Describe your favorite strategy for motivating your students have original thinking in their art work. Remember to make a post before 3pm and return for a response to another student.
It's hard sometimes to get students to think and create in an original, creative way. They often look to others for inspration... which can be good and bad. As I mentioned in class, I like to have the students create an "altered book" in place of a traditional sketchbook during their junior year. Each year I have changed it up a little bit. This year I gave all of them the same theme- nature. Broad enough they can go in many directions but I can still keep them focused. This year I had students who just created landscapes to some kids who explored "human nature" to one student who is really into science and did things related to that. This gets them to think about a theme, which hopefully helps for the concentration the following year.
I think keeping the students "refreshed" is important in motivation. Although this was my first year teaching AP Studio Art, I noticed in late February/early March they were getting extremely burned out, thus their work reflected this sentiment. In order to break from the mundane and try to lift their spirits we had a "Connect with your Inner Child Day" with bubbles, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, Easter egg dying and Food. The kids brought their cameras and enjoyed a day of just "having fun" not worrying so much about their artwork. They played childhood games like 'duck duck goose.' Students came away refreshed, but also some received inspiration for their portfolios from photos taken and/or things we did that day.
In the world of fast food, Ipods, interent, and cell phones it becomes a challenge to slow the kids and absorb the smaller things in life such as: a sun set, dew on the morning grass. I try to focus students by having them create three and four thumbnails to help direct and focus their energy. While I was not teaching AP Art this year I used this technique in my Digital Photograpy class. By using the computer and requiring 3 projects per topic, students were forced to develop and solve the same problem in a different way. By requiring students to create multiple solutions to the problem help stimulate the thought process and the second or third design is usually the one they chose to turn in.
I can relate to the burned out students and how their creative juices become towards the latter stages of the course. I thought your idea of stepping away for a day and allowing them to cut loose and have fun is a great idea. Like every situation we may find ourself in we must evaluate our students and use the methods we feel are apporpiate to help stimulate, focus, and keep the kids on track.
I've noticed that when working from a specific artist in lessons, students really have a tendency to play "monkey see, monkey do". In more advanced classes, it's easier to work from a theme, technique, movement, and idea - etc - so students can have a variety of examples so they are less likely to copy the style of a specific artist. It’s really a great way to get things rolling. Throw as many examples their way and let them use this as a catalyst for their own artwork. And sometimes you do have those students that cannot step out of their comfort zones. That’s when I’m thankful for sketchbooks. If you sketch and idea, even if it’s similar to an artist, over and over, eventually you will have an original artwork. For example, in sculpture classes students take one piece they are interested in and make ten sketches. In each sketch something is modified, by the third or fourth sketch the sculpture have changed drastically into something original.
I agree that keeping students focused and vigilant against the influences of Captain Obvious can be a daunting task. I was fortunate this year in that the majority of my students had good ideas for their Concentrations. Some transformed slightly, but remained close to the original theme.
I love Carlee's play day idea. It's important to remember that the creative art making process is very much akin to the creative play process. I remind studens, as well, that the creative process progresses through phases. That eliminates a little angst when they become stressed over artists' blocks. The task then is to shake up their comfort zone with a spontaneous piece that has no purpose other than to keep the creative momentum from halting. Often, those pieces are revisited and altered to fit into their Concentration or used as a nice Breadth piece.
In preventing students from using the same old stale ideas, I have them use word associations. If someone wants to represent time, obviously a clock is going to do the trick. Beyond a clock, what else signifies the passage of time? Is it through a change in seasons, connection to a coinciding event, the light and colors present at a time in the day or evening?
Also, I schedule open studio time during holidays. I was not real excited about that initially, but some of my students needed the time and direction. I was surprised at how receptive they were. A lot of nice pieces emerged during those sessions. I think that was due to limited distractions and the relaxed atmosphere.
I ask students to relate their work to their lives. It's hard to create something authentic when you have no personal connection to it. I also require 5 thumbnail sketches of ideas before production of a final piece. Usually whichever is chosen is then further tweaked by thumbnails in various color schemes, perspectives, etc.
