Art Education 244

Portfolio Piece #3

The piece of artwork that I chose to do for my portfolio this week was Paper Weaving (Lesson 24, pgs 64-67 in Prince’s Art is Fundamental).  I created this by taking a piece of black construction paper and folding it in half.  Then, I made a series of zigzag cuts, starting with the creased end and proceeding until about 1/2 an inch from the edge. Lastly, I took strips of blue, green, and purple paper and wove them through the slits. 

I chose to do this because it would allow children to experiment with patterns (with the strips of paper) and with different color combinations.  It would help to teach them an important math concept while still allowing them to creatively think and have fun.  Although when I first read the overview, I thought this lesson would create uniform products, I discovered that there are many possibilities that would allow children artistic freedom!

Kathy Unrath and Mick Luehrman, in Bringing Children to Art – Bringing Art to Children, proclaim, “We cannot overstate the importance of being in the presence of art in a museum setting.  The importance of this includes appreciating creativity and also understanding the relationship between materials and objects.  I agree with this sentiment.  Children often view art from afar, either on posters or pictures (maybe replicated in a book), but these art experiences are not equal to experiencing the art first hand, in its original form.  In my opinion, something about seeing the original work inspires students more than a copy could. 

Unrath and Luehrman also express their view about the importance of teachers introducing and discussing art with their students.  This is an important factor for teachers to consider.  Looking at art and appreciating it requires thinking skills.  Children need to infer based on context clues, just as if they were reading a story.  It is similar to reading a piece of literature and being asked to interpret what is happening. 

The trip to the museum today reinforced the importance of museums.  In the resource room where the woman talked about the Wild West tour, I saw firsthand how she was able to tie in content (the western frontier), artwork (from the America collection), music (square dancing), and creativity (children creating their own spurs and dressing as cowboys).  This was a perfect example of how art can be integrated into the core curriculum to enrich and aid students’ understanding. 

As the tour continued, the docent, Dora, took us through the galleries and prompted us to think using the “who, what, where, why, and when” questions.  I saw how children would use their imagination and critical thinking skills to delve deeper into studying art.  I also felt a sense of wonder as I walked through the large galleries.  I can only imagine how a child would feel who had never been to the museum before.  When I have my own class, I will definitely include a field trip to the museum because of all the positives it offers. 

Portfolio Piece #2

For my second portfolio piece, I chose to do “Introduction to Form” (Lesson 40, pages 90-93 in Prince’s Art is Fundmental text).  To make this 3-dimensional object, I used a 12″ by 18″ piece of construction paper.  I folded it three times to make 4 equal folds.  Along the middle fold, I cut many slits, each an inch apart and 3 inches in length (each which extended to the second set of folds).  This enabled me to form a triangular prism once folded.  After cutting off one of the slits, I was able to fold the prism to make the circular form that was my end product. 

I chose to do this lesson because I feel that children do not get as much experience with 3-D art as they do with 2-D art.  This introduction would allow me to teach my children how a 2-D object (a piece of paper) can be transformed into a 3-D one.  Even I was amazed at how the final form looked, knowing it came from a flat, simple piece of paper.

Portfolio Piece #1

The piece of artwork that I chose to do was Lesson 28: Geometric Shape (page 72 in Prince’s Art is Fundamental textbook).  My example was made in several steps.  The first step was getting the outlines of the shapes onto the paper.  Using cardboard shapes and a pencil, I traced shapes so that they overlapped and created new shapes or even left interesting amounts of ‘negative space.’  The next step was going over the pencil lines in black marker.  Lastly, the different shapes had to be colored in.  Nothing was left uncolored, and no shapes that shared a side were colored the same color. 

I chose to do this because upon finding the lesson, I saw all the mathematical concepts that this lesson presents.  With math as my favorite subject, I thought this lesson was a great way for children to explore with shapes and see first-hand how crossing lines often create new or unusual shapes. 

            The textbook for ARTE244, Teaching Art with Books Kids Love by Darcie Clark Frohardt, is possibly the best textbook I have ever read.  It is divided into three sections (Elements, Principles, and Artistic Styles), each of which took about 30 minutes to read.  Also, each section contained definitions of its subcategories; examples of Fine Art that contained each principle, element, or style; examples of children’s picture books that contained each principle, element, or style; and activities and explorations that teachers can use with their classes to help them grasp each concept. 

            Besides being extremely well-organized, the reason why I found this book to be so great was that it was specific, understandable, and practical.  By specific, I mean that the information was to the point; the author didn’t waste time explaining one topic several different ways.  It was understandable because the text seemed to be worded in a way that non-Art majors, such as myself, could understand.  Lastly, it was practical because it offered examples and ideas that could be used in a real classroom.  The fact that Ms. Frohardt teaches Kindergarten herself is evident through her ability to explain the concepts in a way that other teachers can understand and offer examples that can truly be implemented by any teacher. 

            Before I read this book, I was unsure of how well I would be able to teach art to my students.  I had already learned in other classes not to use “cookie-cutter” activities (since ‘real art’ should allow children to use their creativity), but I didn’t know if I would be able to do this.  After all, I never considered myself ‘good’ at art.  However, after reading the ideas in this book, I feel that there are activities that all teachers, including myself, can use to help children with learning technique while still encouraging creativity.