Art Journal 1: 8/22/2018: #BakingACake
In our first meeting of the semester for this course, we were posed with the question "What are your teaching philosophies?" My mind thought of so many different things that I could write down, but my biggest challenge was narrowing it down to a short list. I tried to list the most important ones down. When we were asked to come up with a metaphor to summarize our thoughts, I immediately thought of baking a cake. There are many steps and ingredients involved when you bake a cake, and if you miss a step or do something wrong, your cake will probably turn out a little funky. I liken this idea to teaching, because all of these philosophies need to come together well in order to create an art classroom with a strong community where students are willing to create and try new things. I think the best part is that even if you do make a mistake along the way, you can always reflect on that and improve for the next time; both in baking and teaching.
Art Journal 2: 8/29/2018: #CalmChaos
The first few days and weeks of a new school year are always a little chaotic. This year, both as a student and as a emerging educator, has proven this point. I have been bombarded left and right with papers, deadlines, projects, and information; it easily becomes stressful and overwhelming. Along with all of this, I am still trying to figure out how to schedule school, work, homework, and heaven forbid, some rest and relaxation. Trying to find a healthy balance with all of this stuff has something I have been actively working on this semester. I struggled with this in previous semesters. I know if all I do is go, go, go, eventually I will burn myself out and into the ground. Every day I remind myself that within all of this chaos of my daily life, there is calm to be found. I just have to take the semester one day at a time. Each day done is one day closer to my goal of graduation and finally being able to teach full-time. Right now, it is my job to find the calm moments in the sea of chaos that I call my final year of college.
Art Journal 3: 9/05/2018: #FindingARoutine
My studies in art have focused around photo image making since I was in high school. Last May I displayed my Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis show; it was so much work but it was absolutely worth it in the end. Once the summer began I was so burned out with hauling my camera equipment everywhere, hiking across rough terrain, and the digital workflow and editing process. As I was taking down my photographs on the final night of my exhibition, I knew it would probably be a wise (and healthy) decision to take a break from photography. For the summer I wanted to focus on work, the one summer class I had to complete, and creating some art with materials that I wasn’t necessarily able to during the school year (such as drawing and painting). I took a few photos here and there for family purposes or other small things, but nothing super serious. The photograph above came from the first shoot I went on since completing my thesis exhibition during the spring semester. My thesis focused on exploring and documenting the Cache La Poudre River, and I wanted to pick up where I left off; I enjoyed working this way and there are still a lot of possibilities and locations I want to explore. Much like beginning school again, I needed to sort of re-learn the ‘steps to the dance’ and figure out a routine again. Upon shooting and editing the batch of photos that the image above came from, I realized that shaking the rust off is pretty easy and that I know what I’m doing. This is the mentality I have now entering week three of being a student and a beginning teacher. It took me a little getting used to at the beginning, but now that I have begun to find my routine, this is where the fun and magic will happen. Now instead of being super intimidated and a little bit scared of the workload ahead, I am prepared for it and excited to see the possibilities and what I will learn in the upcoming weeks. I feel that I will see much positive growth both as an artist and as an educator as I progress through the rest of this semester!
Art Journal 4: 9/12/2018 #PiecingTogetherThePuzzle
As I enter the heart of the semester, it is beginning to feel as if I am getting into the swing of things; the pieces are coming together. I am finally understanding and figuring out the nuts and bolts of what it means to be an art educator. While I have not yet taught a lesson this semester (my first lesson will be this Friday at Polaris), I’ve been going through the motions of teaching. There has been a lot of preparation and planning involved, but I guess that comes with the territory of becoming a teacher (lots and lots of planning!!). It feels like every thing is where it should be, and most of my important ‘to-do’ items are completed. At this point, I am just really eager to put what I wrote down on paper and apply it to a group of students and see the results. I think this is where the real fun begins. Doing ‘hands on’ work with students is what I have been really wanting to do for a few years now, and I cannot wait to see what my students create along with the possibilities of teaching a new group of students. The students at Polaris will be my first group of elementary aged kids, so I am curious how my experiences here will compare to my experiences teaching at the secondary level. Even with these wonders in the back of my mind, it truly feels that I am putting together the pieces to finish my final year of coursework at Colorado State University. I’m excited to figure out what this ‘puzzle’ will look like once it is complete!
