Their Work, Not Mine.

rebecca roberts.

[email protected]

In 2003 I replaced a teacher who was retiring after 30 years at a high school in Brooklyn, New York. Filing cabinets lined the room and blocked the windows. I threw out a dozen garbage bags a day for a week straight, and in doing so I found this, a paint by number worksheet made by the retired teacher entitled Road To Nowhere. It was one of many he created for his students. I saved it as a reminder that the art being made in my classes is theirs, not mine.

I now teach at a small private school on the outskirts of Boston. At my school, seniors take a class in the spring called Senior Studio. There are no projects assigned and the course ends with an exhibit in our school gallery. Students are expected to come to the class with ideas for their own work. One of the classes they take as juniors is called Advanced 2D Art and its goal, in part, is to prepare students for Senior Studio by making their own work. In Advanced 2D Art students commit to exploring one theme for the entire term.

We begin by looking many images of art in a short amount of time.

Students record their findings on this worksheet.

We discuss the students findings and build a list of possible themes to make art about. There is a lot of debate about which topics are themes and about which ones have the most potential. We define a theme as a big idea, something that you cannot hold or touch.

Students commit to one theme for the entire term. The goal is to choose something that is broad enough so they can explore many different ideas, but not so broad that it will overwhelm them. Some students try on different themes before committing. Everyone begins with a web. The web is a place for uncensored thinking. Anything that comes to mind related to the theme ends up on the web.

The web becomes a road map for the rest of the term.

Students begin to create art about their theme with The Index Card Project. They fill 50 index cards with imagery related to their theme using ten different materials or techniques in one week.

The goal of this project is to move quickly through as much imagery related to the topic as possibleto get the clichs out of their systemsto get warmed up.

Armed with their webs and their fifty index cards students begin to refine their approach to their theme by writing a statement of purpose on their blog. They also create a work of art inspired by their statement.

Statement of Purpose Project by Courtenay Barton, 12, ink and acrylic on paper.

Statement of Purpose Project by Amanda Saker, 12, pencil and watercolor on paper.

At this point students begin a series of projects using their theme as a guide.

The Juxtaposition Project, by Courtenay Barton, 12, collage and watercolor on paper.

The Juxtaposition Project, by Emily Levesque, 12, acrylic and sharpie on paper.

The Layering Project, by Emily Magee, 12, tissue paper, tracing paper, found images, sharpie, and wax on board.

The Layering Project, by Amanda Saker, 12, tracing paper, drawing paper, pencil, and thread.

The Layering Project, by Taylor Hayes, 12, found papers, wax, xerox transfer, and push pins on board.

The Text Project, by Amanda Saker, 12, paint marker, xerox transfer, and sharpie on wood.

The Text Project, by Emily Levesque, 12, magazine, acrylic, and sharpie on paper.

The curriculum is layered and projects overlap. While students are working on their theme based projects, they are also drawing from observation one day a week. Subjects for these drawings relate to the students themes. I compare these weekly drawings to lifting weights or running lapsthey keep us in shape for our more imaginative work.

Students also work in their sketchbooks outside of class.

Weekly assignments create a lens through which students see their theme in the world.

Students use what theyve discovered in their sketchbook to fuel their in-class projects.

Students use blogs to collect source material, to record artists they relate to, and to document and reflect on their progress.

My goal in developing this curriculum was to help students see that they could commit to exploring one big theme through many ideas and through different ways of working. Watching my students do this has influenced how I approach all my classes. It has helped me to see what kinds of things help to create an environment that supports students in finding their own work.

CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITIES.

At the beginning of the year ninth graders look at sketchbooks filled by former students and famous artists. They record their observations by making lists of potential materials, techniques, and subject matter on the first page of their own sketchbook.

Before starting a portrait project ninth graders make a list of possible subjects. I encourage them to get ideas out of their heads an onto paper quickly. They eliminate ideas one at a time until they settle on something that feels right to them.

Students use their sketchbooks to consider possible outcomes for their ideas. Sometimes students feel so precious about their ideas it can be hard for them to progress. The sketchbook allows them to choose one thing to work on now, with the possibility of coming back to work on other ideas later.

