· What elements made it so?
· Relate this experience to Dewey’s notion of a “good” experience.


My most meaningful learning experience in a museum was when I was a little boy. My mother had taken my brother and I to Banff for a weekend, and besides visiting the hotsprings, we went to a native cultural centre. There were mannequins set up in dioramas. The figures were dressed in various clothing styles according to the creed they were depicting, and they were set up to perform various celebrations. The mannequins looked so life-like to me I thought they were about to start moving and dancing before my eyes. I have been enchanted with native arts and culture ever since.
The clothing and costumes were exciting and so foreign to me. Some of the acts depicted were shocking, particularly the sun dance of the plains people. A male dancer would revolve around a tall pole that was tied to the piercings on his body by long cords of sinew. I thought it was so cool.



I believe that Dewey would consider this a very good experience, because the content was totally new and rewarding to me, it was presented in a manner I found interesting and was easy to absorb, and it left a strong impression upon me in a cultural and artistic sense.

blog 16

Blog 16:
1. What issues arose as you tested your lesson plans?
2. Why did these issues arise?
3. Can you ever fully anticipate every detail of the situation you will be working in?
4. What role does planning play in a responsive teaching approach?
5. After reading Chapter 19, do you need to modify your plans to address safety issues?

1. The biggest problem I had with my plan was to keep the students engaged and excited about the parts of the ‘lesson’ that were not games. I should have kept the ‘lecture’ short to match their attention spans.
2. These issues arose because 10,11,12 year olds don’t have the patience to sit in the floor and describe the good and bad features of 13 of their peers’ drawings.
3. Fully anticipation is unreal. There are far too many variables in real life to be prepared for every possibility. However, thematic reactions to a situation can be anticipated.
4. Planning is essential in any teaching environment. Without a general plan there would be no guarantees about what topics are discussed and what the students are actually subjected to. Although it may be beneficial to deviate from the plan once and a while in order to facilitate the students’ own initiative, walking into a teaching situation without a proposed outcome or intended process can lead, quickly, to pandemonium.
5. I believe my plans were totally safe. There was no serious risk of physical injury, as for emotional injury, my activities were not embarrassing in nature or beyond the children’s grasp developmentally.

Cub documenting 2 & 3 INCOMPLETE

Wednesday March 17

Today I met the children and had the opportunity to talk with them about road signs and why we have them.
The cubs were baffled that I knew their names before I had met them. Which was fun
It was really hard to get them to answer the questions one at a time, but they got the basic understanding of the signs we had to show them.
I tied up the road safety lesson with a quick talk about traffic lights, making sure the kids knew what the different colours meant. this was a good transition into our new game!

I taught them the very basic rules to the red light green light game. red is go green is stop, and I decided to throw in yellow, which meant slow(even though technically that is not what it means on the traffic light-oh well!)
We had a deaf boy in the cub group so I had to change the game from how I learned it as a child. Instead of calling out the colours, I had to flash coloured paper. It worked to our advantage actually, because as we quickly learned, once the cubs had ran passed me they could no longer see the colours and ran all the way to the finish. ( somewhat more accurately representing cars in an intersection)
So we changed the game so that the cubs had to run passed me no matter where I stood in the room. the kids had to be more aware and alert, because I would run across the room and they`d have to chase me!

Unfortunately, replicating the fundamentals in their own signs was almost a complete failure, with the exception of 2 or 3.



Wednesday March 24

Today was the big day: the Finale And it couldn't have gone any better! It was cold outside, so Rob's plans for an outdoor game were scrapped. In his plan, Rob structured it so that he and I would be almost working as a pair with the children. It was structured so much better than last week, and I was much more comfortable in this set up. I had a few minutes to chat with the kids and get them thinking about colour symbols and how we use colour in language to describe feelings. They nailed it. Stella ( the outspoken 11 year old girl) brought up the expression green with envy, Justin tried to turn his face red when I had mentioned how in cartoons the character's face will turn red when they're angry. Other children mentioned things like feeling blue when they're sad, and it went well the kids were digging it. Because we kept the pace up and keep the kids moving around I had a much more successful outing.


