Our lesson went pretty well. The introduction was pretty short but it worked because we did a short recap of our artists, talked about what they were going to do, and Jen did a quick demonstration of using pastels. We showed our teacher examples and talked about representation and non-representation I had two drawings, one that was representational, and one that was more abstract and we asked the class which drawing gave more of a nostalgic feeling. Pretty much everyone agreed that the non-representational one conveyed more feeling. We tried really hard to be enthusiastic and excited about the lesson, hoping it would make the class excited, and it worked. The class was eager to get started. We passed out brainstorming worksheets to help the class get started on their ideas. At the bottom of the sheet was space to write a poem, based on the five senses from the brainstorming part. We split the class into pairs, and they traded worksheets made a drawing based on their partner's poem. The class really liked the idea of drawing someone else's poem because it helped them to draw non-representational.
The part that didn't work so well was the critique. We asked them to read their poems and talk about what they drew. This put way too much pressure on them and no one was interested in this process. At that point, I tried to salvage what I could and switch it up so that they were just talking about the drawing, but the interest wasn't really there anymore. I wish we had done the critique differently because if we had a strong critique, the whole lesson would have been successful. On the other hand, I did learn what not to do and next time I plan a critique I will have more to consider.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Last Day of Fieldwork
On our last day of fieldwork, we participated in a studio critique of advanced ceramics. The pieces they had been working on were casts of their hands and forearms and a face that was cast from a mask. The three elements of both hands and the face were supposed to be cohesive. There was also an option of making one arm if it started at the shoulder. The critiquing process started with the student describing their piece, analyzing it in terms of elements and principles of design, interpreting what it means, and a judgement of whether or not it is successful. Since it is high school, the students talked mostly about their own artwork. After the student spoke about their piece, the rest of the class was encouraged to give constructive feedback. The teacher prefers this method and explains that it is the method she was taught when she was a student.
What we observed was students being very uncomfortable talking about their art in front of their classmates. None of the students talked about their work in terms of the elements and principles of design, but the teacher didn't seem to stress that anyway. They seemed to like talking about the interpretation of their work because it helps viewers understand the work when they know the thoughts behind it. Most students were happy with their work, but one student had a hard time with the feedback given by the teacher. Her project was not visually cohesive, even though she explained that it represented different aspects of her personality. The only visual link were different animals that were painted on with glaze. The animals were stylistically inconsistent, as well as the treatment of the background. It seemed as if the student didn't have an end result in mind, and only added the animals when the teacher reminded her that they should be consistent. During the critique, the teacher asked how the piece could be changed to make the parts more cohesive. Students began to offer ideas and suggestions, but the student being critiqued didn't seem to enjoy this part. She seemed embarrassed and very uncomfortable. All of the frustration made her cry after class.
In Nancy House's article, "Using Critique in the K-12 Classroom," House explains that the difference between art criticism and critique is purpose. The purpose of critiquing is to evaluate work, assess fulfillment of project objectives, develop critical awareness, and for everyone to learn from each other. In the case of the ceramics critique, the challenge for the student that became upset was that her project did not meet the objectives that were made clear at the start of the project. Her piece was not cohesive. Although there are many methods that could have handled the critique differently, I believe that this critique was successful in determining where the project was lacking. However, there needs to be a balance of criticism and praise so that the student doesn't become discouraged. One of the roles of teachers in critiques, as described by House, is to have a balance between being overly responsive and not responsive enough. In this case, if the teacher were to not address where the project was lacking, there would be a missed opportunity to discuss how the project did not meet the requirement. There wouldn't be much benefit for the student either, because she would have missed out on the other student's ideas of how it could be improved. There should have been more praise on what she did, because she left the room crushed and discouraged. If the class had talked about how her work was successful, she would have had something positive to focus on.
What we observed was students being very uncomfortable talking about their art in front of their classmates. None of the students talked about their work in terms of the elements and principles of design, but the teacher didn't seem to stress that anyway. They seemed to like talking about the interpretation of their work because it helps viewers understand the work when they know the thoughts behind it. Most students were happy with their work, but one student had a hard time with the feedback given by the teacher. Her project was not visually cohesive, even though she explained that it represented different aspects of her personality. The only visual link were different animals that were painted on with glaze. The animals were stylistically inconsistent, as well as the treatment of the background. It seemed as if the student didn't have an end result in mind, and only added the animals when the teacher reminded her that they should be consistent. During the critique, the teacher asked how the piece could be changed to make the parts more cohesive. Students began to offer ideas and suggestions, but the student being critiqued didn't seem to enjoy this part. She seemed embarrassed and very uncomfortable. All of the frustration made her cry after class.
