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STUDENT TEACHING: Regina High School 3/18/24 - 5/3/24

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STUDENT TEACHING: Regina High School 3/18/24 - 5/3/24

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My lead lesson:

During my time at Regina High, I led a few of my own lessons across the different classes. The classes I taught consisted of two sections of AP Art, two sections of Art II, Advanced Studio Art, and Photography. The lessons I taught included mediums and topics such as: weaving, paper making, GIF making, and research/creating a digital gallery. In Photography, we reviewed basic photo taking and editing techniques, and I taught students how to create a GIF in Photopea. The big idea was: how can I create a moving image? I taught this lesson by showing students examples of various GIF artists, including examples of GIFs created by myself and other students from another class where I participated in a similar lesson. Naturally, we also had to look at a few GIF examples that included imagery from pop culture that students would recognize.

The first day introducing this lesson, I threw up the steps on a slideshow for students to reference and let them practice the steps to making a GIF in Photopea with random photos from their camera roll. The next day, they made their first GIF using random objects within the room. I provided a demonstration using a pencil, taking pictures as if I were making a stop-motion video. Once students had selected their objects, they had work time to create their GIF. The next day, the students were tasked with their second subject: a person! I demonstrated by showing them the step-by-step process that they were all familiar with now by using Mr. Demory, their art teacher. Students got to choose their own partners, dispersed around the room, and created their GIF. The final days of this project were work days to finish editing the GIFs and getting them emailed to me.

It initially took some time for my students to warm up to this lesson. As the days of the project went on, the students gradually became more engaged. They had such creative ideas when they created their random object gif, but the creativity really took off when they got into partners. I even had someone who was in that class as an AP 3D Art student who typically works independently make a GIF that day. Students were up and moving around the room coming up with fantastic ideas and it was very fun and playful in the room that day as students took pictures of one another doing silly motions like pretending to slide on the floor in celebration of making an imaginary soccer goal.

Areas of success:

Relationship building with students

Incorporating technology in lessons/teaching

Creating engaging lessons

Reflection:

As I reflect upon the last couple of months during my time at Regina, I grow in fondness for my time here. Teaching high schoolers during the tail end of the semester with the hope of summer break and graduation dawning upon them has had its challenges, but I am thankful for them. The reality of the end of the semester attitude has directed me to brainstorm and get creative with how I would introduce a lesson and encourage engagement. It was a learning curve to figure out how to respond to my Regina students, many of which were either pretty much wrapped up for the year or feeling generally uninspired. I discovered strategies and methods of teaching and introducing lessons that got students more fired up to make art than they had previously been. This included talking to them, and trying to figure out what they have never done before in art class and/or what truly interested them. I got them up and moving in classes like photography and working with partners on a project. Other students spent entire class periods laser-focused on their weaving, which many had found relaxing and fun. Weaving, I learned,  was an especially great project for these students, as many of them just wanted to engage and chat with their peers. Weaving/textile art in general can be a very social activity while also still remaining productive in class creating some beautiful artworks. Overall, my students got me to think outside of the box about ways I could incite the same excitement in them that I felt about teaching them these mediums and concepts.

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STUDENT TEACHING: Washington Elementary School 1/16/24 - 3/8/24

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STUDENT TEACHING: Washington Elementary School 1/16/24 - 3/8/24

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My lead lesson:

For one of my lead lessons, I taught a weaving lesson with third graders. Students wove with recyclable/trash materials and created a wall-hanging. There was a literacy and a cultural tie-in to a crocheting group of women in Gambia, and our overarching idea was tied to the environment and recycling. I opened up the lesson by first demonstrating how to add a warp string to a cardboard loom, then did a second demo on how to begin the weaving process. Once students got settled and had a few rows started, I then would read the story, “One Plastic Bag: The Recycling Women of Gambia” by Miranda Paul. Once students had filled up the majority of their loom, I did a final demonstration on how to take the weaving off of the loom to create the wall-hanging. There were many meticulous steps involved in this lesson, so I found breaking down the demonstrations into parts was very helpful for students. Students overall found the lesson appropriately challenging, and would feel a surge of confidence once they overcame a bump in the road. Once students began weaving, they were most engaged. I had all the trash materials pre-cut, and they loved shuffling through the bin and making their selections. Many students took the weaving a step farther and would create patterns based off of color or type of materials.

Areas of success:

Connecting with students, problem-solving and adapting, using multiple teaching methods and cross-curricular perspectives to support learning, apply content, and engage the learners.

Reflection -  How did you grow as a teacher, what did you learn?:

I learned, overcame, and gained so much during this experience. I began with a looming cloud over my head called imposter-syndrome, and grew exponentially in my sense of confidence as the lead classroom teacher. I learned how to think much more quickly on my feet, adapt when a lesson isn’t working, and gained skills on how to develop effective and engaging lessons that are appropriate based on learner development and needs. I practiced developing my own original lessons within a scope and sequence. I dove at the chance to teach a broad spectrum of mediums and techniques across grade levels such as painting, ceramics, weaving, and more. I gained skills in other areas such as getting to know students and classroom management, as well as gathering formative and summative assessment.

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Glass

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Glass

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A description of tack and full fusing:

Tack and full fusing are techniques used in making fused glass art. The tack fusing process involves heating the glass in a kiln to a temperature where it softens enough to stick together, allowing them to partially stick together without completely melting into a flat, smooth surface, which would be a full fuse. This method allows you to create dimensional and textured effects in their glass artworks. Unlike tack fusing, full fusing involves heating the glass to a higher temperature and for longer in the kiln, allowing the individual pieces to merge completely, creating a more uniform, homogenous shape.

A list of all equipment required to fuse glass:

Safety goggles

Gloves

Tweezers

Glass sheets/pieces

Wheeled glass scorer

Glass breaking plier

Cutting mats

Broom and dust pan

Elmer's glue

Heat resistant wire

Kiln shelf paper

Glass kiln

A description of how you would use glass fusing in the classroom, and what grade levels and safety considerations would you have:

I could see myself potentially using glass fusing in the classroom with middle school (6-8) and/or high school students (9-12). For middle school, I would introduce tools under close supervision, making sure to emphasize safety rules and making sure students understand how to responsibly use tools to avoid harming themselves or others unintentionally. I think it would be fun to have them begin to create intricate designs and create smaller panels and/or decorative items such as ornaments, jewelry, wall-hangings, etc. For high school grade levels, I would introduce projects that call for more intricate or complex designs, either representational or nonrepresentational, while still emphasizing personal responsibility when handling the tools and materials safely. I would also show students how to load and fire the glass in the kiln, and teach them how to grind their works for smoother edges.

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Printmaking: Relief Printing

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Printmaking: Relief Printing

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What did you find difficult about this relief printing technique?

The most difficult, or really frustrating part of the relief printing process was the ink gunking up and drying very quickly. But to counteract the quick drying and gunky-ness, I would have to repeatedly wash off my lino-block, the inking slab, and the brayer. It also made it challenging for me to make an even and dark print using the black ink. My most “even” prints were more gray-appearing than black, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just not what I was trying to do.