Art Journal 5: 9/19/2018 #NotAsItSeems
Last week was my first teaching experience with the fourth and fifth grade students from Polaris. I will say outright that overall this was a great first day. There are always some nerves and worries going into a new classroom of students and teaching for the first time, especially as an emerging teacher. During this class period, it felt as if things were really crazy and I was sort of flying by the seat of my pants. My partner and I spend hours planning and preparing for this introductory lesson, and I have found that sometimes that it can be hard to steer away from the plan that I spend so much time perfecting. There were some things that we had to tweak and adjust during the class time once we began. For example, our mentor teacher cut into about ten minutes of our art time wrapping up her morning routine. When things like this happen that you don’t necessarily account for, it can feel a little hectic. Also, when it came time for the students to clean up their materials and workspace, there was a lot of things going on. I had to remind a handful of students a few different times that they needed to leave the room spotless. Just coming from my point of view, it seemed a bit chaotic at times, and I was really unsure of how the lesson actually went. In my mind, I was critiquing myself and considering all of the things that I did that may have been ‘wrong.’ My mentor teacher debriefed us once the students went out to recess, and she had very positive things to say about how the class period went. She reassured my partner and I that we did an excellent job and that she liked how engaged the students were in their art making. I had a similar experience teaching my first lesson to high school students at Rocky Mountain. Throughout the lesson, I felt that things were a bit crazy and I really had no idea of how I was actually doing. Then when it came time for my supervisor and colleagues to debrief and assess me, they had really great and positive things to say to me. Both of these recent experiences have made me realize that I tend to be extremely critical of myself and my performance as a teacher. I think that I need to try and focus more on positive elements instead of immediately jumping to the conclusion that I did terrible because I had to steer away from my plan a little bit. After all, things aren’t always as they seem. Different people’s perspectives have been the element that has highlighted the good in my teaching practice.
Art Journal 6: 9/26/2018 #RefiningThePast
This is a photograph that I have made a few times before. I make this image on the balcony of my house; I tend to bust my camera out to take this shot when I have the urge to make a photograph really quick. There are a couple of reasons why I like taking pictures here every now and again. The first most simple reason is that it is close to me. I literally just have to walk out onto my deck with my gear and click the shutter. The other reason why I am so drawn to this spot is that every time I take a picture here the results are very different. I like to use this spot to play with long exposures and light painting, so each time I attempt to take a photograph here the light is recorded differently with each exposure. I may try and refine my thinking and ideas with each photoshoot, but the way the photograph turns out is a result of many different factors that come into play all at once. I liken this idea a lot to my teaching practice. I might try one activity or strategy with one group of students and do the same exact thing with another group of students, but the results are vastly different. In terms of teaching, there are many factors that may influence whether an activity goes well during a given time. Each time you try a lesson or activity with a group of students, it might end up looking quite differently every time. This is just an idea that I am trying to consider when planning and creating lessons. Just because something you did with students really worked well in the past, doesn’t mean doing that same thing will work well this time. In my teaching, I am just trying to be extra attentive to the group of students that I teach at any given time and try to support them in the ways that they need for them to be effective learners. As I teach more and gain a little bit more experience, I think this will become easier and easier, but for now I will do what I can to be aware of what my students may need in their art learning.
Art Journal 7: 10/3/2018 #ArtInsideMe
I think that art can be good in and for a society in a few different ways. One thing that I would like to address is, in general, that art can bring beauty to a community. With public art specifically, this is something that people can enjoy and marvel in a community setting. Another reason why I think art contributes to a society is that it can really build a community. For example, in Fort Collins there is a strong artist community. Both students and freelance artists join together and support one another in the art community. I experienced this first hand in my capstone exhibition last spring. I opened this show on a Friday night downtown, and I received a lot of support from friends, family, and others in the community. Art and art education in my opinion, can really bring a lot of good to a society.
