Art Reflection
February 2015
Creating my very own, open-ended artwork has been an enriching experience for me. I have never thought about how the things we create are a direct reflection of who we are and the way we like to express ourselves. Every line we make, every color we choose, and every shape we create all has something to say about who we are. The first art project I created was called an automatic drawing. My classmates and I were told to close our eyes and just let our hands move across the paper. The trick was not to think, just let your subconscious take over! Well, I drew a circle and then I immediately started to think about what I could do with the circle. I started to draw petals around the circle and eventually I created a flower. This automatic drawing says so much about my personality. You see, oftentimes I am told that I worry a lot and to just relax, but my mind can't just stay flat. I am a very futuristic person. I am someone who is always thinking about the future. This was very evident in my drawing because I couldn't just draw marks that served no purpose.
Henri Matisse inspired the next drawing we created. Matisse cut paper to tell a story. Thus, our next piece of artwork was supposed to demonstrate the layers of our character in a collage. First, we had to choose three words that described us. I chose the words leader, strong, and deep thinker. I chose the color maroon because it was a deep and thoughtful color and then I began to make an ocean. An ocean is also very deep. Then I cut three different strips of paper and one blue strip. The blue strip was meant to lead the green strips. This shows that I am a leader and not a follower. Others have never easily swayed me, even as a child. I move to the beat of my own drum and I have never been afraid to stand up for myself. Lastly, I chose the color red and created a circular moon. I did this to show just how strong I am. The sun itself is very powerful; the heat it radiates is very strong. This star can heat up our entire planet from miles upon miles away! I believe that I must be strong, because every thing comes "full circle." I believe in the idea that every thing happens for a reason.
Our next project involved selfies. My classmates and I were told to print off a black and white picture of us and bring them to class. As I was looking through my many selfies, I noticed a general theme. In about every picture, I chose to smile. But there was this one picture that I wasn't smiling in, the pose I was doing was more of a confident pose, a bit of a smirk. I was going to chose between two pictures, the one I was smirking in and one where I was smiling. I eventually called my roommate into the room and asked her to help me decide on a picture. I don't want to toot my own horn, but they were both pretty good-looking pictures! Ha! However, I was surprised that my roommate chose the picture where I was just smiling. She looked at me and said, "This picture is more you." This encounter made me really self evaluate. At this point, I had been going through a time in my life where I wanted to be a different person, so I chose a different pose. But the picture where I was smiling was the real me. I had to accept who I was, because the real me was radiant and beaming right through the paper.
William Wegman inspired the last project we did. Wegman takes photographs of dogs and sort of personifies them. In this project, we began looking at the identity of another. We were told to chose a fairy tale creature or some other popular figure and personify that character or choose an animal to represent that character, just as Wegman does in his photographs. I chose Tigger from Whinnie the Pooh. Tigger is very energetic and playful, much like a chimpanzee! So I chose a chimpanzee to represent Tigger and then I proceeded to give the animal a costume. I chose to give the chimp Tigger's strips! While this project helped me to look at the identity of another, I was still able to figure out much about my own identity. I will not share what I found in this writing. However, I must say that by looking at another person’s identity, one may still be able to learn about himself.
All of the above projects can be integrated within the classroom. Furthermore, these projects may give teachers insights about who their students are. For example, the Tigger project I created can be implemented in a history lesson! Students may choose a character from the lesson (a famous historic figure) and then look deeper into what that person was feeling and such. The first two drawings could actually be used at the beginning of the year! The teacher could get to know his/her students as soon as they enter the classroom! The teacher could possibly incorporate a writing portion to the art project! Thus, students will get to draw AND work on their literary skills. Our very first reading has made the biggest impact on my thinking about integration. It was entitled, "Authentic Connection: Interdisciplinary Work in the Arts." This article helped me to see that teachers can implement interdisciplinary curriculum in a variety of ways, depending on the time that will be devoted to the project and the scale of the project. Also, the article gave a very helpful checklist of what interdisciplinary instruction should look like.
According to the article entitled, "Ten Lessons the Arts Teach," the arts can teach children multiple lessons. "The arts can teach children to make good judgements about qualitative relationships, that problems can have more than on solution, that small differences have large effects, and can help children learn what can not be said." These are always reasons why teachers should think about integrating multiple forms of art within their lessons.
Checklist:
Are meaningful connections made between or among the discipline?
Is in-depth learning promoted?
Are high quality examples from the art(s) and other discipline(s) used?
Is appropriate terminology used?
Are the artistic process of creating, performing, and responding incorporated ?
Is assessment ongoing throughout the project?
Is there a final evaluation of student learning?
**This checklist has helped me to see that integration must be purposeful and authentic. We must take these concepts and create lessons that children can remember for the rest of their lives.