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Printmaking: Gyotaku/Fish Printing

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Printmaking: Gyotaku/Fish Printing

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Would you use this technique in your classroom? Why/Why not?

I would absolutely use this technique in my classroom, either elementary or secondary. I think it would be a great lesson to bring in elements of culture and history with the traditional Gyotaku techniques while doing a unit on print-making. I think it could be even more enriching, depending on your community. For example, my hometown is right on the Mississippi river and they are largely known for the lock and dam, as well as being a large boating/fishing community. What an additional great way to teach students about the local community as well as bringing a cultural tie-in, all while print-making! It is also just so fun, and I can only imagine how students would go crazy over printing with fish.

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Paper & Paper Treatments: Paper Making

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Paper & Paper Treatments: Paper Making

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Paper & Paper Treatments: Ebru Marbling 

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Paper & Paper Treatments: Ebru Marbling 

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Description of the process and how I would use it in an art classroom:

Ebru marbling is a method of making patterned paper by transferring color from the surface of a liquid onto paper. You are able to do this by thickening the water using Carrageenan, a gelling agent, and using water-based inks that float on the surface. Aluminum sulfate is also added to the surface of the paper to ensure a smooth and clear transfer. There are many techniques you can use to create a unique pattern: the stone technique is done by simply flicking a paint brush of ink over the water, or you can use droppers to add ink to the surface, and then manipulate the ink  using tools such as combs, tooth picks, or by using your breath. You then apply the paper, leave it on the surface for a couple of seconds, gently remove, and then rinse it well in a basin of water and leave it to dry.

I would use this in an art classroom when introducing a collaging or printmaking unit. I think it would be fun to teach junior or high school art students. It is very similar to printmaking, as with marbling you are transferring inks to paper, just in slightly different ways and using different techniques. Ebru marbling also creates very vibrant and color prints, and therefore I think it would be a good stand-alone lesson to tie in to color theory and challenge students to create unique compositions using only analogous colors, or only complimentary colors, so on and so forth.

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Paper & Paper Treatments: Suminagashi Marbling 

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Paper & Paper Treatments: Suminagashi Marbling 

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Brief overview of Suminagashi technique:

Suminagashi marbling is an ancient technique that consists of suspending color in a liquid and manipulating it into creating a variety of patterns and designs. You need a surfactant, which lowers the surface tension of the water allowing the ink to float, an oily ink called Sumi, and fine tipped calligraphy brushes. Henry showed us how you take two of these fine tipped brushes and dip one in a water and soap mixture, another in ink, and can dip them in alternatively. The water and soap mixture spreads the ink out so you can create space in between the inks. You can also use tools, such as toothpicks, to manipulate the ink creating lines and swirls.

Describe how you might incorporate paper marbling into a larger unit in the art classroom:

I might incorporate paper marbling into a larger unit in the art classroom with a printmaking or bookbinding unit. I think it would be fun to create journals from pages made using Suminagashi marbling, and then also create some marbled pages with the intent to print onto them, combining the two mediums.

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What were your considerations in preparing for exhibiting your student artwork?

In preparation of exhibiting my student’s artwork, I was primarily considering the importance of making sure each student was represented, and that each student had artwork to be displayed, even if they were only present 1-2 weeks, or even if an artwork was unfinished. My main priority was that if every student of mine made it to the art show they would be able to point out their artwork on display and say, “that is mine. I made that.” I was also carefully considering the placement of their artwork, making sure small people would be able to see everything by making sure it wasn’t hung up too high onto the walls, as well as keeping things organized by project.

What process did you and your peers go through to prepare?

To prepare for the show, we went through a planning process over time to distribute tasks amongst one another: creating a slideshow of images from the workshops, picking up snacks and coffee, bringing art-making supplies for kids to have access to during the celebration, etc. My peers and I also went through the process of sorting through student artworks, making sure they were ready to be put on display, ensuring each artwork was labeled with the students name, etc. I specifically had to hot glue some pipe cleaners on the back of my students ceramic butterflies so they could hang on the wall, as well as hot glue a wing that had broken off of a butterfly in the kiln firing.

How were you feeling leading up to the exhibition?

I was feeling pure joy and excitement leading up to the exhibition. I knew that the students had worked so hard, and that they were equally if not more excited. I was looking forward to seeing them again, and specifically seeing their faces as they got to witness all of their artwork on display.

How did students respond to the final exhibition?

From what I could tell, the students had a blast at the final exhibition celebration. Some of my kinders/first graders I could tell were slightly shy and nervous, but it was fun watching them from afar pull their parents, family members, friends, and supporters around and pointing at the artwork they made. A fun story from the show that was relayed to me by someone else who had overheard a conversation was one of my students was pulling another kid around the installation and explaining the processes and techniques they had used for each of the projects they did. Nothing feels better as a teacher to hear what sticks with students!

How did family members and supporters respond?

I heard nothing but awe and praise from the family members and supporters about the show, which was heartwarming to hear. I got to speak to the majority of my students' family members/supporters and they all kept gushing about how excited their kids were, how they had visited multiple times throughout the week while the show was up, how amazing everything looked, as well as how well the artworks were installed within the space.

What went into preparing for the art exhibition?

Much work went into preparing for the art exhibition. These preparations included labeling students' artwork, writing and printing out descriptions of the lessons students participated in, making sure each artwork was labeled with the students name. Then there was the installing part, which included picking out a space to hang artwork and arrange their pieces.  I personally was in charge of curating the slideshow, so I had to collect images from each group and figure out the technology of getting the slideshow to loop on a monitor, which was quite the challenge. It might as well have been rocket science, but it got done and worked!

How did you and your students feel at the exhibition?

I could tell students were very excited, and ultimately proud of their hard work being shown off. As the teacher, I also felt a deep sense of pride. Partially for all of the hard work it took for my peers and I to get the show put together, but largely for all of the hard work the students had done and how fantastic all of their artwork had turned out. It was a truly rewarding experience, and I think everyone would agree.

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Digital Fabrication: 3D Printing

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Digital Fabrication: 3D Printing

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Summarize and analyze 3D printing and the processes you used in making your piece.

My 3D printed sculpture was created using a couple of basic shapes and grouping them together to create a ring dish. I made the dish shape as well as my name “Jones” on the front of the dish using the ‘creating holes’ technique I learned when completing the starter tutorials. I made two identical prints of the same dish design, but for the second one I added another cylinder shape to create a place to hang earrings above the dish.

Description of if/how you would use 3D printing in an art class (include grade levels in reflection as well as details about the learning outcomes you would be working towards

I think the user-friendly interface of TinkerCAD makes me feel more comfortable introducing 3D printing to younger students in addition to secondary students, perhaps 5th-8th grade and above. With those younger grade levels, I think a soft introduction to 3D printing would work best by having them create small sculptures such as animals, or functional objects like keychains with their name. For older students, say 9th-12th grade, as they progressed I would create more challenges by having them work on a larger scale or create more large/functional pieces, or large sculptural works.