In terms of events/experiences in my life that have changed my perspective, I can immediately think of two. Neither of these are really singular moments in time, but nonetheless, I would like to talk about these. The first experience is when I began college and began making photographs at the college level. I began my photography career when I was sixteen years old; I have seen a substantial amount of growth and change in my work since the beginning. At the college level, I really took ownership of the images I was making and printing; this pushed me to develop my skills to a high degree. In my time in the photography program, I was pushed and pushed to refine my technical skills and conceptual ideas. I was constantly making photographs, and it showed in my work. When I look back at my first rolls of film, they are drastically different than the images I create today. Being pushed so hard was extremely difficult at times, but absolutely worth it. Photography overall, has shown how I have grown and changed as a person. I can see the development from ‘snapshot’ type images to a fully developed and highly executed series of images discussing issues surrounding the Cache La Poudre River. This medium has also been able to depict and record various things such as where I have lived, what I looked like six years ago, and my favorite subject matters over the years. Photography will forever be magical to me.
The other experience in my life that I want to talk about is something that I am currently going through. For the past for years, I have been very guided and structured on my art through due dates. While I have always enjoyed the process of making art, due dates definitely have forced me to get my work done in a certain time period. In my current coursework, I am not taking any studio art courses so pretty much all of the artwork I have created has been self driven. I will be honest in saying that it has been tough in adjusting to this way of working. Teaching and life has done a pretty good job of keeping my schedule very full, so it has been hard at times to fine time to go out and work on my photography. I am still working on finding that happy medium of working on my ‘job’ as a teacher, and working on my artwork; after all, as an art educator it is imperative to make art. Another thing that has been tough about creating artwork outside an academic setting is that I do not receive feedback through the form of critiques. I never thought that I would say that I miss sitting through hours of critique, but I really appreciated the feedback; it gave me a place to work on and grow from. All of this has been a learning curve for me, but I am determined to make it through the next nine or so months of my undergraduate career.
I feel that these experiences influence my path as an artist due to the fact that photography has become a large part of who I am as a person. I love to create photographs and I want to do this for the rest of my life. I also want to teach students for many generations to come about photography and the joys of art making. These experiences deeped my passion for the medium of photography (and art in general) and have inspired me to want to teach the young people of America art. I understand that teaching is a very tough job at times, but it also extremely rewarding, much like being an artist. In my art school experience along with my teaching experiences, I have gained the philosophy that teaching is a very unique art form and takes years to become an expert at. Teachers, especially art teachers, look at various ways to creatively solve a problem and teach a good lesson to students. It is a magical process.
In terms of events/experiences in my life that have changed my perspective, I can immediately think of two. Neither of these are really singular moments in time, but nonetheless, I would like to talk about these. The first experience is when I began college and began making photographs at the college level. I began my photography career when I was sixteen years old; I have seen a substantial amount of growth and change in my work since the beginning. At the college level, I really took ownership of the images I was making and printing; this pushed me to develop my skills to a high degree. In my time in the photography program, I was pushed and pushed to refine my technical skills and conceptual ideas. I was constantly making photographs, and it showed in my work. When I look back at my first rolls of film, they are drastically different than the images I create today. Being pushed so hard was extremely difficult at times, but absolutely worth it. Photography overall, has shown how I have grown and changed as a person. I can see the development from ‘snapshot’ type images to a fully developed and highly executed series of images discussing issues surrounding the Cache La Poudre River. This medium has also been able to depict and record various things such as where I have lived, what I looked like six years ago, and my favorite subject matters over the years. Photography will forever be magical to me.
The other experience in my life that I want to talk about is something that I am currently going through. For the past for years, I have been very guided and structured on my art through due dates. While I have always enjoyed the process of making art, due dates definitely have forced me to get my work done in a certain time period. In my current coursework, I am not taking any studio art courses so pretty much all of the artwork I have created has been self driven. I will be honest in saying that it has been tough in adjusting to this way of working. Teaching and life has done a pretty good job of keeping my schedule very full, so it has been hard at times to fine time to go out and work on my photography. I am still working on finding that happy medium of working on my ‘job’ as a teacher, and working on my artwork; after all, as an art educator it is imperative to make art. Another thing that has been tough about creating artwork outside an academic setting is that I do not receive feedback through the form of critiques. I never thought that I would say that I miss sitting through hours of critique, but I really appreciated the feedback; it gave me a place to work on and grow from. All of this has been a learning curve for me, but I am determined to make it through the next nine or so months of my undergraduate career.