I also use sketch books a lot. As Robert said during one of our class sessions, every kid wants to use their first thought and that is usually a copied thought from someone else! I have them work on 5 or 6 thumbnail sketches and let them know that it is ok to incorporate several of these ideas from their thumbnails into a larger sketch that they will use to develop their art piece.I used this idea with my art III students this year while they were doing "Face Pots." Each thumbnail sketch had to show a different expression: anger, love, suprise.... The kids then started mixing some of the facial pieces around in their larger sketch and came up with some wonderful expressions to put on their ceramic vessels. I think that just getting them to think beyond their original thought is what is working best for my kids at this moment. However, I also love Carlee's idea of a play day and connecting with the inner child. My art III students will thank you Carlee when we try this sometime during the next school year!!!
OK, I think I have FINALLY figured out how to blog! I am obviously not as computer savy as I need to be! Anyway.... we all fight the battle of trying to get teenagers to THINK! I am amazed at how lazy they can be! They actually want ME to 'help' them come up with an idea! Don't you just get mentally drained from it all sometimes? A strategy that I use to try to 'wake up' a student to think originally and creatively is to have them paint a non-objective piece - just a big sheet of paper and a set of paints. They freak out, but enjoy it once they get into it. I also will have them make a small viewfinder and go through our extensive collection of art posters/reproductions and 'find' a 'hidden' abstract. This makes them really use and think about those elements and principles as they 'search' through each work to find an interesting segment or composition. I then have them do several thumbnails in their sketchbook of the section they have settled upon. These pieces are always very interesting and seem to get their creative juices flowing again.
Help me out with my insecurities, please, friends! I have written that we are to make two entries per day...one original post and a response to the question. We must make our response prior to 3:00 every day. Does 'original post' mean that each of us has to post a question for everyone to respond to?
The art teacher is charged with the task of igniting and maintaining that creative spark in each student. This can be difficult, but it is never impossible. I find that there is no one tried and true lesson that works year after year. Each group is different, and the teacher changes too. If a lesson becomes routine, stale, and old, it won't continue to work. I do find that it helps for students to see original works, and understand the context of the work - what caused that artist to "come alive". I like to take students to the Columbia museum, local galleries, and other venus so that they can view original work. I go to the show ahead of time and create a "gallery guide" which asks them to locate various pieces and locate details and respond to a set of questions about specific pieces. They must read the artist's statement may refer to a program and exhibition notes. Students come back with new ideas, and in the most successful cases, they begin to understand how artists identify sources for original ideas.
To help my kids think beyond the obvious, I sometimes hand out a "think sheet"...a worksheet to help them list ideas or symbols before they do thumbnail sketches.
I try to keep things interesting by throwing in a right-brained activity in between the more analytical lessons.
To help kids avoid making mistakes from frustration, I sometimes have two projects going on at once, so they can put one aside if they get aggravated with it....as long as they come back to it.
Also, my kids enjoy and seem to work the hardest on projects that allow personal expression. Ex: psychological self-portrait, narrative clock sculpture about an important person in his/her life, etc.
We talked about bringing in a list of "Must Reads" for class next week. Would y'all be inerested/willing to share your handouts, such as Jennifer's "Think Sheet?"
I think that sharing handouts would be great...it's just that most of mine are at school. I would like to know more about how everyone 'grades' for the report cards. For my AP students, I require them to turn in four pieces each six weeks. None are due until the last day of the grading period so that pieces that take longer than others can be accommodated...it all comes out in the wash at the end of the six weeks. For every piece shy of the four, I drop their six weeks grade by 8 points (one letter grade). I have tried several approaches, but this has been the easiest for me and most straightforward and generous to the students as far as time. I would be interested in hearing how everyone else assigns grades.
Cindy, you are very generous. If my students don't complete an assignment, I award them a 0. I will change that grade if the assignment is completed by the end of the following 9 weeks period, but the student must specifically see me to have the grade changed. That's part of teaching them responsibility, although at the college level they would have to suck it up and accept a permanent 0.
