The Teacher as Learner

1. "Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone
    you can - there will always come a time when you will be
    grateful you did."
   Sarah Caldwell   March 23, 2006
   
   
   Some excellent words to live by.  I find myself learning from my students everyday.  In this exercise in experimentation with paint, and using a variety of "delivery systems" to express themselves in texture, some of the combinations are absolutely wonderful.  I couldn't imagine taking them through this exercise without first having given them the freedom to choose the what, why, how, and when of their actions.  Of all the units we have covered this year, I feel that this one jumps out in such a significant way to emphasize the importance of students governing themselves and having the autonomy to choose.
   
   
   I have included just a little 4 minute chopped up video without any editing to just highlight what I get to enjoy being a part of in my classroom.  Here it is, enjoy:
   
   

Thoughts on ART, TEACHING, and LEARNING

"Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of
 inspiration."

Rudolf (Khametovich) Nureyev    [Рудольф Хаметович Нуреев]   March 17, 1938

When I saw this quote yesterday, I decided that I needed to jot down a few words about how I related the ideas of "style" and "technique" to the concept of creating art. 

In the 60's an art movement began to take hold which claimed that the end product that the artist produced was merely the "relic" of the idea(s) that the artist had.  In the final analysis the art work itself was just a representation of the craftsmanship of the artist.  The artist's ability to paint in a certain way or sculpt, print, etc. were only reflective of his training as an artisan.  The IDEA was the only thing that had merit.

To this end and with these thoughts in mind I contend that once the artist has visualized his idea into a physical reality by using the media most appropriate (or at least one in which he has derived some expertise regardless of the appropriateness) the artist should take what he/she has learned from their work and move on toward new ideas.  Unfortunately, this is so often not the case.  Once an artist gains recognition for his work, especially in the form of money and popularity, the "moving on" to new ideas frequently loses its appeal.  At this point the artist's "style" and "technique" begin to win out over any concept of innovation and creativity.

In the way in which I have been teaching this school year, using the Student Directed Art Curriculum based on INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, I have learned that new ideas are hard for all of us to grasp.  I had no idea of how the students would react to such a departure from their normal ways of dealing with a high school course.  I have always looked at each new school year, over my 41 years of teaching, as a new canvas.  It wasn't that much of a stretch, then, for me to go ahead and try something totally different.  The angst, anxiety, and frustration for me has been in not giving credence to the fact that these students have NOT been "learning" in a new way each year.  The have developed their own "styles" and "techniques" of learning throughout their 9 years of being in school.  The system has taught them the three "R's" quite effectively; that is READING, REMEMBERING, and REGURGITATION.   This idea of thinking for themselves, making their own decisions, and being accountable for their learning is just about as foreign to them as anything could be.  I think I am only writing this down so that I can come back and re-read this paragraph frequently as this school year draws to a close and I find myself wondering whether any of what I'm doing has had any impact.

So now I've said it and I will close out this little Chautauqua  and post a couple more examples of the students' textures in paint.  Enjoy.

The SENSE OF TOUCH personified..a blind painter's story

"Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do."

Dr. Benjamin Spock

This Texas artist's life was introduced to me today on facebook by my friend Marshall Kregel.  After watching the video he posted, I sought further videos and information about this outstandingly creative/gifted artist.  Since we are currently studying TEXTURE I thought it important to introduce him to this blog.  Enjoy and be prepared to be awestruck:

MIND over MATTER...color me texture

"What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind."

George Berkeley   March 12, 1685

I always enjoy significant turns of phrase with double entendre.  I believe creative minds excel at such things.  I'd like to believe that creative minds appreciate them as well.

Today is Saturday.  I was off Friday, which for me was the beginning of "Spring Break".  I have no travel plans this coming week.  I will probably spend the majority of my time working in my studio at home and doing some needed yard work in the garden.  If some thoughts occur to me in the process of reading and thinking I will post another segment sometime during the week as well.

Students in their second full day of working in the TEXTURE/VARIETY unit seemed to "settle down" a little in their approach to the work.  The first day they were so hyped to begin that they jumped right in and worked feverishly all period.  On the 2nd, they seemed to take their time and work more deliberately on their art.  I think that some of them thought they would have just the one day for some reason. I think it's hard for students to comprehend time/space continuum.  Even when they are told that they will be studying/working on a given idea for 3-4 weeks, they can't seem to adjust their activities accordingly.  Those that are prone to planning/sketching/drawing out their ideas beforehand sometimes get lost in that process, look up, and discover that the time has passed and they never quite got to what they were planning to do.  Others jump right into the fray and accomplish some really nice work, but then want to sit back and rest on their laurels.  Finding the right words of encouragement is key to moving the ideas along and prodding the "get after its" to build on what they have accomplished. 