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Digital Fabrication: Laser Cut Sculpture

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Art Education Studio and Field Components - Digital Fabrication: Laser Cut Sculpture

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Summarize and analyze laser cutting and the processes you used in making your piece:

Being totally unfamiliar with Adobe Illustrator, once I heard that we were allowed to use pre-made laser cut files I was all on board with that. I liked the pattern that you could make that allowed the wood to bend, so I searched for something like that and went from there. I saw that you could make the cover of a journal or book with a laser cut using a similar pattern, so I downloaded that one. To make it a bit more personal to me and to try and attempt getting more familiar with using the software, I added some text to the file that would be raster engraved.

Description of if/how you would use a laser cutter in an art class:

I would be willing to use a laser cutter in an art class, but I would be more likely to incorporate it amongst upper level high school students (11th-12th) that took more advanced classes. My sole reasoning for this is because I would want to spend more time focusing on how to use Adobe Illustrator or other software options so that students wouldn’t feel inclined to source pre-made files online and could feel more confident making their own. I would be open to expanding this type of a lesson to a broader age range of students depending on the funding and resources available already within the school/art classroom.

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 6: Collaborative Suncatchers

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 6: Collaborative Suncatchers

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Title of Lesson: Collaborative Suncatchers

Age Group: K-1st

Teacher Name:

Date Taught: 11/4/23

Learning Objectives:

The learner will create an individual suncatcher  that will be part of a collaborative work using recyclable materials

The learner will create geometric shapes using lines drawn with a straight edge, and color.

The learner will gain a deeper understanding of light/the sun and what it provides.

Essential Questions:

What does light provide?

What are geometric shapes?

How can I create geometric shapes?

What is a suncatcher?

Summary of activity:

This week was our last week of Saturday Morning Art Workshops! To go out with a bang, for the final lesson, students created individual suncatchers that went together to make one collaborative work! We began the lesson with a conversation about collaborative artworks, and how artists come together to create one collaborative artwork made of multiple components. For our opening activity, we briefly reviewed geometric shapes, and I demonstrated to the students how you can create geometric shapes by using a straightedge and creating multiple lines all over the paper. Students used rulers as a straightedge and then made their own lines using sharpie. For the next chunk of instruction, I demonstrated different ways they can color in their shapes that they made using either tempera paint or markers, or both!

While students worked on coloring, we talked about what suncatchers are, and watched a read aloud of a children's book called, “You Are Light” by Aaron Becker. The book has a unique visual component that consists of bright die-cut circles with different colors on each page that illuminate when you place the book on top of a light source, similar to how their suncatchers would function. During this making period, students were encouraged to use a variety of different colors, as well as decorate the cardboard frames of their suncatchers.

Description of final outcomes:

Most students were able to complete their suncatchers, and all turned out incredibly colorful and vibrant. The students did a wonderful job using a ruler as a straightedge, and the end result was lots of sharp lines and geometric shapes that they had lots of fun coloring in.

Future Modifications:

If I were to teach this lesson again with an older group of students, I may modify this lesson to make them work on a larger scale, or maybe even challenge them to create symmetry with their geometric shapes. Another option would be challenging students to create figural/representational images: animals, plant motifs, people, using geometric shapes like you might see in a stained glass window or mosaic.

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 5: Fossils and Scratchboards

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 5: Fossils and Scratchboards

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Title of Lesson: Exploring the Environment and Fossils through Art

Age Group: K-1st

Teacher Name: Mya Cermak

Date Taught: 10/28/23

Learning Objectives:

learn about fossils and create their own fossil-themed scratchboard artwork.

Develop fine motor skills through mark-making

Be able to identify and explain what fossils are

Essential Questions:

How can I recreate what a fossil looks like?

How can I create a scratchboard?

How does a scratchboard work?

Summary of activity:

For the 5th week of SMAW, Mya taught a fun and engaging lesson where students got to learn about fossils and create their own scratchboards. This could be a potentially time consuming process for the relatively short amount of time we have with students, but Mya had a plan to counter this. To get them to color the bottom layer of their scratchboards as quickly as possible so they had more time for etching later on, she made it a game by seeing who could cover up their paper the most while playing a 5 minute timer. The students loved this bit, but they needed a bit more time to finish, so they begged for another timer, which Mya was hoping for and already had planned to give them another 3 minute timer to finish that first step. Mya also kept their end goal a secret the whole time, so when she got to the demonstration, everyone was pleasantly surprised.

The next step was to cover up their first layer of crayon with black pastel. After this step, Mya provided the students with a demonstration on how to draw certain types of fossils as well as bones, skulls of dinosaurs and other creatures, some plant-like items, etc. Then they had work time to create their own depiction of fossils by etching onto the scratchboards they had made using wooden tools. The activity also included an open discussion on what students know about fossils/how they’re made, if they have used scratchboards before, etc. Mya also showed the students a read aloud of a children's book titled, “Nature is an Artist.” by Jennifer Lavalee. Other resources Mya shared during this lesson were some papers that showed examples of what full dinosaur fossils looked like that students could reference while they worked.

Description of final outcomes:

At the end of the lesson, each student was able to successfully create their own scratchboard with a wide array of types of fossils. Some students created full dinosaur compositions out of bones, other students drew fossils that both Mya and I had never even heard of, and much more. Students loved the lesson as well, and were very engaged in their art making.

Future Modifications

If I were to teach this project myself with this particular age group, I might make a modification and include a time where students can practice drawing bones and fossils before etching them onto their scratchboards. I would also try to make it a point in the demonstration to show students how that can remedy mistakes. For an older age group, I might modify this lesson by having them work on a larger scale and put more emphasis on creating stronger, more intentional compositions within their fossil etchings.

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Art Education Studio and Field Components: Digital Fabrication - Making Marks With Spheros

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Art Education Studio and Field Components: Digital Fabrication - Making Marks With Spheros

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The Spheros/Mark making robots were pretty accessible to use and fun to work with. You simply had to download a free app that connects to the device, and use bluetooth to connect the Spheros to your cell phone. On that app you are able to manipulate the direction to Spheros rolls and how fast it goes. Within the app there are also other games and ways to move the Spheros. One I remember in particular was some sort of golf simulator where you swing your phone like a golf club and the Spheros move with that motion like the golf ball. You can attach anything to the Spheros, and cover it with any material. For our work, we tried a myriad of different methods to make marks on our paper. We taped markers, rolled them in paint, glitter, and more. Then everything else was randomness. We laid our paper on the floor, and rolled our Shperos covered in paint or taped with markers all over the paper randomly. I think I would use Spheros in an art class with older students from grades 3rd - 6th and above. I liked the challenge to figure out how to use the robots to make marks on a paper, so I think I would create a similar lesson for that age range of students. For the younger students I listed, grades 3rd - 6th, I would supply materials for them to use for mark-making rather than giving them free range of the art supplies.  