KT - I also like your idea of sharing worksheets, but mine are also at school in Liberty and I am in North Carolina. Hopefully we can stay in touch and share things electronically when school resumes in the fall.
Cindy G - I also tend to allow my students to work up to the very last minute. However, I have found that I am sweating bullets when the office starts anouncing grades must be in within the hour!!! I have decided to change my last chance turnin day to at least four or five days before grades are due.
I think those that can should bring some of their most useful handouts, etc. on disk or flash drive and also a print out. Then everyone could copy the ones they would enjoy using electronically (easy to alter) or paper.
Sometimes I have a student who is just afraid to fail or make something "bad". So we'll both make something out of clay and then smush it. Just to make the point that it's all transient. Sometimes I'll purposely make errors in my work and correct them in front of the students, then keep going with my project, maybe going in a new direction. I feel like this gives a good example of trial and error. It also shows them that sometimes happy mistakes take us further than doing everything perfectly.
Mary Lou - Yarbi has been trying to blog since 8:00 this morning off and on. I've talked with her a few times today. She's trying to reach you by email - her's is yagwinkle@scrr.com - please drop her a line.
I love what you said about students relating aspects of their lives to their artworks. This is a great starting point when creating works, but it seems very difficult to get "serious" artwork out of students whose lives revolve around prom and whatnot. Are there any specific ideas you try to encourage. Any kind of process?
CindyG, I agree...having students work on non-objective assignments/projects seems at first foreign, but then very welcomed! They don't have to be so concerned with the "precise" details that so many of them try to render as they copy exactly what they see (leaving no room for their own creative license). I find nonobjective projects give students a freedom to be creative in their own unique way because there is no real right or wrong answer.
Katie, I am happy to share with you all. For me, it's rare to be able to hang out with high school art teachers. I'm soaking up all you guys have to offer. If I can share something with the class, I'm glad to return the favor.
Alicia, I know what you mean about students revolving around the prom, etc. Everybody under the roof of Cheraw High likes music, hanging out with friends, and talking on the phone. I agree with you. The art is so much better when they finally see the need to think beyond the common and illustrate their own past/present/future.
To discourage them from creating "shrines" to boyfriends, I sometimes show new classes an old, but beautiful project Nicole did about Kirk. She gave it to me when she decided that she no longer loved Kirk!
There were lots of great ideas during today's blog. Like most of you, I require multiple thumbnail sketches (usually four) for almost all assignments. I tell my students that if they create four different sketches, they will be able to choose the strongest one. In one assignment, I ask students to create an artwork that communicates a message. Having to communicate a message visually encourages students to consider their audience and focus on origniality. Carlee/Kt:-): I think that including play as a stress buster/reenergizing technique is great. Having students come and play in the studio without stress or expectations could also lead to interesting new avenues. Heather: Having students relate their artwork to their own lives makes it more authentic and orignial because everyone's homelife and interests are unique to a certain degree. Having students strive to get others to see the ordinary in a new way or from a different point of view can revive a tired subject. And Jennifer: I want to hear more about the narritive clock sculpture! Goodnight to all!
Hi, this is Yarbi. Because of my lack of computer savy I must be known as Matisse this week...pitiful, I know but we'll just have to deal with it.
Like many of you, I stress the personal connection and ask kids to think "out of the box" not the just the responses others would expect of them. I also find that gallery visits make a grand impression on my students as they discover what really makes them think. Magically they begin to realize that personal connection to a work of art really is individual. The visits generate new ideas for them and they are excited. I always get them to to create one work of art "inspired by a particular artist".
Another thing I do is ask students to come up with unusual perspectives. I did have a rather lame gorup this year, with the exception of a few, but my kids are often great inspirations to one another.
I took a collage workshop from Gerald Brommer many years ago and this year I taught a mini lesson using thsoe same techniques and I was surprised at the number of students who later incorperated his ideas into later original works.