This habit of considering all ideas is especially important when students work collaboratively. Everything is worth a second look. Ideas inspire ideas.

BRAINSTORM & EXPERIMENT.

Once an idea has been selected it gets developed. This looks different for different students. Sometimes lists are made. Sometimes drawings are used for practice.

Materials are tested.

Drafts are made.

Thinking is done.

COLLECT.

Encourage students to find and collect what they like. In my classes students collect images in their sketchbooks and.

online. Students use their blogs to collect images they are drawn to.

CHOICE.

Teenagers will be more invested in finding their own work if they have choices about what they do and how they do it. I am always thinking about how much choice makes sense for my students. In my classes the amount of choice varies by grade. For example, in ninth grade everyone starts with the same sketchbook, but emphasis is put on making them look unique from the start.

In ninth grade students work in their sketchbooks both in and outside of class.

They are expected to fill four pages per week, but no assignments are given.

Some students choose to explore one topic or technique in depth.

Others try something new each week. I encourage them to follow their instincts.

To make choices that lead to interesting and successful work that represent a students unique ideas, they need to have experiences with a wide range of materials and techniques.

They need to understand the potential of traditional and non-traditional materials and techniques to communicate their ideas and

they need to be comfortable with the unpredictable, with what they dont know.

To make good choices students need access to a wide range of supplies

both traditional and non-traditional.

They need to know where materials live in the classroom and how to take care of them.

PARAMETERS.

Parameters, when carefully laid out, give students something to hang their ideas on. Varying the parameters from project to project allows students to see different ways to make their ideas visible. As they move through the curriculum fewer parameters are provided.

Project sheets list parameters in the form of a checklist.

The checklist helps students to learn various ways of developing and executing ideas, especially in ninth and tenth grade.

TIME.

Taking time allows students to get used to the idea that the creative process is something that unfolds slowly and often in unpredictable ways. Students should be encouraged to screw up, to make mistakes, and to see what is possible.

Students need time to figure out what they are interested in at their own pace. They need time to figure out what they want to communicate and how they want to express it. These pictures were taken over the course of two minutes. Everyone is doing something different and is at a different stage in the process.

I have found time in the curriculum by de-emphasizing due dates and by overlapping projects. I introduce new projects before others are finished so that students have multiple projects going on at any one time. This allows students to work at their own pace and to get more involved in some projects that others. It also reduces the number of times I hear, Im done. Project sheets hang on this bulletin board in the studio and are posted on the class website to help students to be self-sufficient.

We keep track of whats happening on this white board at the front of the room. Daily activities are posted and a running to do list grows on the right hand side. Students learn to organize themselves and to prioritize. This frees me up to work with students one on one.

FEEDBACK & REFLECTION.

Students feel more confident in their ideas when they have the chance to share them with each other. Critiques serve as a chance for students to share ideas and ways of working with the purpose of moving their work forward rather than as judgment of a quality product.

I do not participate in group critiques, except for the occasional nudge when a group is struggling. It is the studentartists responsibility to get feedback from their peers. They are also expected to document that feedback for future consideration, starting in ninth grade.

In ninth and tenth grade students build the skills necessary to give and receive feedback by discussing shared artistic experiences; projects in which students produce similar outcomes.

Written reflections require students to stop and think about how their work is developing. Thinking about the twists and turns of their creative process allows them to discover their own unique skills, challenges, interests, and passions.

CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITIES. BRAINSTORM & EXPERIMENT. COLLECT. CHOICE. PARAMETERS. TIME. FEEDBACK & REFLECTION.

Most of what Ive shared here relies on the structure of a sequential curriculum in which we build on particular skills and habits year after year. Starting next year, we are moving away from a sequential curriculum at my school. Tenth, eleventh, and some twelfth graders will be mixed together. Classes will be made up of students who have taken only one art class and some who have taken six. I am now considering new questions about how to move students down a less linear path of finding their own work.

Rebecca Roberts [email protected] www.teachingasart.blogspot.com