Idea Gathering

One of my main goals with my students at North Bend is to help them to recognize where their ideas are coming from.  Artists get their ideas from what they can see, remember and imagine.  Artists get ideas from their interests, their feelings and from practicing with materials.

I am choosing to spend more time on where ideas are coming from, rather than what the final product looks like.  I am aware that the work coming home from the art room may look different than what parents are used to.

I encourage students to represent their ideas in any way they see fit. I allow scribbling and play.  I let students rescue art work from the scrap box and I allow them to abandon their own work when they lose interest.

As a parent, you do not need to tell your student that their work is good or bad, just ask them what they were thinking or trying to do in their work. Their stories are priceless. In the stories you will hear that they are thinking and developing ideas. At the same time, they are organizing their materials and relating their art work to their personal interests. They are comparing their work to things they have seen and thought about. They are evaluating their work and the work of the other students around them.

The art work coming home may look insignificant, but the ideas and process behind the product is the true work happening in the art room.

Welcome to my blog!

A wonderful parent came in last week to talk with me about the art her children had been making this year. She was very kind with me as she spoke, but by the end of our conversation I was quite embarrassed. Looking at the examples of "work" her children had brought home was not helping me feel any better. I remembered the work well from class, but seeing it out of context made me realize that I am missing an important component to the art experience. I need to spend time educating the families about the work we are doing in the art room. It is because of that conversation that I decided to start blogging.

I respect everything that parent said to me. I am thankful that she has challenged me professionally. I have spent many hours reflecting on her words and what my goals are for my work with the children at North Bend.