22 comments:
It's hard sometimes to get students to think and create in an original, creative way. They often look to others for inspration... which can be good and bad. As I mentioned in class, I like to have the students create an "altered book" in place of a traditional sketchbook during their junior year. Each year I have changed it up a little bit. This year I gave all of them the same theme- nature. Broad enough they can go in many directions but I can still keep them focused. This year I had students who just created landscapes to some kids who explored "human nature" to one student who is really into science and did things related to that. This gets them to think about a theme, which hopefully helps for the concentration the following year.
I think keeping the students "refreshed" is important in motivation. Although this was my first year teaching AP Studio Art, I noticed in late February/early March they were getting extremely burned out, thus their work reflected this sentiment. In order to break from the mundane and try to lift their spirits we had a "Connect with your Inner Child Day" with bubbles, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, Easter egg dying and Food. The kids brought their cameras and enjoyed a day of just "having fun" not worrying so much about their artwork. They played childhood games like 'duck duck goose.' Students came away refreshed, but also some received inspiration for their portfolios from photos taken and/or things we did that day.
In the world of fast food, Ipods, interent, and cell phones it becomes a challenge to slow the kids and absorb the smaller things in life such as: a sun set, dew on the morning grass. I try to focus students by having them create three and four thumbnails to help direct and focus their energy. While I was not teaching AP Art this year I used this technique in my Digital Photograpy class. By using the computer and requiring 3 projects per topic, students were forced to develop and solve the same problem in a different way. By requiring students to create multiple solutions to the problem help stimulate the thought process and the second or third design is usually the one they chose to turn in.
Carlee,
I can relate to the burned out students and how their creative juices become towards the latter stages of the course. I thought your idea of stepping away for a day and allowing them to cut loose and have fun is a great idea. Like every situation we may find ourself in we must evaluate our students and use the methods we feel are apporpiate to help stimulate, focus, and keep the kids on track.
I've noticed that when working from a specific artist in lessons, students really have a tendency to play "monkey see, monkey do". In more advanced classes, it's easier to work from a theme, technique, movement, and idea - etc - so students can have a variety of examples so they are less likely to copy the style of a specific artist. It’s really a great way to get things rolling. Throw as many examples their way and let them use this as a catalyst for their own artwork. And sometimes you do have those students that cannot step out of their comfort zones. That’s when I’m thankful for sketchbooks. If you sketch and idea, even if it’s similar to an artist, over and over, eventually you will have an original artwork. For example, in sculpture classes students take one piece they are interested in and make ten sketches. In each sketch something is modified, by the third or fourth sketch the sculpture have changed drastically into something original.
I agree that keeping students focused and vigilant against the influences of Captain Obvious can be a daunting task. I was fortunate this year in that the majority of my students had good ideas for their Concentrations. Some transformed slightly, but remained close to the original theme.
I love Carlee's play day idea. It's important to remember that the creative art making process is very much akin to the creative play process. I remind studens, as well, that the creative process progresses through phases. That eliminates a little angst when they become stressed over artists' blocks. The task then is to shake up their comfort zone with a spontaneous piece that has no purpose other than to keep the creative momentum from halting. Often, those pieces are revisited and altered to fit into their Concentration or used as a nice Breadth piece.
In preventing students from using the same old stale ideas, I have them use word associations. If someone wants to represent time, obviously a clock is going to do the trick. Beyond a clock, what else signifies the passage of time? Is it through a change in seasons, connection to a coinciding event, the light and colors present at a time in the day or evening?
Also, I schedule open studio time during holidays. I was not real excited about that initially, but some of my students needed the time and direction. I was surprised at how receptive they were. A lot of nice pieces emerged during those sessions. I think that was due to limited distractions and the relaxed atmosphere.
I ask students to relate their work to their lives. It's hard to create something authentic when you have no personal connection to it. I also require 5 thumbnail sketches of ideas before production of a final piece. Usually whichever is chosen is then further tweaked by thumbnails in various color schemes, perspectives, etc.
