ART JOURNAL 5
02/24/2020
Please think about and answer the following questions
What events/moments/personal experiences change or refine my past perspective to look at art teaching and learning now?
What current learning or art education theories do I learn related to this change or revision?
How does my art piece (or the process of making this art piece) represent this change or revision?
How does my current understanding influence my path of be/coming an artist and educator?
For this journal entry I was inspired by the BRAINY tour we gave on Friday. To this point I still believe that I would like to teach High school art, however I am continually rediscovering, just how much I enjoy teaching art to younger students. I am always reminded how strong the connections are between art making, the creative process, and intrinsic value with children. Experiencing art through a child’s eyes is a valuable tool for assessment as an adult working artist, and as an art instructor of all ages. In a sense, child art is truly the purest form of artistic expression. It relies heavily on intrinsic value, cognitive development, and the originator instinct. It is honest, imaginative, and devoid of restrictive preconceptions or training.
I learned a lot from giving a tour of the Gregory-Allicar Museum to this particular age group. Although it was not the primary focus of our preparations-in regards to doing run-throughs of the tour with our adult peers first- but I took great value in contrasting the experiences of my peers and the artwork, with the experiences of the children and the artwork. Some of the pieces resonated stronger with the adults, others with the children, and some captivated both. As an artist myself, I took this information to heart and hope to apply it to my own artworks moving forward.
More importantly, as a teacher it was very interesting to see where the emphasis of our instruction had to be placed. When providing a tour for our peers, it was more exciting to talk about the histories of the artworks, the biographies of the artists, and relay narratives that we as the adult viewer, could relate to and take lessons into our own practice. For the children however, it was much more stimulating to engage in a relatable conversation, tying the lesson into pop culture, and using comedic timing to make the discussion more interesting. Honest emotions, and providing quick wit was much more important for the students to remain involved in the activity. Combining the extensive facts we researched to appease our adult audience, with the conversational techniques we learned to entertain the children, was an invaluable learning experience overall.
As I reflected and personally assessed my experience with the tour, I was reminded how I enjoyed my elementary art experience, as a student, much more than my experience in art through the middle grades. I realized as well, that when I think back on my art experiences in elementary school, my creative experiences were not confined to the art room. Many of my art experiences happened in the home-room, and outside of school. I actually have less memories of myself doing art in an art classroom as an elementary student, because the amount of art experiences I had in regular classes and at home, for leisure, were so vast.
As I progressed through the school system there was a definitive switch when I started middle school and high school, where art become a specialty course. I actually abandoned art after 8th grade and didn’t take an art course until my sophomore year of high school. My mother was an artist, and she basically had to force me to give art another try in high school. Interestingly enough, she herself gave up being an artist to become a mother. She elected to do this however, and preferred being a mother, over being an artist. At the time of my middle grades and early high school, I chose to pick athletics over art.
I now realize, this is where a true problem lies. People feel like they have to choose art over other lifestyle choices. I believe this is not a problem with the medium, but is a problem with our ability to communicate the value of art making and the creative process as a society. Most treat art like it isn’t already deeply integrated into our everyday lives. In a true sense, creativity in its purest expression, is the single most vital part of our ability, as human beings, to sustain living, yet socially people are “choosing” to keep or leave art behind.
One could try and tie this observation to the fact that children are growing to specialize into a particular field across all academic curriculum… Although art careers are still underrepresented (in my opinion) despite this. To combat this in my future practice, I hope to provide my students, not with just the ability to make an art product/craft, but to see all the possible career opportunities available to them. I also don’t want them to wait. I want to provide an intimate understanding of the current landscape of job opportunities for my students, and get them involved in that circuit immediately. I want my lessons to not feel like homework, or preparation, but to truly be steps into active career opportunities. This involves, research into art careers, building portfolios, establishing social connections with active members of that particular path, and reaching out to them now.