Wednesday March 31 2010

SOOO.. today was the presentations day, and I relayed my experience to the class.
I need not explain what happened, you were there!
I did get some interesting feedback today though. Thank you for the strategies,
for playing the games, and being patient with my lack of pictures.

Documenting isn't just about taking notes about what we did,
to document with a purpose there ought to be a central question.

So I have to ask: To what degree should Kinetic learning/teaching be embraced and incorporated in a community learning experience?

I have to say, getting those kids to pay attention was very difficult. Unlike high school kids, with whom I have experience coaching, the 10-12 year olds' attention is primarily concerned with figitting and only God knows what they chatter about. Some of the techniques I use with the rugby players are very inappropriate for children that age, for example yelling at them to get them to listen, or making off colour remarks or sexual innuendo when they do something well.

With the incredible level of energy in the 10-ish year old group, I would argue that Kinetic learning should be the equal if not superior to dictation or reading. I witnessed firsthand how the children would pick up on underlying concepts in games, for example, the necessity of rules and the consistency of those rules in society. Compared to their general unwillingness or inability to sit still for 10 minutes to participate in a show and tell type of work, hitching onto their energetic behaviour is pretty much the only way to get through to them.
It is not as though they are incapable of listening to an adult, because like I mentioned in class, the most apparently disconnected outsider of the group had absorbed and reflected the most from the discussion about traffic signs.

Looking back I wish I had employed a more ‘game-like’ method for displaying and discussing the road-signs they had drawn. I was pleased with how the games went well and their eagerness to talk about colour symbols.

With a university audience I noticed that the kinetics wasn’t accepted as wholly. This could be for several reasons,
· It was the end of class and people wanted to go
· At our age the linguistic and abstract thinking centres are dominant, not kinetic thinking
I’ll let you decide which is the most likely. ;)

build up to Child Workshop

WRITE OUT THE QUESTIONS YOU WILL ASK YOUR PARENT (CUB LEADER) ABOUT THE CHILDREN’S LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS.

I asked Rob, the cub leader, about what themes they are covering with the cubs; if there was a timeline they had to follow and what supplies they had. Rob was very upfront with the details about his cub pack. Without even asking he told me that of the fourteen cubs, 12 were boys, 8 were at least 10 years old, 4 were hi-energy and perhaps coded, 1 was deaf, and that most were third year cubs. The hi-energy of the group simultaneously excited and intimidated me. I knew that I could have alot of fun with a hi-energy group, but at the same time I became nervous about getting them to pay attention. I tried to make a plan that utilised their hi energy in the provocation.

Because I didn’t expect Rob to know what each child liked to draw or was interested in on an artistic level, I never asked. I may be mistaken, he could know what each kid likes to draw, but regardless, I believe that in order to create a general assignment relevant to all the children a good provocation and strong link to the cub scout curriculum would work better than trying to congeal all the children’s specific art-interests.

I intend on providing an expanse of materials for the final project, and a somewhat diverse list of materials for the first warm-up project. This should ensure that each child finds a media they enjoy, and also that each child has the opportunity to grow their media repertoire.

My take on this assignment has somewhat fundamentally changed the nature of it. I have reduced the number of visits, and increased the number of children, meaning that I have one chance to create a project that provides a pertinent and interesting art experience for them and myself, rather than a series of one on one visits with a particular child that would make me adamantly aware of his/her needs, interests, and abilities.

THE AREAS THAT I MIGHT LIKE PARENTS TO EXPLORE

It would be really heart-warming if the parents would build on the lesson I give about colour symbolism and provide an outlet for the kids to express themselves with art. Whether it be art lessons for the kids or as simple as providing art supplies and enthusiasm for their child’s work, it would be very rewarding to find that the kids and their parents took a renewed interest in art following my meetings with the cubs.

