Mrs. Abbas’ Art Room
The blog of a teaching artist.
The purpose of our first lesson was to introduce the concept of juxtaposition and the work of Heirnonyous Bosch. The goal was for each student to create a mixed media project of their own. Each student met the objectives of the lesson by completing a mish mash creature and designing an environment for it to live in. Each design was original and unique, created with mixed media collaged techniques. Once the creatures were finished, each student presented their creature to the class and participated in a teacher-led discussion. The lesson unfolded according to our loose plan. Since the lesson was collaboratively planned and co-taught, it was challenging to carry out a rigid plan with the various teaching styles and philosophies of the instructors. Our teaching team consisted of three. We decided to divide the lesson responsibilities, so we each had an opportunity to lead teach as the other instructors offered support. I began by leading our warm up activity. We began the class with an exquisite corpse exercise. Each student was given a 9”x12” piece of white paper that was folded on the long side into equal thirds. On the top third of the paper, each student drew the head of a creature. Since students will be working on multiple drawings, it is important to make tick marks that extend into the next section so the next artist will know where to begin their drawing. Once students finished composing the head of their creature, they folded their drawing so the person they passed their creature to could not see the drawing. When the drawings were passed, only the tick marks were visible. Next, students designed the trunk of a creature aligning with the tick marks left by the previous artist. The drawings were passed one last time to finish the creatures off with legs, tails, hooves, etc. The student who completed the third section gave the creature their name. This exercise works well if students all work with different colors, so they can easily see their work when the creatures are revealed. I was surprised by how challenging this activity was to manage with this particular group of students. I have led this activity a few times in different settings with little to no issues. Our four students worked at various paces. It was tough to facilitate the activity when two students worked really quickly, while the other two wanted to carefully render their drawings. I think if I were to lead this activity again I would let the students know that these drawings will be quick and timed, allowing a minute or two for each section. While the activity itself was a little chaotic, the students enjoyed opening up their creatures and sharing them with each other. After the warm up activity was completed, the next instructor read the story Pish Posh Said Hieronymus Bosch by Nancy Willard and led the class in a discussion about juxtaposition as we viewed the images of the story, as well as works by Bosch. The instructor who led this section of lesson was very energized throughout her instruction and read the story with an animated voice that kept the students engaged. She seemed very comfortable and was well aware of her students. She made sure she oriented herself in a way that allowed all students to see the book. During discussion, she called upon the students by their names. After reading the story and leading a discussion, the second instructor introduced the project by showing procedural photos on the smartboard. Our third instructor continued to introduce the project as she led the demonstration. She gave a live demonstration on how one might go about this project. She modeled how to skim through magazines and verbalized her thinking. Then, she arranged objects together in unusual ways. Once the demonstration was complete, the students were free to work. During studio work time, each instructor circled the room to give one-on-one assistance and feedback. When students did not need help, the instructors modeled their own work process while constructing a creature of their own. Once the creatures were complete, they were hung on the wall and discussed. Each instructor helped facilitate the discussion. The students in our workshop seem to have very specific interests and appear to be advanced in their art-making. These creative thinkers had a hard time focusing on one activity, because they had so many other ideas. Initially, it was a little frustrating because they were not working according to our lesson plan. But after taking a step back, it was neat to see their creative process. It was neat to see how our lesson inspired other ideas. I think it would have been neat to see these students explore those other interests. Moving forward, I will try to create lessons that will spark the interests of all of our students. This might be challenging, though I plan to be flexible. Since these are workshops, I want the students to have a say in what they are doing. I want to listen to the students and hear what their ideas are, because there could be ways to incorporate their interests into the art-making.
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AuthorI am a teaching artist learning as I go. I am passionate about art and people, and I am excited to be on this educational journey. The purpose of this blog is to share my struggles, successes, and everything in between as I learn to navigate writing curriculum, managing a classroom, and building relationships. Archives
October 2019
CategoriesAll Bosch Cavener Collage Display Exquisite Corpse Giacometti Goldsworthy Grab Land Art Landscape Lasansky Maggio Monet Painting Pareidolia Pattern Perception Portrait Printmaking Sculpture Self-Portrait Show Tempera |