I am posting a couple of the works from the first day that were included in the video in last post for your enjoyment.  I will also be posting the video onto the website, Art Class 2.0 .

Jackson Pollock would be proud

"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas

 are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats"

Howard (Hathaway) Aiken   March 9, 1900

This quote caught my eye today because yesterday I was visiting with a substitute teacher in art who will watch my classes at the end of the month while I attend the annual clay conference in Florida.  Anyway, I was telling her about this blog and the website of the student's work and she asked if she could use any of the ideas.  I said, certainly she could as well as anyone else who cares to.  I believe that my ideas aren't necessarily original with me.  I probably got them from observing and reading.  As an inventor once told the gifted and talented class I took to his home back in the 80's in Denver; "The problem with good ideas is that they always de-generate into a lot of hard work".  Fortunately for the idea I have come up with for this unit on TEXTURE and VARIETY, it has generated what appears to be a lot of fun for the students.  At least they appear to be enjoying the "process" so far.  Take a look at the short video and see for yourself.

Art is Beauty

"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success."

 Alexander Graham Bell   March 3, 1847

The other day I discussed the idea of Art as a vehicle for emotions with my class.  I said that many times I have heard it quoted that if a work of art doesn't start with an emotion, it isn't really a work of art.  I brought up two opposing views of that idea.  The first is that I hear docents in museums go on and on about how this or that artist felt this way or that when he/she created a work of art.  "You can see by their use of this color/shape/line/tone that the artist was depressed, lonely, etc"  I guess it gives them something to say, but HOW DO THEY KNOW HOW SOMEONE FELT at any given time?  The second scenario is that a given work of art makes us feel sad/happy/etc. because of this, that, or the other use of this or that element of art.  Two people standing in front of the same painting are going to have two responses to that painting depending on their own makeup/feelings, etc. about life in general and visual subjects in particular.  In other words, I don't put much "truck" in "art as emotion/feeling".  I DO like the idea of art as beauty and the more one is touched by all things beautiful, the more one is influenced by all visual art.  One who sees beauty in life, can see beauty in the most grotesque visual presentations, be they paintings, sculpture, dance, music, etc.

So I gave the students a little assignment.  I gave them three pages of lists of all the emotions and feelings I could find on the internet.  I told them to look the lists over and envision three things that have happened to them or someone close that have generated any of the feelings listed.  I had them write these down in the their books.  Then I had them draw little sketches of each of these scenarios.  I had them turn them in for a "grade".  I used the extrinsic motivation of my grading them in order to motivate them into getting the assignment done in the prescribed time.  I didn't want to take forever doing it.  I haven't looked the sketches over yet, but I'm looking forward to doing that over the weekend.

After that little exercise, I demonstrated another little exercise in using a variety of media in a variety of techniques to create some cool TEXTURAL designs.  I am posting the video here in two parts because Youtube won't take longer than 15 minutes.  Hope you enjoy them.

Architecture Students at work DEFINING SPACE

"One of the great things about being a director as a life choice

 is that it can never be mastered. Every story is its own kind

 of expedition, with its own set of challenges."

Ron Howard   [Ronald William Howard]   March 1, 1954

I love it whenever I read or hear of someone as successful as Ron Howard say that he knows that he will never achieve true mastery of his craft.  Learn till the day you die.

Today's blog is fairly simple.  I don't know the whole "story" of how or when the concept for this project began.  All I know is that one day when leaving school I saw this unusual sight in the hallway next to the Architecture Cluster's classrooms.  There were these stacks of classroom chairs all bundled up as though they were going to the trash or something.  Upon closer observation I discovered that they were sort of tied together in groups.  I left, thinking how weird, I need to ask the teachers what's going on.  The next school day I was there at Skyline, as I was again leaving for the day and passing the classrooms, the two architecture teachers were there with a group of students.  I asked one of them, Tom Cox, what was going on.  He said that their students were "defining space" using the clusters of chairs as their medium.  I just HAD to record a few minutes of their activity.  He also said that they would be displaying their creations at the Dallas Museum of Art just after Spring Break.  I will go there and shoot a short video of that display also and post it sometime after that.  Meanwhile, here is the short footage I shot that day.  I know you will enjoy it: