This journal only represents about 25% of the thinking and reflection that I have done. There are topics that I haven’t covered in this blog that I have given serious consideration to including:
- Is it dangerous to pigeon hold students based on perceived talents?
- What are the additional challenges of teaching art in regional or remote settings? What resources are available to give students some of the advantages that museum programs offer when the nearest museum is hundreds of kilometers away?
- Is it important to address the issue of commercialization and teach students that the creation and appreciation of art has intrinsic value outside of any economic interests? (In particular, I was thinking about the effect of television shows like ‘So You Think You Can Dance” and “Australian Idol”?
- What are the social justice implications of arts education? Is it fair that some students receive outside instruction in visual arts, dance, drama and music? Don’t we have a duty to deliver these programs to the underprivileged?
These are just some of the issues I have wrestled with. I also don’t think that I have definitively answered any of the questions I have posed throughout this piece. I still don’t know whether students enter the classroom with potential or pre-determined talents. I do believe, however, that delivering daily opportunities to create and scaffolded art instruction are essential to fulfilling potential and developing talent.
I think, though, that I am making some progress. I am starting to see what a quality arts program looks like and have some idea about how to implement one in my own classroom. Vygotsky once said that “The best stimulus of creativity in children is to organize their live and environment so that it leads to the need and ability to create.” Although I believe that children learn through play and that open ended activity time should be made available to students daily, I also don’t think it’s enough just to leave the children to their own devices. I like the idea of introducing new stimulus or materials to challenge students to create. Participating in the play also presents opportunities to learn about student curiosities and pose questions or situations that will extend learning.
One thing that this art journal has revealed to me is the potential of the emergent curriculum. I started this journal by considering Picasso’s point of view but haven’t stuck to that theme because it would not have been an authentic representation of the thinking and art making I was actually doing. I started with a stimulus but went somewhere unchartered and completely unexpected. I can honestly say that this journal was process rather than product driven. Perhaps the best outcome of that is that it gives me space to continue the process, something I plan on doing during my next prac and beyond.
Additionally, I will continue to create art. What started off as a daunting chore has evolved into a genuine interest. I especially enjoy working and exploring with colours and texture. My favourite material to date is chalk. Below are my latest creations.
One of the things I noticed in earlier drawings which fascinated me was how laying and blending colours could create texture and three dimensionality. I have struggled with is flatness in most of my works. Even in landscapes where the contrast between foreground, middleground and background should have created perspective and distance, the pictures looked flat. In this drawing, I tried to make the flower come out off the page. I think that has been achieved. I can now apply what I have learned here to future works.
This picture was another homage to Emily Carr. I wanted to give extra consideration to weather. I wondered how to show a storm. I experimented in a number of plans and sketches how to create the appearance of a storm and ultimately found that blending a cool pink and orange with black and using swirling cloud like strokes at the top and longer “rain like” strokes below produced the effect I was looking for.
In addition to flatness, one of the other criticisms I have of my work to date is its lack of motion. Aside from the bird, I think the rest of my pieces have a certain static quality to them. Also, all of my other waterscapes used morning light with calm seas. I wanted to try something different so I sketched this picture of violent waves crashing against rocks at dusk. I wanted to give myself the additional challenge of trying to draw a waterscape without the colour blue. I love the combination of colours in this picture. When I look at it, I can actually hear the waves crashing onto the rocks and feel the haunting glow of the moonlight.
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