I also use sketch books a lot. As Robert said during one of our class sessions, every kid wants to use their first thought and that is usually a copied thought from someone else! I have them work on 5 or 6 thumbnail sketches and let them know that it is ok to incorporate several of these ideas from their thumbnails into a larger sketch that they will use to develop their art piece.I used this idea with my art III students this year while they were doing "Face Pots." Each thumbnail sketch had to show a different expression: anger, love, suprise.... The kids then started mixing some of the facial pieces around in their larger sketch and came up with some wonderful expressions to put on their ceramic vessels. I think that just getting them to think beyond their original thought is what is working best for my kids at this moment. However, I also love Carlee's idea of a play day and connecting with the inner child. My art III students will thank you Carlee when we try this sometime during the next school year!!!
OK, I think I have FINALLY figured out how to blog! I am obviously not as computer savy as I need to be! Anyway.... we all fight the battle of trying to get teenagers to THINK! I am amazed at how lazy they can be! They actually want ME to 'help' them come up with an idea! Don't you just get mentally drained from it all sometimes? A strategy that I use to try to 'wake up' a student to think originally and creatively is to have them paint a non-objective piece - just a big sheet of paper and a set of paints. They freak out, but enjoy it once they get into it. I also will have them make a small viewfinder and go through our extensive collection of art posters/reproductions and 'find' a 'hidden' abstract. This makes them really use and think about those elements and principles as they 'search' through each work to find an interesting segment or composition. I then have them do several thumbnails in their sketchbook of the section they have settled upon. These pieces are always very interesting and seem to get their creative juices flowing again.
Help me out with my insecurities, please, friends! I have written that we are to make two entries per day...one original post and a response to the question. We must make our response prior to 3:00 every day. Does 'original post' mean that each of us has to post a question for everyone to respond to?
The art teacher is charged with the task of igniting and maintaining that creative spark in each student. This can be difficult, but it is never impossible. I find that there is no one tried and true lesson that works year after year. Each group is different, and the teacher changes too. If a lesson becomes routine, stale, and old, it won't continue to work. I do find that it helps for students to see original works, and understand the context of the work - what caused that artist to "come alive". I like to take students to the Columbia museum, local galleries, and other venus so that they can view original work. I go to the show ahead of time and create a "gallery guide" which asks them to locate various pieces and locate details and respond to a set of questions about specific pieces. They must read the artist's statement may refer to a program and exhibition notes. Students come back with new ideas, and in the most successful cases, they begin to understand how artists identify sources for original ideas.
You all have some really great ideas.
To help my kids think beyond the obvious, I sometimes hand out a "think sheet"...a worksheet to help them list ideas or symbols before they do thumbnail sketches.
I try to keep things interesting by throwing in a right-brained activity in between the more analytical lessons.
To help kids avoid making mistakes from frustration, I sometimes have two projects going on at once, so they can put one aside if they get aggravated with it....as long as they come back to it.
Also, my kids enjoy and seem to work the hardest on projects that allow personal expression. Ex: psychological self-portrait, narrative clock sculpture about an important person in his/her life, etc.
We talked about bringing in a list of "Must Reads" for class next week. Would y'all be inerested/willing to share your handouts, such as Jennifer's "Think Sheet?"
I think that sharing handouts would be great...it's just that most of mine are at school.
I would like to know more about how everyone 'grades' for the report cards. For my AP students, I require them to turn in four pieces each six weeks. None are due until the last day of the grading period so that pieces that take longer than others can be accommodated...it all comes out in the wash at the end of the six weeks. For every piece shy of the four, I drop their six weeks grade by 8 points (one letter grade). I have tried several approaches, but this has been the easiest for me and most straightforward and generous to the students as far as time. I would be interested in hearing how everyone else assigns grades.
Cindy, you are very generous. If my students don't complete an assignment, I award them a 0. I will change that grade if the assignment is completed by the end of the following 9 weeks period, but the student must specifically see me to have the grade changed. That's part of teaching them responsibility, although at the college level they would have to suck it up and accept a permanent 0.