Cub doumenting 1

Wednesday March 10

Today I went to the first cub meeting. I met with the Pack leader, his name is Rob. Rob has a son, Sebastien, in the cub pack. Rob was basically the only one running the show, if you can say that there was any sort of order to the night. Those kids have a lot of energy. It was rather intimidating to see.

They began with the grand howl, a recital of the cub motto, and inspection of the uniforms. The uniforms, the mottos and laws, they are all ways of instilling a sense of belonging among the kids, because really, the uniforms are unnecessary and the laws are common sense, good manners, or derivations of the ‘golden rule’. At this age though, it would help them to feel like they are really a part of something special, or that they are fulfilling some greater calling by tucking in the tacky brown shirts.

They played a game that involved a fair bit of running and not any strategy whatsoever. This game didn’t really target any sort of developmental needs of the children. It was sheer fun, and an excuse to get them to blow off some energy. The Leader did a good job of incorporating this game into the night’s topic. They play this game all the time, but tonight Rob decided to adapt the rules a bit, then afterwards brought up how even in simple games rules have to be constant and understood and followed by everyone in order for games to work.

This was a well executed transition to the next activity. They broke into 3 teams and invented their own games. Each group was given an assorted bag of objects, balls, hula hoops, bells, cups and other assorted random things. Given only 5 minutes to design a game, the rules were full of holes. The children spent a fair amount of time creatively experimenting with the game’s equipment, but when it came to the flow of the game, specifics were left out. This was a great example of their developmental stage. They were able to follow the instructions, and throw together a ramshackle list of rules, but finer details and higher logic were not evident. The final group to share their game, also the only group with a girl, did a better job of explaining the background elements of the game, and their game actually worked.

Then they had a talk about the importance of rules and a bit about the blue star. The blue star encompasses all badges relating to community and hegemony.

For this first visit, I was just a spectator. I did not introduce myself to the kids nor did I participate in their games. I watched from the kitchen, observed and took notes. I tried to come up with ideas that could link to the themes they were working with, and I think that I came up with a fairly relevant and effective plan.

The kids were named, Kody, Arianna, Brandon, Alexander, Damien, Sebastien, Max, Diamond,

The other leader was named Ryan. Ryan has a moustache and very hairy ears, He has a kind of mullet, and a pot belly, not terribly unlike my father. Very much unlike my father however, Ryan did not say much, but he could sign, which allowed him to interact with the deaf cub. Which was cool.

cubs Art project guide

Cub’s art project guide

Wednesday 17^th

Introduction to children

· Tell them who am, and what I want to do with them

New game: Red Light, Green Light

· Green means go, red means stop. Simple rules. Change it up a bit by using coloured paper instead of words, and reversing the colours.

Tie into traffic laws and proper use of crosswalks.

· Talk about the importance of traffic rules

· Talk about pedestrian rules & crosswalks

Creative break:

· Kids design new & interesting ways to incorporate colour with the laws about traffic/pedestrian safety. Inventing their own laws and ways of implementing those laws, ie) brightly coloured signs, lights, or lines on the ground etc.

· Supplies include: coloured paper, markers, safety scissors, glue sticks,

Wednesday 24^th

Start with Red Light, Green Light

Begin talk about colour symbolism

· Ask ‘Why red and green?’

· Discuss examples of colours in figures of speech ie) feeling blue, green with envy, yellow bellied, etc.

· Reveal the relationship of Colours & Emotions – possibly a slideshow or video that the kids could ‘play along’ with.

Colour Charades

· Children divide into 2 teams. Each player takes a turn describing a colour through movement and emotional representation. His/her team has to guess the colour before the 30 second time limit expires. The 2 teams compete to guess the most acts correctly.

Culminating project

· Students will make a colourful piece of art that describes how they feel about cubs.