One of my biggest regrets as an art student, was not using my status as a student to the fullest. By this I mean, that students have youth and the societal leeway to make mistakes, and to be in-experienced, and companies are much more lenient to young adults in regards to offering feedback, internships, and constructive criticisms. If you can get your foot in the door while you are young, and ingratiate yourself among peers who share a similar interest and desire to succeed, you are going to have much more success than those who try to break in later in life. This is not to put pressure on my students, but to show them invaluable lessons on how to cordially meet those who share a similar interest, and how to become a contributing member to a group/movement.
From this assessment, the visual component I created for this entry is three images that show a modern career path that I felt was under-utilized in my coursework as a middle grade student. These are cartoons, character designs, or video game characters. The character on the far left is a Pig Ninja. I could envision him being used as a television main-character, or a video game protagonist or antagonist. I was greatly inspired by Nintendo’s character aesthetic.
The center image is of a gnome/wizard. I made this character with the intent of it being used as a side/background character in a Disney or Pixar film. It could be used as comic relief for a quick bit. The image on the right is another Nintendo inspired character, I could see it being used in a TV show like Pokémon, or used as a video game character in Mario or Kirby as well.
There are many more art careers than this that I would like to highlight, however in school, these three defiantly hold a stigma as childish and non-academic. However a combination of these three practices is very common in a wide variety of art-related careers, yet to practice these you need to work on them outside of class in your free time, or take a specific college course (generally after you’ve completed your foundational art requirements). It wasn’t until my junior year of college, as a Graphic Design Major at UNC, that I was even introduced to Blender and Maya. (3-D digital rendering programs) I would want my young students, who are interested in this type of art, to receive exposure early on to these programs.
For students of the middle grades on, to engage in these art forms you have to jump through some serious hoops just to begin an introductory course in these fields. Also, the entire way you are facing societal pressure from non-artists, and from academic art instruction that treats these art types like they are juvenile. Overall as an art instructor I am going to preach the importance of taking all art forms seriously and using an eclectic knowledge of all art styles to better inform my students’ creative decisions.
What events/moments/personal experiences change or refine my past perspective to look at art teaching and learning now?
What current learning or art education theories do I learn related to this change or revision?
How does my art piece (or the process of making this art piece) represent this change or revision?
How does my current understanding influence my path of be/coming an artist and educator?
For this journal entry I was inspired by the BRAINY tour we gave on Friday. To this point I still believe that I would like to teach High school art, however I am continually rediscovering, just how much I enjoy teaching art to younger students. I am always reminded how strong the connections are between art making, the creative process, and intrinsic value with children. Experiencing art through a child’s eyes is a valuable tool for assessment as an adult working artist, and as an art instructor of all ages. In a sense, child art is truly the purest form of artistic expression. It relies heavily on intrinsic value, cognitive development, and the originator instinct. It is honest, imaginative, and devoid of restrictive preconceptions or training.
I learned a lot from giving a tour of the Gregory-Allicar Museum to this particular age group. Although it was not the primary focus of our preparations-in regards to doing run-throughs of the tour with our adult peers first- but I took great value in contrasting the experiences of my peers and the artwork, with the experiences of the children and the artwork. Some of the pieces resonated stronger with the adults, others with the children, and some captivated both. As an artist myself, I took this information to heart and hope to apply it to my own artworks moving forward.
More importantly, as a teacher it was very interesting to see where the emphasis of our instruction had to be placed. When providing a tour for our peers, it was more exciting to talk about the histories of the artworks, the biographies of the artists, and relay narratives that we as the adult viewer, could relate to and take lessons into our own practice. For the children however, it was much more stimulating to engage in a relatable conversation, tying the lesson into pop culture, and using comedic timing to make the discussion more interesting. Honest emotions, and providing quick wit was much more important for the students to remain involved in the activity. Combining the extensive facts we researched to appease our adult audience, with the conversational techniques we learned to entertain the children, was an invaluable learning experience overall.