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Art Education Studio and Field Components: Textiles - Natural Dyes

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Art Education Studio and Field Components: Textiles - Natural Dyes

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Reflecting on my experience with dyeing and the process:

It felt very similar to using synthetic dyes, and was overall a fun experience. It was a good lesson to get outside and be somewhat active and communicate with classmates as we shared and passed around the dyes.

My final outcomes as compared to goals:

When it comes to tye-dying, I can never pick a pattern. I like it to be random and unpredictable, so I used the crumple tying technique. I used a wide variety of colors, but a lot of yellow and blue. I was hoping that it would be a lot more colorful, but the results were primarily yellow and green. There are some faint hues of purple and pink, but they will certainly wash out after the first one or two cycles in the washing machine. The crumple method worked out as much as I could have predicted, though there was a lot more white space than I anticipated, but I was working with a large shirt with a lot of space, and I crumpled it into a pretty small and tight ball so that may have been a factor.

Reflecting on the applicability of natural dyes, and/or dyeing in general, in the art classroom (based on my experience):

Based on my experience, I would say it isn’t the most applicable technique to incorporate into the art classroom, but not impossible if you have the resources and time. Of course we didn’t get to experience the same grueling process of creating the dyes and scouring the shirts and adding the mordant that Derrick did, but I imagine it would be hard to find the space, resources, and time to do that on your own as a teacher as well. It would also be quite challenging to do that process with students as well, since there can be so many chemicals, boiling, and odors involved. That being said, dying in general might be a good beginning or end of year activity where you could start up the conversation of sustainability that could transcend into the rest of the year, and students could maybe dye some t-shirts or artist smocks.

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 4: Ceramic Butterflies

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 4: Ceramic Butterflies

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LP Details

Title of Lesson: Ceramic Butterflies

Age Group: K-1st

Teacher(s) Names: Olivia Jones

Date Taught: 10/21/23

Learning Objectives and Essential Questions:

The learner will gain a deeper understanding of the life-cycle of a butterfly

The learner will be able to identify and recreate the form a butterfly and design of a butterfly’s wings

The learner will create one ceramic butterfly using the hand-building technique with clay

Essential Question: what is the life-cycle of a butterfly?

Summary of activity

The fourth week of Saturday Morning Art Workshops was also my second and my last solo-taught lesson for this semester. I decided that we were going to play with clay, and boy was it fun! We began the lesson with a very brief opening activity that got kids up and moving and dancing around, as they typically come in with a lot of energy. I played a video that was made by some teacher somewhere who wrote a short four minute song that went over the life-cycle of the butterfly, which was our connection to the overarching theme of environment. We had a smaller class this week, so the energy felt a little lower than normal, but most of the kids had lots of fun getting up into the middle of the room and coming up with little dances that synced with the different stages of the butterfly. We debrief afterward and discussed what we already knew and then what we learned about butterflies. These smart cookies already knew the life-cycle and it was a good refresher for them.

After the opening activity, we moved into the instruction time. Most students, if not all had touched clay before in the art classroom, so much of what we covered was easy to catch on to or was review for them. I gave them all three approximately ½ pound balls of clay, and demonstrated how to flatten them out to make the body and then two wings. We talked about the slip and scoring technique and how we use it to connect the different pieces. I used a fun rhyme that I learned from my practicum teacher to help students remember these steps: scratch, scratch, water, attach. From there we went over vocabulary such as symmetry and texture, and I demonstrated how to create texture and symmetry by impressing materials into the clay butterfly wings. Students then moved into a work period where they began slipping and scoring their butterflies together and creating their wing patterns using texture and symmetry. Once they finished those steps, we watched a read-aloud and then reviewed how to use underglazes and brushes.

Description of final outcomes.

By the end of the lesson, each student was able to complete all of the steps for the day, including glazing. The results of each student's butterflies showed their understanding of the terms and techniques we had learned and/or reviewed: symmetry, texture, slipping and scoring.

Future Modifications

I actually modified this lesson at the last minute from using the slab technique to hand-building/slipping and scoring technique after experimenting/practicing the lesson with a kindergartner in my practicum teachers class after school one day. Learning how to create a ceramic creature using the handbuilding technique and attaching  through slipping and scoring works well with K-1st graders, but the slab technique was a bit more challenging with their fine motor skills, as well as considering our limited amount of time. I think this lesson could be modified for older students (perhaps 2nd-3rd) by using the cutting from a slab technique instead.

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Art Education Studio and Field Components: Textiles - Weaving

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Art Education Studio and Field Components: Textiles - Weaving

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Would I introduce weaving into my future classes? Why/why/not?:

I would certainly be interested in introducing weaving into my future class. I had the most fun working with this technique, and found it quite meditative and I believe it could be a similar experience for students. There is so much history involved with weaving and a wide variety of artist examples you could tie in, which I think could make a really cool transdisciplinary lesson combining history/art history with art making.

How could I teach sustainability with weaving? How would I incorporate it?:

I could teach weaving sustainably incorporating a conversation with students about how we can work sustainably, and incorporate sustainable practices by using found materials to weave with: bark, plant fibers, scraps of yarn, cup up fabrics, grasses, maybe found scraps of plastic/other recyclable materials that have enough give to be attached to a loom. Another way to incorporate sustainable practices into the lesson would be creating our own looms similar to the ones we used in Kasap’s lesson that were made out of cardboard and yarn.

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Art Education Studio and Field Components: Textiles - Felting

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Art Education Studio and Field Components: Textiles - Felting

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Discussion of how I would feel about felting in my classroom:

I would feel slightly nervous about incorporating felting into my classroom, simply because it still feels a bit foreign to me. I think I would want to practice needle-felting on my own and get comfortable using the materials myself before bringing it into the classroom. As for wet felting, I think that is a lesson that could be stretched across various age groups and I think I would be more willing to teach a similar lesson in my own classroom.

How would I teach it?

I think it would be a fun challenge to teach students the wet-felting technique and start with having students make an individual work similar to how we did in Pursley’s lesson, and then do a large collaborative project where individual pieces come together and students create a collaborative wet-felted mural.

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Art Education Studio and Field Components: Textiles - Sewing

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Art Education Studio and Field Components: Textiles - Sewing

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A list of all materials used:

Sketching materials: scrap paper and pencil

Fabric

Stuffing

Needle

Thread

Buttons

A summary of the process

First, we sketched out my creature, a ghost, onto a piece of scrap paper. Then, I made another sketch of my ghost twice onto two pieces of off-white fabric leaving a border to make it easier when we began sewing the lines together. Then I  lined up the tracings and used the running stitch to attach the two sides. I made sure to leave a 2-3 inch gap that we would use to fit in stuffing. I turned the fabric inside out so the showing thread and outlines would be hidden on the inside, and then filled it with stuffing. Next I  closed my gap with the ladder stitch. For the face of our creature, I had the option to use either the running stitch or the back stitch for detail. I used the running stitch to create a mouth, and I also used a needle and thread to attach buttons as the eyeballs.