· Materials will include: coloured paper, markers, pencil crayons, glue sticks, plastesine, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, glitter glue

blog 14

Blog 14

1. What is your drawing history?

2. Where have your notions of the role of drawing in art come from?

3. How do you manage your drawing anxiety?

4. How might you mentor an anxious drawer into the joy of making art?

1. I have always liked drawing. In preschool, when the other children were sent to nap, I stayed up and doodled. I would take a sketchbook around with me everywhere I went until I was about 13 years old. I most often drew heroic muscular figures, dragons and various exotic creatures. I dabbled with cartooning and anime. But I hardly ever dealt with the grounding relationships of these figures, they usually just floated on the page in blank space. Apart from the ‘realistic’ drawings I have always made marks. I scribble and wobble and tap the pencil or pen on the paper, just to see what marks it will make. It is a refreshing and cathartic experience.

2. Drawing has always been, for me, a marriage between realistic and symbolic representation. I doodle frequently. My doodles don’t achieve a high degree of realism or technical superiority, but they offer me an escape. When I doodle, I have an outlet for my excess energy, other than figiting. That is why I have an expressionist streak in my drawing. I have seen how drawing can reveal emotions for my entire life. Realistic representation came later on and never displaced that belief. In secondary and post secondary school, the realistic element in my drawing has been under the main spotlight and has grown significantly. Drawing’s role in art has changed for me most profoundly from the input of my professors at the University of Calgary. Their beliefs about drawing in the art world, and their techniques have impacted me a great deal.

3. I fully realize that there is a disconnect between my hands and my brain. I know that I may never draw exactly what I envision, but I have made peace with that. I accept that the process of drawing still has an element of randomness; that it, like all art can be an outcome unknown experience. If I am drawing a model or still life, or other realistically representative form, and it doesn’t look the way it ‘should’, I will either attempt to correct the problems, start over, or have a laugh at my mistakes and let it go.

4. I think that if I had a student who was upset about their drawings, or frustrated with their perceived lack of skill, I would show them some artworks by some of the most highly regarded artists of the modern era, who deal with surrealism and non-representational work. If those great artists can make great art without the precise realistic representation that the anxious student wants, than the student should realize that it is unnecessary.

blog 13

Blog 13

1. What were the benefits of the peer teaching events?

2. How would I incorporate peer teaching in an elementary classroom?

1. Peer teaching gave us the opportunity to try out some of our teaching strategies and have a little creativity with our assignment. This is a valuable experience because the peer teacher can get constructive feedback from the students, because we are competent of their aims and what they are trying to impart. As her peers, we are aware of the responsibilities and challenges they have, and we can offer some input during the lesson to help her. Whereas in a school environment, the children wouldn’t know what the teacher’s goals are and could make it very hard for the teacher to direct the class.

2. In an elementary classroom I would incorporate peer teaching by having the class divided into groups for a research project. Each group would research a different topic, and then each group would teach the rest of the class about their topic. It is a tried & true method, as it tests the students’ cooperative skills, and fosters a respect for all students in the class.

April Fools was a month early today (blog 12)

1. Discuss the importance of documentation to teaching and to a child's learning.

2. What are the challenges of documentation to the classroom teacher?

3. What are some strategies that would help address these challenges?

1. Documenting is important to teaching because it reinforces the teacher’s ideas and can help debunk some misconceptions and biases. Often times when there is a chaotic environment or a lot of activity in the classroom, minor details will be left out and the impression of the class is not an accurate representation of what was actually learned. Documenting can reveal the actual progress, beyond the overall impression which can be misleading. Teachers will learn to be better ‘listeners’ and will then become better teachers. Communication is made easier between the students and the teachers, because although their thinking may never behave the same, they will have the opportunity to witness how a child thinks and will then have a better understanding of what the children are trying to communicate. The students will benefit (BEING MORE PREPARED TO RESPOND TO FUTURE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES)

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2. Understanding documenting is difficult for teachers who were not brought up with it. Appreciating its efficacy is foreign to the conservatives. Incorporating it into the daily schedule is a challenge, because a teacher’s time is already stretched in many directions. Selecting the best means of documentation is also a great challenge, because there are so many variables to consider. The activity being documented, the goals for the students and the teacher, the detail required in the documentation and the permissions regarding the type of documentation and the abilities of the documentor must all be taken into consideration.