As I reflected and personally assessed my experience with the tour, I was reminded how I enjoyed my elementary art experience, as a student, much more than my experience in art through the middle grades. I realized as well, that when I think back on my art experiences in elementary school, my creative experiences were not confined to the art room. Many of my art experiences happened in the home-room, and outside of school. I actually have less memories of myself doing art in an art classroom as an elementary student, because the amount of art experiences I had in regular classes and at home, for leisure, were so vast.
As I progressed through the school system there was a definitive switch when I started middle school and high school, where art become a specialty course. I actually abandoned art after 8th grade and didn’t take an art course until my sophomore year of high school. My mother was an artist, and she basically had to force me to give art another try in high school. Interestingly enough, she herself gave up being an artist to become a mother. She elected to do this however, and preferred being a mother, over being an artist. At the time of my middle grades and early high school, I chose to pick athletics over art.
I now realize, this is where a true problem lies. People feel like they have to choose art over other lifestyle choices. I believe this is not a problem with the medium, but is a problem with our ability to communicate the value of art making and the creative process as a society. Most treat art like it isn’t already deeply integrated into our everyday lives. In a true sense, creativity in its purest expression, is the single most vital part of our ability, as human beings, to sustain living, yet socially people are “choosing” to keep or leave art behind.
One could try and tie this observation to the fact that children are growing to specialize into a particular field across all academic curriculum… Although art careers are still underrepresented (in my opinion) despite this. To combat this in my future practice, I hope to provide my students, not with just the ability to make an art product/craft, but to see all the possible career opportunities available to them. I also don’t want them to wait. I want to provide an intimate understanding of the current landscape of job opportunities for my students, and get them involved in that circuit immediately. I want my lessons to not feel like homework, or preparation, but to truly be steps into active career opportunities. This involves, research into art careers, building portfolios, establishing social connections with active members of that particular path, and reaching out to them now.
One of my biggest regrets as an art student, was not using my status as a student to the fullest. By this I mean, that students have youth and the societal leeway to make mistakes, and to be in-experienced, and companies are much more lenient to young adults in regards to offering feedback, internships, and constructive criticisms. If you can get your foot in the door while you are young, and ingratiate yourself among peers who share a similar interest and desire to succeed, you are going to have much more success than those who try to break in later in life. This is not to put pressure on my students, but to show them invaluable lessons on how to cordially meet those who share a similar interest, and how to become a contributing member to a group/movement.
From this assessment, the visual component I created for this entry is three images that show a modern career path that I felt was under-utilized in my coursework as a middle grade student. These are cartoons, character designs, or video game characters. The character on the far left is a Pig Ninja. I could envision him being used as a television main-character, or a video game protagonist or antagonist. I was greatly inspired by Nintendo’s character aesthetic.
The center image is of a gnome/wizard. I made this character with the intent of it being used as a side/background character in a Disney or Pixar film. It could be used as comic relief for a quick bit. The image on the right is another Nintendo inspired character, I could see it being used in a TV show like Pokémon, or used as a video game character in Mario or Kirby as well.
There are many more art careers than this that I would like to highlight, however in school, these three defiantly hold a stigma as childish and non-academic. However a combination of these three practices is very common in a wide variety of art-related careers, yet to practice these you need to work on them outside of class in your free time, or take a specific college course (generally after you’ve completed your foundational art requirements). It wasn’t until my junior year of college, as a Graphic Design Major at UNC, that I was even introduced to Blender and Maya. (3-D digital rendering programs) I would want my young students, who are interested in this type of art, to receive exposure early on to these programs.
For students of the middle grades on, to engage in these art forms you have to jump through some serious hoops just to begin an introductory course in these fields. Also, the entire way you are facing societal pressure from non-artists, and from academic art instruction that treats these art types like they are juvenile. Overall as an art instructor I am going to preach the importance of taking all art forms seriously and using an eclectic knowledge of all art styles to better inform my students’ creative decisions.