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 3: Life Cycles - Exploring the Environment and Life Cycles through Art

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 3: Life Cycles - Exploring the Environment and Life Cycles through Art

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LP Details

Title of Lesson: Life Cycles: Exploring the Environment and Life Cycles through Art

Age Group: K-1st

Teacher(s) Names: Mya Cermak

Date Taught: 10/7/23

Learning Objectives:

TLW understands the concept of seasons and how it affects the changing of leaves.

Understand that screen printing is a technique used to transfer designs onto different surfaces

explore and identify materials used in screen printing (screens, paint/ink, brayers, stencils)

Learn and practice basic safety rules when using screen printing materials (Don't roll brayer onto fingers, etc)

Learn how to recreate shapes when making a stencil using sticks and scissors.

Develop hand-eye coordination by aligning stencils and screens to ensure the printed design is accurate/complete.

Summary of activity

For the third week of Saturday Morning Art Workshops, Miss Mya taught a really exciting fall-themed screen printing lesson where students made some really exciting leaf prints. The opening activity was tied beautifully to the main objectives. Mya had a taped off section of the floor filled with some variously shaped and multi-colorful leaves gathered from outdoors. Students used the brayers to cover their leaves with paint and print them onto a piece of paper. The kids were very excited about the brayers, and some continued to cover up their prints as they kept rolling paint on top with the brayers. But the child is the artist- and they were quite proud of this work! After a very exciting opening activity, Mya played a read-aloud video for the children's book, Mia Posada’s, “Summer Green to Autumn Gold: Uncovering Leaves’ Hidden Colors.” I think this book was perfect for this lesson, and the kids really got a lot out of it. I think it would be a great addition for an interdisciplinary lesson, combining the arts and nature sciences.

After the read-aloud, Mya gave a live demonstration similar to mine last week, but instead she used the overhead projector to project her demo on a large screen on the wall. This way all students were able to see more clearly and watch Mya complete all the steps they were instructed to do. Mya showed them how to use the styrofoam boards with colored pencils, that the indents will be white or the “negative space” when making their print. They were instructed to make one print of a leaf using tempera paint and these styrofoam boards using this technique with colored pencils. They got to draw their own leaves after working with real leaves, which some students used as their inspiration if they weren’t sure how to draw a leaf.

Description of final outcomes.

The final artworks were very exciting. Students were very engaged with the project, and again, were so fascinated with the brayers. Similarly to the opening activity, they just kept rolling on tempera paint. Most prints were visible, some students decided to print more than one leaf onto their paper, and some students covered up their prints, which they were happy with. One student was not though, and was worried that they ruined their artwork since it became covered in brown paint. This student and I problem-solved together, and decided that it was not ruined, and that as the paper was still wet with paint, we could trace leaves onto the paint using our fingers. Overall, there was a wide array of beautiful leaf prints, as well as some beautiful brown paintings made by our young artists and they were all very confident about their final works, which we considered a successful lesson.

Future Modifications

If I were to teach Mya’s lesson in the future, I might restrict the amount of paint I give each student, and maybe go over expectations on how to use the brayers and when they should be used. While I don’t wish to restrict students' agency, at a certain point, the brayers were becoming a distraction to the lesson. Some students were even trying to roll paint onto themselves. Therefore, I might alter when students receive certain supplies to avoid said distraction. Otherwise it was a great lesson, and could be altered to a variety of age groups!

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 2: Watercolor Flower Mini-Sculptures

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 2: Watercolor Flower Mini-Sculptures

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LP Details

Title of Lesson: Watercolor Flower Mini-Sculptures

Age Group: K - 1st grade

Teacher(s) Names: Olivia Jones

Date Taught: 9/30/2023

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the lesson, the learner will form a deeper appreciation for the earth’s flowers

By the end of the lesson, the learner will be able to use the wet on wet watercolor technique

By the end of the lesson, the learner will assemble three unique watercolor flowers

Summary of activity

For our second week of Saturday Morning Art Workshops, I taught my first solo lesson. This week, our kindergarten and first graders learned a new watercolor technique called “wet on wet” and they used that technique to paint over a couple of coffee filters. We kicked off this lesson with a drawing activity where students were given a prompt to illustrate their best idea of what a flower looks like including details, colors, associations, etc. Some students were all for it feeling like experts on their flower knowledge, some students incorporated images in their drawings of flowers that demonstrated photosynthesis including a sun, the dirt, and water. Other students weren’t sure how they felt about drawing flowers, but were willing to give it a shot. We had one student who was interested in making a three-dimensional flower by folding and crumpling the paper instead of drawing, which was a really exciting endeavor and turned out really well. After this drawing activity, we gathered around on the floor where I read to them the children’s book, “Have You Ever Seen A Flower?” by Shawn Harris, which prompts the reader to think about looking more closely at nature, particularly flowers. The students were very engaged, but thought it was kind of silly because obviously they had seen flowers before!

After our brief storytime, I had the students gather around a table to have them all watch me demonstrate how to paint with watercolors with the materials we were using that day. At this point, I gave them each step for how they will complete their final piece: a water-color flower mini sculpture. We looked at all of our supplies, and went over the steps: first painting the coffee filters, then as they dried, students would paint the paper towel rolls that would become the flower stems. I showed them how to fold up their dried “flower petals” and tuck them into their “stems.” I finished up my demo by going over reminders on how we are to treat our paints and clean our brushes, which the kindergarten and first graders were experts at.

Description of final outcomes.

The final outcomes were spectacular! Each student finished at least one watercolor flower sculpture. In my original lesson plan, the goal was to have them each make three, but that was a slightly unrealistic goal reflecting back when also considering how much time we have for the workshop. One flower was just enough, and each one was beautiful and unique and reflected the talents and imagination of the artist. We had lots of students exploring with color, making multi-colored flower petals, using the color purple for the stems, and some students even cut out leaves from extra coffee filters and attached them to their stems! They really tested the limits of watercolor, mixing colors, and the limits of what a “flower” is supposed to look like. At the end of the day, they created the most diverse, colorful, maybe slightly brown/black, but imaginative field of flower sculptures you have ever seen.

Future Modifications

If I were to teach this lesson again, I would make some slight changes. I think it would be better for students to watch a live demo from the projector so everyone can see the same information more clearly. Additionally, I would have provided more water color paint trays. I only had two per table of six kids. They handled sharing very very well, but it certainly could have sped things up and made it a lot easier for the students to have their own watercolor tray or at least have them share with no more than one other person. I might also shorten other parts of the lesson, such as the storytime or the opening activity, to allow more time for the creating period so that all students can have a chance to add leaves to their stems.

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 1: Animal Puppetry

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Saturday Morning Art Workshops Week 1: Animal Puppetry

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LP Details

Title of Lesson: Animal Puppetry

Age Group: K - 1st grade

Teacher(s) Names: Olivia Jones and Mya Cermak

Date Taught: 9/23/2023

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the lesson the learner will understand the concept of similarities and differences between animals.

Sharing and identifying at least one similarity between very different animals

By the end of the lesson the learner will enhance social and communication skills.

By participating in group discussions about the animals they've learned about and their puppet creations.

By the end of the lesson the learner will foster an appreciation for nature and animals

Develop a sense of curiosity and wonder about the natural world and its diverse creatures.