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3. Strategies to effectively document are essential. In order to avoid unnecessary burdening of the teacher and permit the most pertinent documenting, each activity being documented should have a customized documenting system. Different modes of documentation accomplish different things, as we discussed in class today. For example, an acting or dance performance will not be done justice with a few notes on a notepad, a documentation mode that reflects the media, such as a video recording would be most applicable. However, documenting a student’s thought organization for an essay question would not be well documented with a video recorder, but in this case written notes are effective. In order to avoid begrudging the documentation process because of the time pressures, a teacher would be better off to incorporate documentation into the daily routines of the classroom and the students. If it is a music class, leave a tape recorder running during everyday rehearsals. An Art teacher could set time out once a week to critique the students’ progress in their projects as a class.

P.S

I found that today was more useful in building my understanding of documenting. Having an intellectual and balanced discussion about how to use documentation to resolve issues in the classroom was much more stimulating and impactful than "reading" the assignment. Kaitlyn and I were able to address differing points and form a stronger sense between us of what documenting can accomplish.

P.S.S

that april fool's remark is in reference to the fact that HARDLY ANYONE showed up to class. Was this a joke?! I don't know if they all had 'golden hangovers' or if they were absent for honest reasons. But the fact that there were only 4 of us, and only one of us had completed the reading assignment was incredibly disrespectful to Jen and was a bad showing on all our parts, myself included, with the exception of Kaitlyn who actually came to class on time and prepared.

Oh puzzle (documentation INCOMPLETE)

Amanda, Allison, and I had another puzzle party today after class!!
It was awesome! It was really up my alley today. We threw up the youtube tunes again on the projector. Only we got to listen to strictly METAL!! Muhahaha!
I got totally into it, and I actually had the most personally productive puzzling yet!
I've noticed that when I am the only group member working on the puzzle, I am more productive.
It may because I can quickly switch sections and look threw the pieces at my leisure, without other hands involved.
I think that the music helps me to be more productive. I have strongly believed that I work better when listening to music since I was 8 years old.

Eleventy-third. (blog 11)

1. What are the benefits^a and limitations^b of integrating the arts throughout the elementary school curriculum?

2. What issues are you encountering as you plan your unit?

3. How do you think these issues might present themselves in the classroom situation?

4. How are you addressing these issues now?

5. How will you address them in the classroom?

1.

a. The benefits of integrating the arts in the elementary system are many. Art has been proven to improve and broaden a child’s development in many areas, even some areas that may not appear very obvious. Early on, a child who is given the opportunity to draw and discover a lot of visual symbols will have better linguistic skills, which in today’s world is an asset in high demand. Secondly, activities like music and dance encourage kids to collaborate, and create interesting compositions. These sorts of activities expose children to other learning systems, rich learning systems. Finally, perhaps of greatest importance, is that art forms have a positive psychological affect on young minds. Children thrive with art. Art helps them build self esteem, and to explore their creativity, as well as to allow them to experience self expression that goes beyond test scores and essays.

b. The limitations of incorporating arts into the elementary curriculum are also, tragically, numerous. Money is always an issue because the art programs can be expensive and they are not seen as equally necessary as the core faculties of math, science, language arts and social studies. With insufficient funding, the programs can become quite barren and the learning environment is destabilised. Art programs are sometimes resented, or not taken seriously or enthusiastically. So the students are given little art time. In some cases, the educator is naive of or intimidated by the arts, and will therefore not provide the optimal arts education experience.

2. The issues I encountered while I planned the unit were:

i. Engaging all the students with myself and the material (provocation)

ii. Technical development/ skill building

iii. Maintaining relevance pertaining to curriculum

iv. Progressive, logical thinking & creativity & innovation.

