Curriculum Sketch: Intertwinement of Body and Spirit

The Teaching artist

What is the relationship between your experiences and ongoing artistic work to your curriculum and teaching? How do you describe what you do as an artist?

My situation is different from many teaching artists, or art teachers. I never went through any art specific courses during high school or college. I was drawn to the art education program several times as an undergraduate student, but stuck to my studies of elementary education. Later on, during my third year of teaching, I applied to the masters of art education. Throughout this process I have had a few exposures to what an art class would be like at the college level. Due to my background I find that I have no specific medium with which I identify the most or the strongest. I dabble in all kinds of art-making activities and this informs my curriculum. 

In a sense I feel frustrated that I am not an expert in a particular domain, however, my desire to continuously learn about a variety of techniques and skills, provides new perspectives and insights on art. This in turn has an impact on my curriculum as a general education teacher. 

My curriculum has been tweaked throughout my experience as a master's student due to the experiences that I have had in class. My curriculum has always been very flexible, and I tend to let my students lead the teaching. In addition to that, my lessons have been greatly enriched by the skills I am coming to understand, and the different artistic teaching approaches that I interact with in my classes. 

Another aspect that greatly informs my curriculum is the art teacher at my elementary school. We collaborate often in order to find the past way to integrate what I am teaching and what he is teaching in each other's lessons and projects. This helps students make connections between art class and my class and allows for us to be on the same page. I struggle to piece together what I do as an artist. I loved reading chapter one in Teaching Artist Handbook by Nick Jaffe because of the questions provided. A self-assessment seems more than needed for my situation! The questions intrigued me to really think about my art making, how I see myself as an artist, and how my involvment with art can benefit the students that I teach. 

One characteristic that I see in myself is the desire to share what I learn. Since I don't quite yet identify with a specific medium, or skill set, I am constantly wanting to learn more, about anything. Lately I have been experimenting a lot with watercolor and the different color combinations I can create, as well as layers. Last semester I took a book binding class and created a wide variety of books. These skills have carried over into my teaching as I have implemented them in my classroom. My students have used watercolor paints several times, and I dedicated a narrative story writing unit to the process of bookbinding and how that impacts stories. 

When I learn something I want to share that with my students, and that guides my personal artistic work, as well as my curriculum. It surprises me how closely intertwined my art making and my job as a teacher can be. 

Drawing

Drawing is often a child's first attempt to represent what they see.
Here is one of my first drawings, it's a self portrait:

Drawing is perhaps one of the most approachable art making forms for students. I find that drawing is free of pressure for children, it is something that a large amount of them are already comfortable with. I would definitely teach drawing because it gives space for correcting errors. They challenge themselves to draw and correct what they are doing with little pressure. When students draw, they enter their own world especially when they care about what they are drawing, or are given freedom to draw in their own way.

(Student work 2016)

For one of my units as a fifth grade teacher, we go over comic books and their set up. I remember one day giving time to my students to experiment with comic books and spend time creating their own. I only noticed a few minutes later that the room was completely silent and everyone was deeply involved in what they were drawing. Suddenly it hit me, I would soon have to break that silence, pull them out of their own heads, and move on to something else.

I would teach drawing by including it in a variety of topics. For example, students can sketch ideas, concepts, favorite art pieces, etc. Drawing would become natural and comfortable for all students. I feel that students who feel success in one area, let that feeling of accomplishment spill over into other areas. I am not sure how I would teach drawing in a great way, because I feel under qualified to teach how to draw. I think this comes from the expectation that drawing should be representational. I guess that that is how I would teach it in a great way, that it doesn't have to be exactly representational, that drawing is limitless and can be used in a variety of ways. I would label this approach as one of my
Drawing Foundations". Drawing does not have to exactly represent what you see.



Here is Tedx video about drawing, the really great stuff is at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TXEZ4tP06c

When it comes to drawing:
"1. Have an open mind. 2. Just be prepared to have a go. So grab a pen and piece of paper."

--The very last part is really good!
"How many other beliefs and limiting thoughts do we all carry around with us everyday? Beliefs that we could perhaps potentially challenge and think differently about, and if we did challenge those beliefs and think differently about them, apart from drawing, what else would we be possible for us all?"