Understand the importance of treating animals with kindness and respect.

By the end of the lesson the learner will develop fine motor skills and creativity

Demonstrate basic puppet-making skills by cutting, gluing, and decorating paper plates to create  simple animal puppets.

Use puppets to act out simple stories or scenarios involving animals, fostering creativity and imagination.

Summary of activity:

This first week of Saturday Morning Art Workshops, our students created at least one animal puppet using recyclable materials. To begin our first week of SMAW, we engaged in an opening activity that served as a fun strategic way for us teachers to get to know our students' names, as well as for the students to get to know one another's names. We each went around in a circle and shared our name, plus an animal that starts with the same letter as their first name and a quick action. This also helped us to gauge the personalities of some of our students: some were very shy, others had big personalities that we had to wrangle in to keep on task. We read a book together next, called “Different? Same!” by Heather Tekavec.

This book served as somewhat of a review of students' schema of animals, and specifically animal characteristics and relationships to one another. There is also a different, deeper meaning in the story; that though a group of animals may seem completely different upon first glance, if we look a bit closer, we can always find similarities. After reading the book, Mya and I passed out materials and explained to the students their objectives. Before handing out materials, we showed the students our teacher examples, and asked students to point out similarities between our two different animal puppets: a panda and a raccoon. They did a fantastic job recognizing the characteristics that our two examples shared. We handed out materials including: paper scraps, paper rolls, and students began the making process.

Description of final outcomes:

I was really anticipating seeing some exciting final outcomes for this lesson, but the students really blew those expectations out of the water! There was so much exploration with materials taking place, students working large scale/covering the whole paper plate, adding features with glue and yarn or paper plate scraps, as well as adding their own ways to hold the puppet up (like gluing a stick or a paper towel roll to the back, etc). The original objective was to have students make two puppets, but due to it being the first week, managing time was wonky. Despite this, all students were able to complete one puppet successfully.

Future Modifications:

If I were to teach this lesson again, I would manage time a little bit differently so that students have more time to work on the actual art-making, as well as making room for time at the end where we can have a debrief discussion so that I can assess how students felt about their final outcomes/understanding of what we talked about.

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Art Education Studio & Field Components: Video Installation

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Art Education Studio & Field Components: Video Installation

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The tools we used required for our techniques/materials included: iMovie for audio/video editing, a projector for the installation, bluetooth speakers for audio, as well as tape for hanging up other materials within the space for the installation.

The materials we used included: made video, made audio + some found audio, a giant blue tarp, white paper, a fan, an artificial tree, an analog clock, a mirror, tissue paper, an artificial fireplace, two wooden mannequins, ceramic pots, a radio/cd player, handheld mixer, an iron, vases filled with artificial flowers, and a wooden chair.

My group and I began our process with a brainstorming session on our concept and how we wanted to install our video. We settled on using a single projector, but we wanted to experiment with overlapping video on a single channel with edited audio in the background, almost like a soundscape. We also wanted to experiment with creating a looping video. We spent some time collecting video footage of both natural and urban environments, and sliced up the audio in those videos in iMovie. We used the opacity feature on iMovie to lay video on top of video, and used some found audio from the free music archives of more clear city/urban noises to add emphasis to the contrast of the two environments. The rest of our procedures were the installing of the video, as well as the installation of the space surrounding the video projection. We hid speakers, incorporated our found materials into the space, blocked the sunlight with a blue tarp, and arranged chairs for viewing.

Our experiment went quite well. We were able to execute our idea of using overlapping images to make a transitional collage of sound and video; a soundscape beginning with peaceful nature-sounds turning into a disruptive urban soundscape. We were able to connect audio to speakers, and create a video loop for continuation, though it was somewhat choppy, it still worked.

I think it would be a fun lesson for students to think about different ways they can use collage to create art; both with physical materials or with digital materials. Students could experiment with making new compositions by layering, altering opacity, cropping, cutting, etcetera. This could be found materials, made materials, or both like our video installation.

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Art Education Studio & Field Components: Outdoor Installation

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Art Education Studio & Field Components: Outdoor Installation

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The main tools used for our outdoor installations were primarily our hands.

We collected materials such as: bark, twigs, large sticks, leaves, yellow and white wildflowers, and wild grasses.

Similarly to how my group and I began our ready-made installation, this group (of different people) also began by sourcing out a location to begin the process, and we stumbled upon this perfect space at the bottom of a trunk of a fallen tree. It served as the perfect frame. We decided we wanted to make a trail of natural materials pouring out of the tree as if new life was emerging from its base, so we began collecting bark, the flowers, and twigs, and began arranging them in a way so it looked as though they were trailing out of the tree. The large sticks, almost full branches, we used to create almost a makeshift lean-to/shelter like aspect on the side of the fallen tree’s trunk. I missed the second day of working on this installation, but we got a lot done on the first day.

That being said, though I did miss working on the project on the second day, I did get to see images of the final results and I would say the experiment went successfully. It was interesting to see all natural materials being used to create a work of art in a natural space, and it turned out very visually pleasing to the eye. It was also fun to work outdoors and get our hands dirty.

Using natural materials to create installations outdoors would make a wonderful lesson for learning about the environment, having students connect with nature and also collaborating with one another.s

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Art Education Studio & Field Components: Ready-Made Installation

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Art Education Studio & Field Components: Ready-Made Installation

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My collaborators and I used found objects to create our installation. Our main tools used for these materials were our hands.

The found objects we used included: an artificial tree, a fan, an assortment of yarn, a tall metal rolling cart, ribbons, mirrors, an analog clock, and seven metal chairs.

Our process for creating this installation began with sourcing a space to install our ready-made materials. Once we picked this out, we began collecting some materials, starting with the larger objects that served as our focal point, such as the giant metal cart and the tree. Once we had a plan in place for what we wanted to add to build around our concept of the environment/forest fires, we sourced out the rest of the materials. The yarn and ribbon took the most time. We individually tied each ribbon to the fan and wrapped the yarn all throughout the tree and the metal cart and connected it to the chairs.

Our whole installation was experimental, as we kept adding things and building layers of meaning as we went along with the process. For most of us, overall it was my collaborators and I’s first experience with ready-made installation on a large scale. I would say we enjoyed the process, were successful, and finished the project impressed with how much we could do with simple miscellaneous objects and materials with only our hands as tools.

I think making ready-made installations using found objects in the classroom, or even having them bring things from home, would be a fantastic way to get students introduced to other ways of making that are active and can have them collaborating with one another. I think this would be a fun technique to learn as a first day/first week of school project to get students working and already collaborating with one another.

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SoTA Week 7, April 20, 2023: Printing a Smile

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SoTA Week 7, April 20, 2023: Printing a Smile

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Title of Lesson: Printing a Smile
Age Group: Grades 7-12
Teacher: Lauren
Learning Objectives:

By the end of the lesson the learner will be able to demonstrate how to properly carve and print a linoleum block.

By the end of the lesson the learner will be able to proficiently create a work of art that connects to a broader idea representing their personal content.