In Nancy House's article, "Using Critique in the K-12 Classroom," House explains that the difference between art criticism and critique is purpose. The purpose of critiquing is to evaluate work, assess fulfillment of project objectives, develop critical awareness, and for everyone to learn from each other. In the case of the ceramics critique, the challenge for the student that became upset was that her project did not meet the objectives that were made clear at the start of the project. Her piece was not cohesive. Although there are many methods that could have handled the critique differently, I believe that this critique was successful in determining where the project was lacking. However, there needs to be a balance of criticism and praise so that the student doesn't become discouraged. One of the roles of teachers in critiques, as described by House, is to have a balance between being overly responsive and not responsive enough. In this case, if the teacher were to not address where the project was lacking, there would be a missed opportunity to discuss how the project did not meet the requirement. There wouldn't be much benefit for the student either, because she would have missed out on the other student's ideas of how it could be improved. There should have been more praise on what she did, because she left the room crushed and discouraged. If the class had talked about how her work was successful, she would have had something positive to focus on.
Nostalgia Lesson
For our lesson in Theory and Practice, Jen and I are working with the theme of nostalgia. This is an important concept because our memories shape who we are. As times change, people look back to good memories and values, especially from childhood. It is not only comforting, looking at the past is a way of telling how far we have come.
"One must always maintain one's connection to the past and yet ceaselessly pull away from it. To remain in touch with the past requires a love of memory. To remain in touch with the past requires a constant imaginative effort" --Gaston Bachelard
The first artist we explored in our presentation was Greg Simkins. This painting is called Give Me a Name, Bastian! The painting evokes nostalgic feelings for The NeverEnding Story.
We asked the class how the artist achieved the feeling of nostalgia. They responded that the candle and smoke signified memories for them. The imagery of the characters coming out of the book also made the painting feel like a memory.
The other artist we explored in our presentation was Aaron Jasinski. This painting is called Super Mario Brothers.
The nostalgic memory that Jasinski explores here is a popular video game from the 80's and early 90's. He chose to use a similar style of Norman Rockwell because Rockwell produced many iconic images of nostalgic memories. Using Rockwell is also a bit ironic because Rockwell's pieces depicted American life in a simple and idealized way. Jasinski's subject is more modern, and Rockwell would probably rather see a group of young boys playing basketball than sitting in front of a television.
The activity in our lesson will involve a writing activity that draws upon the senses. There is a very powerful connection between the five senses and memory. A particular smell especially can bring someone back in time and connect them to a specific memory. We are going to ask the class to think of a fond memory and probably hand out a worksheet to help them brainstorm. The worksheet will have categories of the senses, where the class will write descriptive words for each sense. This will be used to help them write a nostalgic poem. We also want to work with the concept of semiotics and explore how pictures can stand for words. We are in the process of creating the lesson and figuring out exactly how it will work, but we are excited to see what happens.
"One must always maintain one's connection to the past and yet ceaselessly pull away from it. To remain in touch with the past requires a love of memory. To remain in touch with the past requires a constant imaginative effort" --Gaston Bachelard
The first artist we explored in our presentation was Greg Simkins. This painting is called Give Me a Name, Bastian! The painting evokes nostalgic feelings for The NeverEnding Story.
We asked the class how the artist achieved the feeling of nostalgia. They responded that the candle and smoke signified memories for them. The imagery of the characters coming out of the book also made the painting feel like a memory.
The other artist we explored in our presentation was Aaron Jasinski. This painting is called Super Mario Brothers.