I feel that these experiences influence my path as an artist due to the fact that photography has become a large part of who I am as a person. I love to create photographs and I want to do this for the rest of my life. I also want to teach students for many generations to come about photography and the joys of art making. These experiences deeped my passion for the medium of photography (and art in general) and have inspired me to want to teach the young people of America art. I understand that teaching is a very tough job at times, but it also extremely rewarding, much like being an artist. In my art school experience along with my teaching experiences, I have gained the philosophy that teaching is a very unique art form and takes years to become an expert at. Teachers, especially art teachers, look at various ways to creatively solve a problem and teach a good lesson to students. It is a magical process.
Art Journal 8: 10/10/2018 #OrganizedChaos
With every teaching experience, there is always a great deal of planning that goes into it (at least from my experiences thus far). I will spend hours planning a class period considering every minute trying my best to be as detailed as possible, considering all of the different possibilities that may or may not happen in a 90 minute session with students. Even though there is all of this planning involved, when the time comes where students begin filing into a room and taking a seat at their desks, many different things can happen. I have learned that yes, it is so very important that you plan accordingly, but ‘ditching’ your plan and improvising is an equally important skill to have as a teacher. There have been times in my past where I have noticed students aren’t very engaged in an activity so we need to move onto something new; even though it wasn’t originally planned. I have experienced the contrary as well; students are really involved and engaged in something so I had to extend their work time and get rid of another previously planned activity or push it to the next day. In one of my last teaching experience at Polaris with my fourth and fifth grade students, I had the experience where we nearly had to abandon the entire plan and think on our feet. This was probably one of the most stressful teaching experiences I have had thus far, but since a few days have passed, I feel that I learned a lot from it. Things like this will for sure happen again in the future, and I feel better prepared on how to handle situations where a plan has to be abandoned. As I teach more and more, thinking of activities and things for students to do will become easier to think of quickly. This idea also applies to me as an artist. There have been countless times in which I have had one plan in my head, and once I begin the execution, things come up and I adjust accordingly. By the end of the creation process, the result is something utterly different than the original intention. I feel that this skill is something that is very necessary to have and become comfortable with both as a teacher and artist. Just because something steers away from the original plan, doesn't mean you have failed. After all, the magic happens when you leave the comfort zone.
Art Journal 9: 10/17/2018 #Abstraction
There is one concept that I have really been thinking about and considering when I plan and teach a lesson; this also applies to me greatly as an artist. The idea of abstract versus realism has been on my mind quite a bit. When I was a young student in school, and even to this day, I have never been the best at drawing or painting realistically. My philosophy as an artist is that if I need to document something in a realistic way, I can use my camera for that (after all, I did spend nearly four years of my undergraduate career fully immersed in photo image making). As a young student in art classes, I never thrived when we had to draw a still life, or something of the realistic nature. I often felt very disengaged during these art activities; I became bored and frustrated quite quickly. I was more engaged and had more fun when we did activities that involved abstract drawing/painting techniques (and this is how I operate even today as an artist). In my studies of art education, I realize that once students reach the age of nine or ten, many of them truly want to draw more realistically, and judge their artistic abilities on how ‘real’ something appears when they draw it. In my reflection of this topic, I have realized that I would like to include art activities where students are able to explore both. I absolutely want students to explore the realism side of art, but I also want to give students the opportunity to explore non-representational or abstract art making techniques.