By the end of the lesson the learner will be able to understand the importance of planning and sketching before a project’s execution.

Lauren led us in an incredibly fun art lesson where students were to make lino prints of something that simply made them happy. Students were given a very clear and direct introduction to some vocabulary terms in relation to the tools and methods they would be using to create their prints. We looked at a wide variety of artist examples such as Elizabeth Catlett, a very important and relevant figure to the University of Iowa. Lauren herself showed lovely examples of her own work with the same materials students would be using, which was a cool piece that incorporated lyrics from one of her favorite songs. After giving a brief but concise demo on how to carve the linoleum blocks with the tools, students jumped into sketching on their designs for the project.

As students were penciling their designs onto the linoleum blocks, we had a fun conversation about the students' various interests; this week being video games. This process took some time, but once they had their designs sketched out students began carving straight away in hopes to make at least one print before our hour and half was up. This process took the majority of our time together. Lauren walked around checking in with each student’s progress throughout this creating period while we continued our conversation of video games, movies, and more. Once the first student had finished carving, Lauren had everyone pause carving to come watch a quick inking demo at another station. At least two or three students were able to make their first ink print by the end of the class, which was a happy surprise due to our limited time together!

Overall, this was a very successful lesson. Students really used their time efficiently, and were very engaged in the art-making process. Everyone was immensely productive and integrating into the lino carving process, even during our silly discussions about our shared interests. At the end of the lesson, we had at least a few first prints made, which was fantastic! Due to lino printing being a relatively long process with multiple steps, we were just hoping for the students' lino carvings to be finished, so this was a happy outcome. Everyone else who didn’t get to make their first print as well as those ready to make their second or third, will be able to finish their project next week when we meet for our final week of School of The Arts.

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SoTA Week 6, April 13, 2023: Stop Motion GIF

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SoTA Week 6, April 13, 2023: Stop Motion GIF

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Title of Lesson: Stop Motion GIF

Age Group: Grades 7-12

Teacher: Tess

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the lesson the learner will develop a short stop motion animation and pair it with an audio of their choice.

By the end of the lesson the learner will be able to operate a stop motion application (Stop Motion Studio).

By the end of the lesson the learner will be able to justify their creative choices when it comes to the production of their animation.

Tess opened up this lesson with a really fun and collaborative art-making activity that is most commonly referred to as the “exquisite corpse” drawing activity. Essentially, students were paired into groups of three and were given three pieces of paper with three folds to make the separate boxes. They were given a short time, around 30 seconds or so, to draw a head in the first round, a torso/arms in the second, and then the legs and feet in the last round, passing their papers to one another in between rounds. This resulted in three different characters with some funky bodies and other unique features.

We moved on from the opening activity to talking about the day’s lesson, which was stop-motion animation. Students were to create a short gif or video using stop-motion to tell a story or some form of narrative about themselves, or just any topic that has personal significance to them. They were given some great examples, and were walked through how to use the functions on the app called “Stop Motion”  they would use to create their videos. Once students were equipped with knowledge, they began creating their characters or their scenes. Once they had their subjects created, they began the stop-motion process.

The final outcomes turned out very successfully! Each student had completed a short gif/video that was personal to them. Some students collaborated, creating a stop-motion video of crayons moving together to create a rainbow. Each student had just enough time to complete their video, and the results were spectacular. The students also enjoyed the process, once they learned how to use the software, they were very engaged in their art-making. It was overall a very successful and fun art lesson!

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SoTA Week 5, April 6, 2023: "Sanctuary Painting" 

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SoTA Week 5, April 6, 2023: "Sanctuary Painting" 

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Lesson: "Sanctuary Painting - Watercolor"
Teacher: Olivia Smith (me!)
Ages: Grades 7-12
Learning Objectives:
●  Students will learn how to paint with watercolors with three different techniques demonstrated by the instructor: wet on wet, dry brush, and pull in color.

●  By the end of the lesson, the learner will have completed two paintings: one experimental painting using at least two watercolor techniques, and one conceptual painting that represents the learner’s interpretation of what their sanctuary is using at least one technique.

●  Students will be paired into partners where they will think and share with one another their thoughts on how the assignment went for them by answering questions such as: If I did this painting again, would I do anything different? What was challenging? What went well? Then, partners will share their answers with the rest of class.

I started off my solo lesson with a fun opening activity where students engaged in a collaborative art process of sketching, drawing, and writing their ideas after discussing the prompt, “what is a sanctuary for you?” with a partner. Drawing paper was sprawled out in the center of the table as students drew images or sketched ideas and wrote identifying words that related to people, places, or things that related to what a sanctuary was for them. Students were shown various artist examples as well as examples from myself that showed different ways personal places of safety and peace can be depicted in varying styles.

Since we were working with watercolor for this lesson, I demonstrated several different watercolor techniques that can be used in the art process such as wax resist, wet on wet, graded and flat washes, and much more. Students were given time to complete their first painting, which was an experimental painting where they had to use at least three techniques before jumping into their second painting, the “sanctuary painting.” For the remainder of the lesson, the students had ideas they jumped into painting. There was a genuine excitement for different techniques, lots of trial and error, and overall a great discussion happening throughout the art-making process.

At the end of the lesson, most everyone was able to finish both of their paintings. The final outcomes exceeded my expectations, and the students overall enjoyed the whole process. Each student's artworks were completely unique, and they were very successful in their use of different techniques; not afraid of thinking outside the box as to how they can execute an idea with the watercolor techniques they had practiced.

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SoTA Week 4, March 30, 2023: "Identity Vessels"

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SoTA Week 4, March 30, 2023: "Identity Vessels"

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Lesson: "Identity Vessels"
Teachers: Lauren and Tess
Ages: Grades 7-12
Learning Objectives:

By the end of the lesson the learner will apply and perform ceramic techniques including pinching, coiling, and slab building.

By the end of the lesson the learner will be able to identify ceramic tools.

By the end of the lesson the learner will be able to identify the different stages of clay.

Lauren and Tess opened up the lesson with a fun activity that invited students to create tiny sculptures of their favorite foods, animals, and more in quick speed rounds. We went around the room showing off our interesting and rather abstract versions of various items where the rest of the class had to guess what was made, and then the original creator shared the what and why behind what they made for that round. Lauren and Tess proceeded to give really insightful instruction on different hand-building methods for ceramics such as slab, coil, and pinching. We passed around some teacher examples of different vessels made from the varying techniques discussed. Students then had some time to sketch and brainstorm how they could use one of these techniques to create a ceramic object of personal meaning to them.

As students were ready to begin building and sculpting their ceramic pieces, they were given brief demos on how to wedge the clay to avoid air bubbles, as well as how they can use the different ceramic tools provided to help mold, shape, smooth out, attach, or add texture to their pieces. After wedging their clay, students jumped into hand-building their objects already prepared and aware of what they were going to create. The lesson resulted in several unique and individual pieces ranging from mugs, mini-sculptures, and much more.