The activity in our lesson will involve a writing activity that draws upon the senses. There is a very powerful connection between the five senses and memory. A particular smell especially can bring someone back in time and connect them to a specific memory. We are going to ask the class to think of a fond memory and probably hand out a worksheet to help them brainstorm. The worksheet will have categories of the senses, where the class will write descriptive words for each sense. This will be used to help them write a nostalgic poem. We also want to work with the concept of semiotics and explore how pictures can stand for words. We are in the process of creating the lesson and figuring out exactly how it will work, but we are excited to see what happens.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Talking about Art and Using Critiques in the Classroom
Chapter 3 of Talking About Art, by Terry Barrett described critiquing processes that are helpful in the art classroom in ways that teach students to interpret and talk about art. Important questions to ask are: what do you see? What is the artwork about? And how do you know? These questions help students interpret artwork and encourages them to provide evidence. Barrett explains that the description and interpretation should occur simultaneously. The chapter also discusses the difference between the artist's intent and the viewer's interpretation. Barrett described a situation in which a student was reluctant to participate in the critique and argued that his artwork had no meaning because he didn't put meaning into it. The teacher and other students had found many possible meanings, but he maintained that there was no meaning. The student that had made the artwork believed that it was wrong for a viewer to assume that they know the meaning, but another student argued that the viewer brings their own ideas to artwork and create their own interpretation. The teacher handled the situation by telling each student that they were making good points in their debate, and cited a professional that had similar ideas about artist's intent being essential to interpretation. In the end the teacher agreed to disagree with the student, and the class had learned a lot from the discussion.
"Using Critique in the K-12 Classroom," by Nancy House, discusses different methods of critique. House explains that the difference between a studio critique and art criticism is purpose. The purpose of art criticism is to help a public audience understand art. The purpose of a studio critique is to improve the artwork and share ideas. Studio critiques should be similar to art criticism by including more description, interpretation, and theory than just focusing on technique. Jane Stevens refers to typical studio critiques as "ring around the tub" and describes them as boring and tedious because the students discuss the works by moving around the room. By the time they get to the last works, the students are bored and participate less. House gives examples of alternative critiquing methods such as the PQP method. This method encourages students to give praise, ask questions, and offer proposals of how they think the work may be improved. House also describes the teacher's role during critiques. They should balance being overly responsive and not responsive enough, provide expert knowledge, and ensure that important issues are covered by leading the discussion. House warns that teachers should not influence the conversation with personal bias.
"Using Critique in the K-12 Classroom," by Nancy House, discusses different methods of critique. House explains that the difference between a studio critique and art criticism is purpose. The purpose of art criticism is to help a public audience understand art. The purpose of a studio critique is to improve the artwork and share ideas. Studio critiques should be similar to art criticism by including more description, interpretation, and theory than just focusing on technique. Jane Stevens refers to typical studio critiques as "ring around the tub" and describes them as boring and tedious because the students discuss the works by moving around the room. By the time they get to the last works, the students are bored and participate less. House gives examples of alternative critiquing methods such as the PQP method. This method encourages students to give praise, ask questions, and offer proposals of how they think the work may be improved. House also describes the teacher's role during critiques. They should balance being overly responsive and not responsive enough, provide expert knowledge, and ensure that important issues are covered by leading the discussion. House warns that teachers should not influence the conversation with personal bias.
Fieldwork
Last week at Rondout Valley High School, our mentor teacher let me and Jen put student work on display. She also let us see how the students were being graded and talked with us about some of the works. The students made self-portraits using contour lines and wrote a couple of paragraphs about their work. Their written work was displayed along with their self-portraits.
This week, Jen and I did a demonstration of drawing a face. Jenn demonstrated the block-in method of outlining basic features and filling them in with more detail. I demonstrated outlining the proportions of the face. The demonstrations were based off of the original slideshow that our mentor teacher was going to use to introduce the lesson. The portfolio development class that we taught takes place in a shorter period than the others. Most blocks are over an hour long, but the second block of the day is called the skinny. It is only a half hour long. We decided to skip a powerpoint and only do the demonstrations so that the student could start their projects. Our demonstrations took ten minutes, leaving the students almost twenty minutes to work. As they got started, we walked around the room and gave the students advice if they seemed to be struggling. Overall, the lesson was a success and the students got a good start on their self-portraits.