KT - I also like your idea of sharing worksheets, but mine are also at school in Liberty and I am in North Carolina. Hopefully we can stay in touch and share things electronically when school resumes in the fall.
Cindy G - I also tend to allow my students to work up to the very last minute. However, I have found that I am sweating bullets when the office starts anouncing grades must be in within the hour!!! I have decided to change my last chance turnin day to at least four or five days before grades are due.
I think those that can should bring some of their most useful handouts, etc. on disk or flash drive and also a print out. Then everyone could copy the ones they would enjoy using electronically (easy to alter) or paper.
Sometimes I have a student who is just afraid to fail or make something "bad". So we'll both make something out of clay and then smush it. Just to make the point that it's all transient. Sometimes I'll purposely make errors in my work and correct them in front of the students, then keep going with my project, maybe going in a new direction. I feel like this gives a good example of trial and error. It also shows them that sometimes happy mistakes take us further than doing everything perfectly.
Mary Lou - Yarbi has been trying to blog since 8:00 this morning off and on. I've talked with her a few times today. She's trying to reach you by email - her's is yagwinkle@scrr.com - please drop her a line.
Heather
I love what you said about students relating aspects of their lives to their artworks. This is a great starting point when creating works, but it seems very difficult to get "serious" artwork out of students whose lives revolve around prom and whatnot. Are there any specific ideas you try to encourage. Any kind of process?
CindyG, I agree...having students work on non-objective assignments/projects seems at first foreign, but then very welcomed! They don't have to be so concerned with the "precise" details that so many of them try to render as they copy exactly what they see (leaving no room for their own creative license). I find nonobjective projects give students a freedom to be creative in their own unique way because there is no real right or wrong answer.
Katie, I am happy to share with you all. For me, it's rare to be able to hang out with high school art teachers. I'm soaking up all you guys have to offer. If I can share something with the class, I'm glad to return the favor.
Alicia, I know what you mean about students revolving around the prom, etc. Everybody under the roof of Cheraw High likes music, hanging out with friends, and talking on the phone. I agree with you. The art is so much better when they finally see the need to think beyond the common and illustrate their own past/present/future.
To discourage them from creating "shrines" to boyfriends, I sometimes show new classes an old, but beautiful project Nicole did about Kirk. She gave it to me when she decided that she no longer loved Kirk!
There were lots of great ideas during today's blog. Like most of you, I require multiple thumbnail sketches (usually four) for almost all assignments. I tell my students that if they create four different sketches, they will be able to choose the strongest one. In one assignment, I ask students to create an artwork that communicates a message. Having to communicate a message visually encourages students to consider their audience and focus on origniality. Carlee/Kt:-): I think that including play as a stress buster/reenergizing technique is great. Having students come and play in the studio without stress or expectations could also lead to interesting new avenues. Heather: Having students relate their artwork to their own lives makes it more authentic and orignial because everyone's homelife and interests are unique to a certain degree. Having students strive to get others to see the ordinary in a new way or from a different point of view can revive a tired subject. And Jennifer: I want to hear more about the narritive clock sculpture! Goodnight to all!
Hi, this is Yarbi. Because of my lack of computer savy I must be known as Matisse this week...pitiful, I know but we'll just have to deal with it.
Like many of you, I stress the personal connection and ask kids to think "out of the box" not the just the responses others would expect of them. I also find that gallery visits make a grand impression on my students as they discover what really makes them think. Magically they begin to realize that personal connection to a work of art really is individual. The visits generate new ideas for them and they are excited. I always get them to to create one work of art "inspired by a particular artist".
Another thing I do is ask students to come up with unusual perspectives. I did have a rather lame gorup this year, with the exception of a few, but my kids are often great inspirations to one another.
I took a collage workshop from Gerald Brommer many years ago and this year I taught a mini lesson using thsoe same techniques and I was surprised at the number of students who later incorperated his ideas into later original works.
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