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.