3. In the classroom atmosphere I believe these issues will come about in much the same way as with my peers, however, the characteristics of the students and their reactions will change. In the peer workshop, my students were willing to participate in the silly provocation exercises I set out for them. In a classroom with younger students, with an established social hierarchy, kids may be more hesitant to be silly and get energized and imaginative about the assignment. My peers pointed out that some of the materials were hard to work with and that young children could hurt themselves, or get quite frustrated with the process. I’m sure that younger students would not be as polite when criticizing the materials I choose for them.

4. In order to address these issues now I will make a few modest changes, but I think I had a strong lesson, and have a few things to streamline, but that is normal because I am still new at this.

5. To resolve these issues in the classroom, I would organize the class schedule differently. I would describe techniques for working with wire upfront, and would offer more solutions to common problems to avoid frustration. To get kids to loosen up and participate with the provocation, I would try to make it fun for them, it is supposed to be a fun exercise anyways, but if they are being sticks in the mud they will lose participation marks. An unfortunate but natural result.

How was it ever decided that the curriculum should be split into subjects? I believe that human instinct is responsible for the notion of art as a separate activity from other fields. People tend to define things, and themselves and other people into as specific a title as they can, to facilitate a strict and clean-cut understanding of things. For example, all living things on earth are increasingly more specifically categorized by domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. Similarly, humans themselves have been divided into, genders, races, sexes, ethnicities, cultural boundaries, etc. It is this never ceasing need to categorize which has laid the barriers in the field of education. Disciplines such as broad as Mathematics, Language arts, Social studies, Science and Physical education were easily defined and were understood more readily as separate entities comprising a whole. These lines were drawn so that the human urge to distinguish could be satisfied, and to bring a simplistic clarity. Art was drawn into an oversimplified bubble, and divided into two camps: visual art & performing art, which were divided into uncomfortable fractions: 2D, Digital, 3D, theatre acting, film acting, dance, music.

X-FACTOR (blog 10)

Blog 10

: Discuss the relationship between popular culture and art. Why is it important to provide children with a range of media from traditional/historic media to contemporary/popular art media?

It is important that children be exposed to many types of media, because in our highly technological world, they are going to encounter many types of communication techniques and many different kinds of information. They are going to need the skills to decipher, interpret, and understand what they are receiving from the informational universe that our society has created. In modern culture, technology has permeated all aspects of communication. The levels of diversity and complexity of these new modes of communication have never before been reached. Artists have always been the great communicators of society, and today that is no different, art has become digital. The great masterpieces of the past are now available to be viewed on the internet. Some modern artwork is completely designed and coordinated on a computer before it is brought to life, if it is brought to life. Many pieces will never leave the cyber world. And so in order to accept this new artistic language that is developing, we will have to teach our children in the sensibilities of computers. Popular culture has been engulfed by technology in all other aspects so the art world is not unique in that. Television programs are available for viewing online, on demand, with fewer commercials. Radio stations broadcast globally on the internet. Text messaging has replaced note-passing in classrooms world-wide, while e-mail, instant messaging, video calls, downloadable books, movies, songs, speeches and online gaming have revolutionized communication.

On the other hand, children will not only need to be well-versed in the many new ways of communicating and interpreting art using modern technology, but should also have the opportunity to investigate older forms of art and communication. Old technology may be viewed as obsolete, but every mode has its own particular niche, with its own identity and connotation applied to it. That is why it is important for youth to experiment with all available media and art forms, to develop an advanced expressive language utilized in any of the innumerable modes of communication.

finger puppet documentation

I found making finger puppets to be incredibly easy. We all finished pretty quickly. I think that this portion of the assignment would have the same impact on our age group. I don't know if it would be much of a challenge for 10-12 year olds to draw faces and glue hair onto the tips of gloves. I think that making their family members would be exciting for some, but not all of the students.
I wasn't totally clear on Keeley's objectives, and I found it a little limiting. We were asked to make representations of our family, but the amount of detail we had was restricted by the materials and the size. Keeley asked us to not make surreal or symbolic representations. (ie. no purple skin or dinosaur pets) Which also meant that describing the personality of each character was limited. Accessories were popular with the girls. They made little purses and soccer balls to describe themselves and their siblings.