The First Day of School

After introducing myself to my students:

Option 1:
Hold a task party.
In preparation for the event, I would have a wide variety of materials available for students to use.
We would go over the expectations of having a task party, which is primarily to have fun and get out of our comfort zones.
I would participate in the activity.
In order to start on the right foot, I would have already prepared a few tasks.
--The purpose of this activity is for students to be comfortable with each other and with me. One of my goals is for students to understand the importance of performance art and interaction with others in art making. I want that approach to inform our art throughout the school year and for students to think in ways that sometimes steer away from the original expectations they have about art, which I feel are that art is based on skill and that reproduction of those skills is at the forefront of art.

Option 2:
Build a fort.
I have never conducted this activity, but I have seen video representations of some and find it to be a great idea for the first day of class!
I would have butcher paper available and drawing supplies (pencils, crayons, markers, sharpies, etc).
Students would interact with each other in order to build a fort for our whole class to fit in.
I would guide the activity simply by asking questions and assisting when needed.
--The purpose of this activity is also for students to be comfortable with each other. Forts represent space and intentionally bring people together in a safe place. I want for my students to understand the importance of a space that they can manipulate and comfortably create in.

Spiritual and Religious Show

Springville Museum of Art
Wednesday January 11th, 2017

David Louis Cassil

Construction of the Soul 2016

Susan Parkinson

The Creation 2016

Bryan Even Hutchison

Seed Harvest (Matthew 13, Alma 32) 2015

Jacqui Larsen

Indigo Walk 2004

Outside project UMOCA

Unfortunately, I was unable to join the class on their trip to Chaco Canyon. 

I ended up taking a field trip to the UMOCA in Salt Lake City. 

Unfortunatley, all of my photos were on my phone, which then died, and had to be replaced. 

Fortunately, I brought my old camera along. 

Unfortunately, I haven't developed the film yet. 

The art piece that stood out the most to me was the mural in the center of the museum. The wall was completely covered in portraits fo famous women. I recognized a handful of these faces and to my dismay, did not recognize a large percentage of them. 

There was a stack of papers, on a single chair, facing the mural, in the center of the room. It seemed to call for me to sit on and take the time to study the faces of the women on the wall. The papers on the chair were a combined list of the women's faces and what they had accomplished, what the had contributed to the world. There were over 100 women, many of which I had no idea had such an impact on the things I take for granted: cinema, teaching, politics, civil rights, boating, etc. I was overwhelmed by the fact that I had no idea who these people were. I was confused as to why these people weren't mentioned in any of my classes as a student in high school or college, and I slowly began to grow frustrated. Why was there a big focus on a small handful of noteworthy men and little or no focus on the impact of these women? 

The exhibits that filled the other rooms were focused on the individual. Photographics portraits of people covered the walls of one room. No descriptions accompanied the photographs and I absolutely loved the freedom that I had to interpret each individual face. Why were these people on the walls? What impact have they had on one person, or many people? How talks about them? 

I felt that these two pieces really tied together because of their focus on the impact that people have, and the sad fact that sometimes that impact is not presented or discussed enough. 

Failure Project

Figure drawing. 

I have never taken a class on figure drawing. 

I never received formal art training. 

This is my master's class. 

We brought drawing materials to class and did some figure drawing.  

I received a 2 minute long drawing lesson. 

Four different people taught me everything they knew in those 2 minutes. 

I was surrounded by very skilled people. 

I was very intimidated. 

What I loved the most was all the help and tips I received from my friends. 

The blank paper, the drawing tools, the amount of skill surrounding me were terrifying. 

I stared at my sketch pad for a long time. 

The thought of even starting was daunting, because I knew what it would end up looking like...

Here are my first sketches: 

I then went home and practied using my husband as a model. 

Takeaways:

I'm a perfectionist. 

I don't feel comfortable with not being successful. 

I have pushed myself a lot this semester to be ok with not being successful. 

I have learned that there are things that I am not good at, which is frustrating, but also comforting.