The final outcomes were incredible, as each student really enjoyed the art-making process and was able to finish their piece by the end of the lesson. Their final pieces were special and unique to the individual artist, and all students had a lot of fun working with clay, as it was newer to some students and familiar to others, but everyone was excited to get to create using clay. The final product resulted in a wide arrange of different types of mugs, vessels, and sculptural pieces that had significant meaning to each young artist.

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SoTA Week 3, March 23, 2023: "What Color Am I" Wind Chimes

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SoTA Week 3, March 23, 2023: "What Color Am I" Wind Chimes

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For the third week of SoTA, Abbey taught a wonderful solo lesson on glass cutting and making a wind chime from the glass. The overall learning objectives were that students will take a quiz to identify which color they are and produce a wind chime that reflects their color and use glass to create different geometrical pieces while making associations and connections to their  color and attributes.  students were introduced to glass-cutting techniques, and how to assemble a wind chime from glass, plastic wire, glue, and wooden rods. Students explored the overarching theme of identity by taking a personality quiz that gave students a color that fit their personality type. Colors students got were gold, green, orange, blue, etc. Students were introduced to safety tools and the proper procedures should one get cut by a piece of glass, as well as how to safely handle the tools we would be using for the project.

After taking the color personality quiz, students were given time to write down their color personality type and characteristics from their results that they either felt were very true about themselves, kind of true, or not true at all. After a brief discussion over the test results, students were sent off to begin collecting glass that fit the color results they received from the test. Since most of the glass available varied in color and most pieces were scraps, students ended up obtaining a variety of different shades and hues of their original color. Once students had a solid collection of glass, they began cutting and arranging their glass pieces how they would like to hand them. Glass pieces were attached to string by hot glue, and the string was attached to a wooden rod.

The final results were absolutely amazing. Students showed so much creativity and added a unique personality to each of their pieces. They were very intentional about how they cut their glass, and the way each piece was arranged based on size and color. Students were all very engaged with the project, and seemed to enjoy glass, which was very encouraging considering it was a first time experience for most if not all of the students. One student even created an almost mosaic-like arrangement of her glass pieces. It is hard to describe without a visual, but it was almost like a stained glass window if it were broken and rearranged to its original image. Overall, the lesson was very successful.

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SoTA Week 2, March 2nd, 2023: Alphabet Photography

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SoTA Week 2, March 2nd, 2023: Alphabet Photography

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We started off our second week of SoTA with a photo scavenger hunt activity to stir discussion about what kind of things we take pictures of, or pictures they’re naturally drawn to. After being introduced to the day’s objectives, which were to photograph 3 images of each letter of their name or a word they associate with their identity, and then submit their final images via email, students practiced the creative process of journaling to begin thinking about what name or word they would like to photograph. My co-teacher Abbey and I prompted the students to think about what names were significant to them, and why and how shapes their identities. My co-teacher and I gave examples of some names that were important to us, and shared our own photographs that modeled what the students would create.

After introducing the project, we all ventured outside of the classroom as a big group to go take pictures. Students were exploring all kinds of random nooks and crannies and strange places you wouldn’t think to look for letters. We never explicitly said that students couldn’t use letters they found in street signs or posters, but no one did. Every student found letters on windows, gates, light posts, puddles, parking lines, trees, coat racks, water drains, cracks on a wall, and so much more. Post picture taking, we introduced and gave a demo on how to use a free photo editing app called “Photoshop Express” that is downloadable on any smartphone device. Students had the choice to use the app to edit, or edit directly from their smartphone’s built-in editing software, which was just as effective for the project.

As we circled around the outside of North Hall, students were very engaged in their photo taking. One student got particularly creative and used a puddle to create footprints in the shape of a capital “R.” As students became immersed in their search for letters to photograph, the project became unintentionally collaborative amongst the entire group. Frequently, someone would call out, “Hey, this tree branch looks like a ‘P’ if anyone is looking for one!” Continuously, for the entire time we were taking pictures outside, this communication and collaboration occurred. While this wasn’t planned, it was incredibly encouraging to see students so excited to be finding letters and helping their peers.

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School of The Arts Week 1, 2/23: Alcohol Ink Tiles & Collaborative Project

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School of The Arts Week 1, 2/23: Alcohol Ink Tiles & Collaborative Project

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On Thursday, February 23rd, I had the amazing privilege to co-teach amongst my peers in the Arts Ed program. We met some really cool students from our local community, and together we created alcohol ink tiles and then arranged them all together into a larger collaborative piece, like a mural. We had a student in grade 6, others freshman in high school, and one high school senior. My co-teachers, Abbey, Lauren, Tess, and I had a lot of fun working with these students, and they all made really cool works of art! The learning objectives for the project included using 3 different techniques in applying alcohol ink to the ceramic tiles, collaborating with one another to discuss and brainstorm common ideas and themes, and then communicating and collaborating with one another to arrange and design a larger composition of everyone's tiles to emphasize the groups larger identity.

For our first week of School of The Arts, we got to meet some of the students we will be creating with for the next several weeks! We started off our time together with an icebreaker activity while everyone was eating snacks and settling in. We went around the room and shared names, preferred pronouns, and our year in school/what school we go to. Both students and co-teachers answered these questions as a way to introduce ourselves as we begin to get to know one another better. We provided some paper and colored pencils/markers for students to create name tags to place in front of them at their tables. We then moved on by introducing our Big Idea for the next several weeks, which is identity. We described our objectives for the day, which was to create the alcohol ink tiles and eventually the collaborative tile mural, and then put on some music while we then gathered around to demonstrate the different techniques we would be using. Students then jumped right into tile-making using all different kinds of techniques; some even came up with their own! Students and co-teachers alike were painting ink, dropping ink, straw-blowing, smearing, splattering, etc.

Once we had all of our tiles completed and mostly dried, we had the students bring their tiles all to the same table where they would be arranged into a collaborative mural. We introduced them to different artists, some used tiles in their artworks to create a larger picture like we would do, and one in particular, Anuja Aggarwal, who uses alcohol ink. We allowed them some time to think about themes and patterns in design and color that they saw with some assistance and ideas offered by my co-teachers and I, but pretty soon the students took initiative and began moving tiles around to make a gradient of the common colors amongst the very different tiles. Students began separating them into groups of color starting with yellows and oranges, pinks, purples, and then blues into greens and yellows. We talked about how cool it was that all of our very different tiles that mirrored each student’s unique art styles and doodles and ideas came together to create a bigger picture that reflected a larger group identity.

The final outcome was that the collaborative mural had exceeded my expectations, which were already high. This was an exciting project that my co-teachers and I were very thrilled to try, as none of us had created using alcohol ink on tiles before. We all sensed and experienced that the students were equally excited and engaged with the project, which was very encouraging for all of us. At the very end, the majority of the students were taking pictures of not just their individual tiles, but the whole new piece we had created together. It was deeply heartening to witness the students being so proud of their completed artwork. My co-teachers and I plan on permanently attaching the mural onto a piece of plywood so when it comes time for the students to have their art show, they can view their collective artwork in its final form.