February 2015
Creating my very own, open-ended artwork has been an enriching experience for me. I have never thought about how the things we create are a direct reflection of who we are and the way we like to express ourselves. Every line we make, every color we choose, and every shape we create all has something to say about who we are. The first art project I created was called an automatic drawing. My classmates and I were told to close our eyes and just let our hands move across the paper. The trick was not to think, just let your subconscious take over! Well, I drew a circle and then I immediately started to think about what I could do with the circle. I started to draw petals around the circle and eventually I created a flower. This automatic drawing says so much about my personality. You see, oftentimes I am told that I worry a lot and to just relax, but my mind can't just stay flat. I am a very futuristic person. I am someone who is always thinking about the future. This was very evident in my drawing because I couldn't just draw marks that served no purpose.
Henri Matisse inspired the next drawing we created. Matisse cut paper to tell a story. Thus, our next piece of artwork was supposed to demonstrate the layers of our character in a collage. First, we had to choose three words that described us. I chose the words leader, strong, and deep thinker. I chose the color maroon because it was a deep and thoughtful color and then I began to make an ocean. An ocean is also very deep. Then I cut three different strips of paper and one blue strip. The blue strip was meant to lead the green strips. This shows that I am a leader and not a follower. Others have never easily swayed me, even as a child. I move to the beat of my own drum and I have never been afraid to stand up for myself. Lastly, I chose the color red and created a circular moon. I did this to show just how strong I am. The sun itself is very powerful; the heat it radiates is very strong. This star can heat up our entire planet from miles upon miles away! I believe that I must be strong, because every thing comes "full circle." I believe in the idea that every thing happens for a reason.
Our next project involved selfies. My classmates and I were told to print off a black and white picture of us and bring them to class. As I was looking through my many selfies, I noticed a general theme. In about every picture, I chose to smile. But there was this one picture that I wasn't smiling in, the pose I was doing was more of a confident pose, a bit of a smirk. I was going to chose between two pictures, the one I was smirking in and one where I was smiling. I eventually called my roommate into the room and asked her to help me decide on a picture. I don't want to toot my own horn, but they were both pretty good-looking pictures! Ha! However, I was surprised that my roommate chose the picture where I was just smiling. She looked at me and said, "This picture is more you." This encounter made me really self evaluate. At this point, I had been going through a time in my life where I wanted to be a different person, so I chose a different pose. But the picture where I was smiling was the real me. I had to accept who I was, because the real me was radiant and beaming right through the paper.
William Wegman inspired the last project we did. Wegman takes photographs of dogs and sort of personifies them. In this project, we began looking at the identity of another. We were told to chose a fairy tale creature or some other popular figure and personify that character or choose an animal to represent that character, just as Wegman does in his photographs. I chose Tigger from Whinnie the Pooh. Tigger is very energetic and playful, much like a chimpanzee! So I chose a chimpanzee to represent Tigger and then I proceeded to give the animal a costume. I chose to give the chimp Tigger's strips! While this project helped me to look at the identity of another, I was still able to figure out much about my own identity. I will not share what I found in this writing. However, I must say that by looking at another person’s identity, one may still be able to learn about himself.
All of the above projects can be integrated within the classroom. Furthermore, these projects may give teachers insights about who their students are. For example, the Tigger project I created can be implemented in a history lesson! Students may choose a character from the lesson (a famous historic figure) and then look deeper into what that person was feeling and such. The first two drawings could actually be used at the beginning of the year! The teacher could get to know his/her students as soon as they enter the classroom! The teacher could possibly incorporate a writing portion to the art project! Thus, students will get to draw AND work on their literary skills. Our very first reading has made the biggest impact on my thinking about integration. It was entitled, "Authentic Connection: Interdisciplinary Work in the Arts." This article helped me to see that teachers can implement interdisciplinary curriculum in a variety of ways, depending on the time that will be devoted to the project and the scale of the project. Also, the article gave a very helpful checklist of what interdisciplinary instruction should look like.
According to the article entitled, "Ten Lessons the Arts Teach," the arts can teach children multiple lessons. "The arts can teach children to make good judgements about qualitative relationships, that problems can have more than on solution, that small differences have large effects, and can help children learn what can not be said." These are always reasons why teachers should think about integrating multiple forms of art within their lessons.
Checklist:
Are meaningful connections made between or among the discipline?
Is in-depth learning promoted?
Are high quality examples from the art(s) and other discipline(s) used?
Is appropriate terminology used?
Are the artistic process of creating, performing, and responding incorporated ?
Is assessment ongoing throughout the project?
Is there a final evaluation of student learning?
**This checklist has helped me to see that integration must be purposeful and authentic. We must take these concepts and create lessons that children can remember for the rest of their lives.
Automatic Drawing
Henry Matisse Inspired Art Project
Selfie Art Project
William Wegman Inspired Art Project