In the last lesson that we taught over at Polaris, our students explored an abstract art making technique; paper marbling. I found that this art experience was quite successful. The students were very much engaged and overall they were happy with the artwork that they created. Even though the students didn’t directly render an object, they all thought they made something that was successful. Nearly a year ago, I taught a lesson to middle school students where they created ceramic key chains. I asked them to sculpt an animal; I showed the students examples of artists who create realistic animals along with abstract or cartoonish animals. I tried to leave the subject matter fairly open for the students. This resulted in a wide range of artworks from the students; some students created very realistic creatures while others used video games or tv shows as a source of inspiration. The main takeaway from all of this is that in my teaching practice, I would like to give students as much choice as possible in the way in which they create artwork. I understand and recognize the importance of allowing students to create realistic artwork, but I want to give the opportunity to students to create abstract artworks. I feel that I need to work to create art lessons that create a balance between the two, such as my animal key chain lesson. I am an artist who understands some of the frustration of creating super realistic drawings, so I feel that I can understand and accommodate the students who don’t identify with being good at art. Ultimately, I want my classroom to be a place where all students can learn and enjoy the art making process.
In the last lesson that we taught over at Polaris, our students explored an abstract art making technique; paper marbling. I found that this art experience was quite successful. The students were very much engaged and overall they were happy with the artwork that they created. Even though the students didn’t directly render an object, they all thought they made something that was successful. Nearly a year ago, I taught a lesson to middle school students where they created ceramic key chains. I asked them to sculpt an animal; I showed the students examples of artists who create realistic animals along with abstract or cartoonish animals. I tried to leave the subject matter fairly open for the students. This resulted in a wide range of artworks from the students; some students created very realistic creatures while others used video games or tv shows as a source of inspiration. The main takeaway from all of this is that in my teaching practice, I would like to give students as much choice as possible in the way in which they create artwork. I understand and recognize the importance of allowing students to create realistic artwork, but I want to give the opportunity to students to create abstract artworks. I feel that I need to work to create art lessons that create a balance between the two, such as my animal key chain lesson. I am an artist who understands some of the frustration of creating super realistic drawings, so I feel that I can understand and accommodate the students who don’t identify with being good at art. Ultimately, I want my classroom to be a place where all students can learn and enjoy the art making process.
Art Journal 10: 10/24/2018 #Transparency
As I entered my years as a mid to upper high school student, I often wondered the “why” in many things I was doing in school. For instance, if a teacher told me that I ‘need to understand how to graph a polynomial function,’ I was genuinely curious about why I needed to know this. I wanted to know why knowing this math function would be of benefit to me and my future. There were a handful of instances where I did ask why, but my teacher responded simply with, ‘because I said so,’ or ‘because you need to pass this class to graduate.’ Yes, I suppose that these are ‘legit’ reasons, but my curiosity wasn’t fully satisfied. It wasn’t until my later years as an undergraduate that many of the whys were finally answered.
As a student, and student-artist, I appreciate the transparent quality that many of my teachers and professors now have. When I was a little kid, I viewed my teachers as the ‘know all, be all’ adult figures, and basically they knew everything. Once I got older and began teaching myself, I realized that this simply is not true. For that reason, I truly appreciate the teachers that disclose this to their students, and this quality is something that I want to have as a teacher. It should be clear to my students that even though I am the adult with a college degree, that does not mean that I know everything. There are plenty of things in art and art education that I do not have a lot of knowledge of. It is my goal as a teacher to have my students understand this about me, but also, that just because I don’t always know the answer doesn’t mean I’m not willing to give it a shot. In my teaching practice, my students and I will work as a team to work towards a final goal. It should be clear to my students that I am very willing to learn along with them.
In some of my recent encounters in teaching at the high school level, I have noted that many of the students have developed the same curiosity I did when I was in their shoes not too many years ago. I’ve overheard a few students saying something like, “why are we doing this?” Hearing these types of comments has made me really become aware of why I am doing what I am, and why I am having students doing the things I ask them to do. As an educator, I feel it is important to be fully aware of this, and be prepared to answer it; especially in the art education field. Many individuals question some of the things we do in the classroom, so fully preparing a lesson and being aware of this is, in my opinion, a crucial element in being an art teacher. As I move forward, I will be sure to keep in mind why I am doing what I am, and not losing that sense of transparency. I fully encourage my students to ask the question why, as it is their utmost right to know the purpose of whatever they may be doing. After all, as educators we are challenging students to become critical thinkers and question information they absorb on a daily basis.