Kristin again asked questions that prompted Keeley to further explain her objectives and the principles behind the assignmet. Kristin is good at provoking the teachers in her group.

Once our puppets were made, we had to take photos of them. This portion also seemed odd to me. Keeley had asked us to try to capture a sense of shape, make sure our composition was 3 dimensional, but we were only allowed to use white binders for a background. She also asked us to be aware of the shadows and lighting present. But then we didn't get any reference material or detailed exploration of the effects of shadows to an image.

pictures:

my brother, my mother, myself.

TYRANOSAURUS REX, KING OF THE TERROR-LIZARDS

blog 8 (incomplete)

Reflect on the studio work you have done this semester. Which experiences did you find the most successful, in terms of Dewey's criteria of a "good" experience, and why? Which experiences did you find least successful, again according to Dewey's criteria, and why? What have you learned about art and learning? What would you still like to learn? How does the art educator respond to the individual needs of the learner while ensuring the continuity of experience?

The studio work that I have done this semester includes a wire-plastesine sculpture, and a panting of an alien tree. Outside of 307, I have painted a toy gargoyle, and made a quick collage from various paper clippings. Technically, I have not grown very much this semester. My physical skill of making art has not improved noticeably.

On the other side, my understanding an artist has improved. I have learned a great deal about how we grow with art in our lives and how we learn by making art.

The single most rewarding experience, in terms of appreciating how art has its place in childhood and how we grow up with art, was the sculpture project I led. It was the experience in which the process really resonated with each learner individually, and as a group. It offered some insight as to how a material can have a positive or negative impact based on who is using it and how it is being used. Even when some of my choices were questioned I still learned a lot from how they responded to my decisions. Although one of the learners was having a particularly tough time, she never lost incentive because the provocation exercises I taught had given her a very sure direction to work towards.

I saw how art can combine many real life problems into a creative exercise. Although the students were thoroughly involved in creating their vision, they were also fully engaged in solving problems about structural integrity, tool selection and use, and design concepts, that may have seemed intuitive.

DISTRICT 9 (BLOG 9)

· Establish a sense of security through consistency; deal with student on a fair and balanced way. Using persuasion rather than power or threat to solve problems

o I would hope to make the project seem interesting and fun so that the child would want to take part in it. I won’t really have the option of power or threat because there is not a long standing bond between the child and myself. I will have to make the project appealing to him/her.

· Set up parameters for class interaction and limits on behaviour

o I will definitely set down some ground rules. But rather than dictate what they can or cannot do, I would rather start a dialogue about what sort of actions are appropriate and which aren’t. Outside of a classroom setting however, the rules will be more closely tied to the project and the materials rather than decorum.

· Allow students adequate time and instruction so that they can have the opportunity to develop a sense of competence in particular art activities

o Since it is one child and myself, s/he will dictate the timing of the project. I will encourage productivity and efficient time use, but not enforce time limits or rush them.

· Provide immediate and meaningful feedback during the formative stages of learning so that the students know that they can do well and how they can improve

o Well, if the project were set up into various stages, than I would have the perfect opportunity to address the issues with the piece so far, and commend the achievements. If there were no set stoppages in the project, than I would set aside a few minutes for a snack or brainstorm break, and use that time to assess the piece.

· Strive for a sense of connectedness (with) the (student)

o I will be working beside the child on the same project. We will get to share the jpys and problems of the experience together.