This week, Jen and I did a demonstration of drawing a face. Jenn demonstrated the block-in method of outlining basic features and filling them in with more detail. I demonstrated outlining the proportions of the face. The demonstrations were based off of the original slideshow that our mentor teacher was going to use to introduce the lesson. The portfolio development class that we taught takes place in a shorter period than the others. Most blocks are over an hour long, but the second block of the day is called the skinny. It is only a half hour long. We decided to skip a powerpoint and only do the demonstrations so that the student could start their projects. Our demonstrations took ten minutes, leaving the students almost twenty minutes to work. As they got started, we walked around the room and gave the students advice if they seemed to be struggling. Overall, the lesson was a success and the students got a good start on their self-portraits.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
first day of fieldwork 3
Tuesday was my first day at Rondout Valley High School. My partner and I had just gotten our placements, so we didn't know that we were partners until we saw each other at the sign in desk. Our mentor teacher met us and took us to her classroom. She is very nice and easy going. She also has a sense of humor. Her classes are mostly ceramics, but she has one portfolio development class. Since ceramics is a very time sensitive art form, she told us that we can teach our lesson to the portfolio development class that will be doing self portraits.
During her planning period, our mentor teacher let us look at her binders of lesson plans for each class. She is very organized so it made it easy to understand what we were looking at, and it helped us to see what the students would be doing during our time at Rondout. She starts each lesson with a powerpoint presentation where she introduces the lesson and provides historical context.
Her ceramics classes have been working on an assignment called whimsical fish. The students started by making two pinch pots and connected them to make the body of the fish. Each student had a completely unique fish, and they had a lot of personality. Some of the themes we saw were pirate fish, a mexican fish that was holding a taco in its fin, a french fish with a painter's palette, and some that didn't have a particular theme but were definitely had whimsical qualities. One of the requirements was that the fish had to have texture. The students approached this in very different ways. Some used the ceramic tools, others used found objects to press into the body of the fish. We noticed that some students were reluctant to put texture on their fish because they seemed to enjoy their fish's smooth body. Another requirement was that the fish had to have a large hole to let air in and out during the firing process, or else the fish would explode. Most students accomplished this by opening the mouth, and others cut out a hole in the bottom of the fish, as long as it wasn't going to sit flat on the shelf where the hole would be covered. At the start of the class, the teacher went over attaching parts with slip and blending the parts together. She also went over the importance of not having any parts that are too thick because they would blow up in the kiln. The students showed a lot of creativity and technical skills.
The portfolio development class had been working on drawing skills, starting with contour. After they learn contour, they will begin learning gesture. The teacher explained to us that there has not been a constant drawing and painting teacher, which has made it challenging for the students to learn to draw. She said that they were basically starting from scratch. They are now working on self portraits using contour lines of different thickness. Most of the students' work was well drawn, despite their problems with teachers in the past. The students taking this class are very interested in art and want to pursue art in college. This class helps them develop a portfolio to help them get into the schools they are interested in. Many of the portraits were well-drawn, but a few of the students lacked the confidence needed to take their drawing skills further. For example, one student chose to draw the back of her head, instead of her face, because she said she couldn't draw. I thought this was very unfortunate because the image of the back of her head was not very interesting, and she could have done so much more if she had attempted her face. Most of the students were done with the contour lines of their portraits and were moving on to color. The materials used for color were their choice. A lot of students chose to use water color, which looked great contrasted with the bold outlines that were done in marker. Some students chose to work in colors true to life while others chose non-realistic colors for their portraits. One thing that I noticed was their work was very expressive. I was glad to see that they were able to include their personality in their self portraits instead of just worrying about their technical skills.
I am looking forward to teaching a lesson to this class with my partner. Our mentor teacher is amazing and I think that this experience will teach us so much about being an art teacher. Our mentor teacher has a great relationship with her students and her classroom is such a comfortable environment. I am very happy with my placement at Rondout Valley High School.
During her planning period, our mentor teacher let us look at her binders of lesson plans for each class. She is very organized so it made it easy to understand what we were looking at, and it helped us to see what the students would be doing during our time at Rondout. She starts each lesson with a powerpoint presentation where she introduces the lesson and provides historical context.
Her ceramics classes have been working on an assignment called whimsical fish. The students started by making two pinch pots and connected them to make the body of the fish. Each student had a completely unique fish, and they had a lot of personality. Some of the themes we saw were pirate fish, a mexican fish that was holding a taco in its fin, a french fish with a painter's palette, and some that didn't have a particular theme but were definitely had whimsical qualities. One of the requirements was that the fish had to have texture. The students approached this in very different ways. Some used the ceramic tools, others used found objects to press into the body of the fish. We noticed that some students were reluctant to put texture on their fish because they seemed to enjoy their fish's smooth body. Another requirement was that the fish had to have a large hole to let air in and out during the firing process, or else the fish would explode. Most students accomplished this by opening the mouth, and others cut out a hole in the bottom of the fish, as long as it wasn't going to sit flat on the shelf where the hole would be covered. At the start of the class, the teacher went over attaching parts with slip and blending the parts together. She also went over the importance of not having any parts that are too thick because they would blow up in the kiln. The students showed a lot of creativity and technical skills.
