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.
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