As a student, and student-artist, I appreciate the transparent quality that many of my teachers and professors now have. When I was a little kid, I viewed my teachers as the ‘know all, be all’ adult figures, and basically they knew everything. Once I got older and began teaching myself, I realized that this simply is not true. For that reason, I truly appreciate the teachers that disclose this to their students, and this quality is something that I want to have as a teacher. It should be clear to my students that even though I am the adult with a college degree, that does not mean that I know everything. There are plenty of things in art and art education that I do not have a lot of knowledge of. It is my goal as a teacher to have my students understand this about me, but also, that just because I don’t always know the answer doesn’t mean I’m not willing to give it a shot. In my teaching practice, my students and I will work as a team to work towards a final goal. It should be clear to my students that I am very willing to learn along with them.
In some of my recent encounters in teaching at the high school level, I have noted that many of the students have developed the same curiosity I did when I was in their shoes not too many years ago. I’ve overheard a few students saying something like, “why are we doing this?” Hearing these types of comments has made me really become aware of why I am doing what I am, and why I am having students doing the things I ask them to do. As an educator, I feel it is important to be fully aware of this, and be prepared to answer it; especially in the art education field. Many individuals question some of the things we do in the classroom, so fully preparing a lesson and being aware of this is, in my opinion, a crucial element in being an art teacher. As I move forward, I will be sure to keep in mind why I am doing what I am, and not losing that sense of transparency. I fully encourage my students to ask the question why, as it is their utmost right to know the purpose of whatever they may be doing. After all, as educators we are challenging students to become critical thinkers and question information they absorb on a daily basis.
Art Journal 11: 10/31/2018 #GoWithTheFlow
We have reached a point in time where seemingly everything is falling into place, and everything is currently where it needs to be at. I personally feel that I have gained a whole bunch of experience in planning, teaching, art making, and managing the art classroom. I came into this semester with some amount of comfort with these concepts, but over the past couple of months, this has grown a large amount. Right now, in terms of planning, I feel that I have determined my ‘style’ in how I like to write out things, and how I prefer my plans to look. At this point in time, I prefer to have very detailed plans. While this has been true in my past teaching/planning experiences, I now understand the why associated with this detail. In some of my very first teaching experiences, I would want to plan everything down to the minute, and do everything precisely to that plan. I would often cling to that plan for dear life, and if we didn’t get to everything on the plan, I would almost feel like a failure. I now understand that this attentiveness to detail is important because it gives me the comfort to make adjustments in the classroom when they are needed. This is something that I will continue to develop and explore deeper as I enter into student teaching in the next couple of months.
One other thing that I would like to examine this week is managing the art classroom. Again, I have learned and taken a lot from my experiences thus far in the semester. In my early days spent in the classroom as a teacher, I as often very unsure about management (ie. addressing behaviors, organizing materials, structuring time, etc). At this point, I have gained a whole lot of knowledge that have improved these skills. My recent weeks at Polaris and Rocky Mountain High School have been really valuable for me in that regard. With Polaris, the fact that we have to bring the materials with us each week has taught me to consider the importance of organization in the classroom. In my future, I want to ensure that every material has a designated home and that the studio space is as functional as it is able to be. The challenges of teaching from a bin and teaching in a non-art classroom have really caused me to consider how I want to structure things for my future in education. The final thing that I would like to address with managing a classroom is managing student behaviors. I have really observed the importance of this in my teaching in recent weeks. I’ve learned that a little bit of chaos is alright with me in my classroom, but once student learning or student safety is in jeopardy, that is where I need to step in and address the issue. From this semester, I have really taken hold and thought about my golden rule being “You are allowed to do anything in this classroom as long as it does not harm or interfere with others.” Overall, these experiences have made me realize who I am as both as a teacher and as a person. Compared to where I was at one year ago, I am a very different art educator.