The portfolio development class had been working on drawing skills, starting with contour. After they learn contour, they will begin learning gesture. The teacher explained to us that there has not been a constant drawing and painting teacher, which has made it challenging for the students to learn to draw. She said that they were basically starting from scratch. They are now working on self portraits using contour lines of different thickness. Most of the students' work was well drawn, despite their problems with teachers in the past. The students taking this class are very interested in art and want to pursue art in college. This class helps them develop a portfolio to help them get into the schools they are interested in. Many of the portraits were well-drawn, but a few of the students lacked the confidence needed to take their drawing skills further. For example, one student chose to draw the back of her head, instead of her face, because she said she couldn't draw. I thought this was very unfortunate because the image of the back of her head was not very interesting, and she could have done so much more if she had attempted her face. Most of the students were done with the contour lines of their portraits and were moving on to color. The materials used for color were their choice. A lot of students chose to use water color, which looked great contrasted with the bold outlines that were done in marker. Some students chose to work in colors true to life while others chose non-realistic colors for their portraits. One thing that I noticed was their work was very expressive. I was glad to see that they were able to include their personality in their self portraits instead of just worrying about their technical skills.
I am looking forward to teaching a lesson to this class with my partner. Our mentor teacher is amazing and I think that this experience will teach us so much about being an art teacher. Our mentor teacher has a great relationship with her students and her classroom is such a comfortable environment. I am very happy with my placement at Rondout Valley High School.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Accordion Art Book
This Accordion Art book ties elements and principles of design with the principles of possibility layering and text and image. The theme that is being investigated is an emotion or state of mind combined with text and shapes to create an interesting composition and explore ways of conveying emotion.
Instructions:
Find or draw images of emotions or states of minds. The images can be found in magazines, on the internet, or any other sources. Drawn images should be drawn and cut out of separate paper. Find or draw at least 3 cut outs of either one emotion/state of mind or different ones to use as the theme.
Think about how you want the book to be laid out. Each page can be a separate composition, or the whole book when unfolded can reveal a single, united composition.
Choose a shape and cut it out from patterned paper, construction paper, or pages from a magazine. Make 6-10 of this shape in different sizes, patterns, colors, and forms. Different forms can be a shape that has the same basic qualities of your shape but has variations or distortions. Distorting shapes can help convey the feeling of the emotion to the viewer. You can also throw in some different shapes for contrast, but keep the composition unified by creating balance between the shapes.
Play with different compositions before you glue. Think about how you can create movement and make the viewers eyes follow a certain path through the book. Think about how different parts can be layered on top of each other and how your composition can help describe your chosen emotion(s) or state(s) of mind. Glue when you're ready.
With marker, ink, or colored pencil, include text that helps convey your chosen emotion(s) or state(s) of mind. It can be anything you choose, for example, poetry, biography/autobiography, dialogue, single words, stories, or anything else that helps the viewer peek inside the minds of the images.
Finish with any finishing touches to enhance your book.
Find or draw images of emotions or states of minds. The images can be found in magazines, on the internet, or any other sources. Drawn images should be drawn and cut out of separate paper. Find or draw at least 3 cut outs of either one emotion/state of mind or different ones to use as the theme.
Think about how you want the book to be laid out. Each page can be a separate composition, or the whole book when unfolded can reveal a single, united composition.
Choose a shape and cut it out from patterned paper, construction paper, or pages from a magazine. Make 6-10 of this shape in different sizes, patterns, colors, and forms. Different forms can be a shape that has the same basic qualities of your shape but has variations or distortions. Distorting shapes can help convey the feeling of the emotion to the viewer. You can also throw in some different shapes for contrast, but keep the composition unified by creating balance between the shapes.
With marker, ink, or colored pencil, include text that helps convey your chosen emotion(s) or state(s) of mind. It can be anything you choose, for example, poetry, biography/autobiography, dialogue, single words, stories, or anything else that helps the viewer peek inside the minds of the images.
Finish with any finishing touches to enhance your book.
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| back cover |
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