One of my biggest concerns for when I actually teach full time is materials. One of those concerns involves technology, and the availability of a computer and a digital projector...etc. Where you land, what type of school and budget you have will dictate what your resources are. This semester I feel that we used materials that were most readily accessible and inexpensive, and we managed to produce a lot of sophisticated work. We also used technology sparingly—barring the alphabet primers—and that was great. We used a lot of paper and paper-based products. I appreciated the different ways that I began to think about paper as a surface, and not as a container or deposit for drawings and prints. The tyvek was a real eye-opener in this regard. Book making was not something that I had done in my personal work, or as a student before. I found the bookmaking to be inspirational, personal, and much easier to accomplish than I previously thought. I also thought that both times we used recyclable and accessible materials, such as construction paper, and plastic bags. During the printmaking unit, again, instead of using linoleum, or copper or zinc etching plates, we used card-stock and cardboard, and a drawing on paper to produce some very convincing prints. This gave me great hope and inspiration for when I am at a school with a potentially limited budget. The sculpture unit embodied this practice as well. What is more accessible than cardboard and tape? When I think sculpture, I think construction, weight, balance....and I wonder how much time I could potentially spend assisting students to get some thing to "stand" or "hang" and not topple or fall apart. I think heavy things like clay and plaster, and metal....Our sculpture unit was very liberating and light and so satisfying because it contradicted my feeling about sculpture in the traditional sense.
Themes, practices, and concerns of contemporary art and design:
I cannot talk about materials and not talk about techniques: every time that we approached a new project there was a 360 degree approach to the way that we had several ways to arrive at the same results, and we able to see how something might have turned out differently had we used a different material in a way that doesn't happen when you choose just one material. An example of this would be the alphabets. This is one practice that was brand new for me, and very helpful, I also like the ways in which the different materials work with each other as a final piece: like the letters, or the folio of prints all done in different techniques. The use of themes is not new to me, in that Pratt stresses thematic unit planning in foundation. But this class used themes brilliantly. The themes wove the weeks of work together seamlessly, and aided me in producing a lot of work that didn't come from my toiling over an idea. I enjoyed the typography theme because it tapped into my life as a graphic designer, and my love of type, but allowed me to be much more aesthetic and artistic with the content. I really enjoyed the creatures theme, because it was very playful, and tapped into my love of cryptozoology. Concerns for temporary art and design: This class was so helpful with regard to learning about so many artists I have never heard of before, and having the blog entries as a record of learning about them is such a useful tool. I will continue to check in with fellow bloggers and Aileens blog to keep up with artists that others are talking about.
Visual Resources:
BOOKS, MAGAZINES, WEBSITES, BLOGS, THE PROJECTORS digital and overhead, THE STUDIO SPACE walls, ceilings, clothing lines, window, hallways, stairwells, COLLEAGUES... any and every way to provide visual stimulus was covered in an effective way during this semester, there was always a way to stimulate a response with reference materials and this became obvious to me as not only a practice but a necessity, especially when a teacher wants to set a pace.
Instructional Strategies:
I may have touched upon the instructional strategies in all the other categories already. I think the stations was a learning curve for me, and a great approach for strategy, in combination with collaborative work. The cooperative learning groups is also a great construct for creating an effective working environment. Keeping a sketchbook / and / or a blog is a great strategy for keeping the juices flowing.
How can I take this into my own studio work?
Not how, but what? Everything! My studio work is very digitally based, although I paint, illustrate and design jewelry, I limit materials for myself. There are processes that I avoid in my studio at home because of my preconceived notion that they will involve buying expensive materials, or teaching myself processes that I do not know, and so I default to the familiar.
How can I take this into my work with children and adolescents?
Our very last discussion involved how to arrive at sophisticated results with adolescents, and how giving them the proper materials and procedures takes away the pressure for those students who are insecure about their artistic abilities. The aspect of this class that taught me, or reaffirmed for me that process IS the exploration that yields convincing results, is a very solid thing that I will take into my work with children. I have a tendency to over intellectualize things sometimes, and I know full well it can trip me up when planning and executing a lesson. Constantly referencing the work of others, is another thing that I will take with me. Collaborative work, bookmaking as continuity in combination with other work, and use of light and shadow and space to create a feeling of place and a stimulating environment. Lastly the use of the sketchbook and blog to observe myself withing the context of my classroom as a tool for planning.
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