· Show respect for individual differences across cultures, religions, learning styles, race, gender, and thinking by using activities language and visuals that support student diversity

o I would use humour. Humour may not be totally universal, but it comes close. I had a teacher who addressed this issue particularly well by making jokes about our differences and celebrating our similarities. If a tense issue of diversity arose, I would make light of it, and reinforce our similarities

· Develop a feeling of belonging by letting students collaborate and bond with a variety of peers under various circumstances

o In the classroom this may be achieved by setting up group activities, and changing the members of the groups regularly. Or by having activities that the entire class would participate in

· Focus on the positive and build on students’ unique strengths so that students will persevere in their artistic endeavours

o In a classroom setting, it would be important to not only find positive things to say about the students’ work, but I would also want to find something unique about each to make a positive remark about.

· Be caring, respectful, and nurturing at all times

o Nurturing takes many different forms. I wouldn’t say that I am a classically nurturing person. There are ways in which I will be nurturing without being overly sentimental and mushy. I could make wild displays of affection for a child’s work and embarrass them in a good way, to show that I was proud of their accomplishments.

My Approach to teaching Sculpture

Vince’s notes for the Sculpture lesson with 10-12 year olds.

(Following notes were made from the Alberta Education Art Curriculum guide)

Analyzation of Form

· Construction ( general structures)

· Form-Function (abstraction of complex forms)

· Visual/physical effects

· Environmental effects

· Symbolic/emotional impact of object

Appreciation/ Interpretation

· Style affects emotional impact

· Physical and implied relationships

· Symbols, references, themes

· Literal forms. Representations

Transformation of objects to suit the needs of the physical/logical application (construction) and the emotive impetus of the final form.

Does it look & FEEL the way it should?

ELEMENTS OF THE LESSON

Development of technique

· Tools/ techniques for a specific structural or aesthetic purpose

· Completion of work (is it intact?)

· Pattern & design to hold interest and attention,(eye-catching, use of colours)

· Integration and unity.

PROVOKATION

· Movements, impersonating the creature

· Books, perhaps the Hercules movie? TOYS

ASSESSMENT

· Completion- have all materials been used? Is there any exposed wire?

· Cohesion- do the appendages fit together? Is the structure intact?

· Complexity- what level of detail is shown? Was the subject thought through?

· Proportion- Does the structure support itself? Is the creature consistent with the students aim?

· Dynamism- Is there a sense of movement or action? Is it interesting to look at?

· Creativity- Has the student developed their own ideas?

MY GOALS

· Problem solving

· Working with tools

· Conceptualizing space

· Inventing dynamic forms, illusion of movement

· Technical growth with various sculpting materials

· Link imagination with progressive thought

· Have fun

TIME LINE

1. Toys effectively:

a. Interest each and every student

b. Remove status in the classroom (equate all students to each other)

c. Act as a model

d. Create fun environment

2. Books/Pictures will:

a. Introduce topic

b. Satisfy curricular requirement

c. Spark visualisation and imagination process

d. Hopefully, direct creativity

3. Movement/play

a. Energizes class, it’s fun

b. Equates student status, again

c. Observe physical relationships in figures

d. Develop practical, expressive poses

4. Introduction of Principles of Art/Elements of Composition

a. FREEZE!! All students in a position, point out examples of principles,

b. Examine various postures to display balance, line, Shape, Mass, etc

5. Hand out Coat hangers

6. Safety Talk

7. Hand out tools to share

8. Set armatures

a. Explain that to achieve proper mass and strength, that flat-skeletal armatures are not desired. Instead, armatures should be more frame-like

b. Point out some, but not all, practical issues, such as having a base, or supporting limbs

c. Set out the general shape, and motion of the piece.

9. Wrap with thin wire

a. This will achieve a sense of mass

b. And provide a support for the plastesine skin

c. Observe or introduce various techniques for handling the much more versatile material

10. Apply skin and details

a. Plastesine affords details such as

i. Texture

ii. Facial expressions

iii. Small structures: fingers, buttons etc.

iv. Mistakes ; )

b. May be applied in many ways, children should discover multiple techniques from each other and experimentation