The final thing that I would like to look at here at about the three-quarter point in the semester is myself as an artist. These last few months have been radically different for me in terms of creating. Before I go into this much further, I would like to say that it has been truly a great experience being immersed deeply into education and not having studio courses compete for my time. With that aside, it has been tough at times to find the time and/or energy to make art. In my past as a student, I was fully immersed in the art world. I spend most of my time out of each day making something, since I was assigned various projects. It has been a large adjustment making outside the academic walls. I will say that as these past few months have gone by, it has become a bit easier finding time to make art; and the art that I do make is more meaningful to me. I create what I want to, and I am not really guided based on parameters for an assignment. I just need to make the conscious effort to set aside time to do so each week. I feel that as time passes, I will get better at budgeting this time for art making. After all, creating is what I really love to do, and it completes me as a person. Without my creative outlet everyday or every couple of days, I might lose my mind. What I need to remember for the rest of the semester and in student teaching is that sometimes, I need to slow down, and just sort of go with the flow. Each day is completed one step at a time, and that is all you can really do everyday.
One other thing that I would like to examine this week is managing the art classroom. Again, I have learned and taken a lot from my experiences thus far in the semester. In my early days spent in the classroom as a teacher, I as often very unsure about management (ie. addressing behaviors, organizing materials, structuring time, etc). At this point, I have gained a whole lot of knowledge that have improved these skills. My recent weeks at Polaris and Rocky Mountain High School have been really valuable for me in that regard. With Polaris, the fact that we have to bring the materials with us each week has taught me to consider the importance of organization in the classroom. In my future, I want to ensure that every material has a designated home and that the studio space is as functional as it is able to be. The challenges of teaching from a bin and teaching in a non-art classroom have really caused me to consider how I want to structure things for my future in education. The final thing that I would like to address with managing a classroom is managing student behaviors. I have really observed the importance of this in my teaching in recent weeks. I’ve learned that a little bit of chaos is alright with me in my classroom, but once student learning or student safety is in jeopardy, that is where I need to step in and address the issue. From this semester, I have really taken hold and thought about my golden rule being “You are allowed to do anything in this classroom as long as it does not harm or interfere with others.” Overall, these experiences have made me realize who I am as both as a teacher and as a person. Compared to where I was at one year ago, I am a very different art educator.
The final thing that I would like to look at here at about the three-quarter point in the semester is myself as an artist. These last few months have been radically different for me in terms of creating. Before I go into this much further, I would like to say that it has been truly a great experience being immersed deeply into education and not having studio courses compete for my time. With that aside, it has been tough at times to find the time and/or energy to make art. In my past as a student, I was fully immersed in the art world. I spend most of my time out of each day making something, since I was assigned various projects. It has been a large adjustment making outside the academic walls. I will say that as these past few months have gone by, it has become a bit easier finding time to make art; and the art that I do make is more meaningful to me. I create what I want to, and I am not really guided based on parameters for an assignment. I just need to make the conscious effort to set aside time to do so each week. I feel that as time passes, I will get better at budgeting this time for art making. After all, creating is what I really love to do, and it completes me as a person. Without my creative outlet everyday or every couple of days, I might lose my mind. What I need to remember for the rest of the semester and in student teaching is that sometimes, I need to slow down, and just sort of go with the flow. Each day is completed one step at a time, and that is all you can really do everyday.
Art Journal 12: 11/07/2018 #Trust
In the past, there has been one thing that I have read a lot about in various education textbooks. The thing that was repeated over and over again throughout many readings was the concept of trust; both your students trusting you, and you (as the teacher) trusting your students. With my experiences thus far in the twelve weeks of the semester in my teaching, I have really seen this come into action and play a huge role in what I do as a teacher in the classroom. For the most part, I can trust my students. I feel that I am able to trust them when I release them for work time, or trust them with potentially dangerous tools or materials. Trust goes a long way; I do not feel that I need to hover over students when they have my trust. On the contrary, with a few students whom I do not trust as much, I need to take a different approach. When it comes to things like working with dangerous materials, or simply using the restroom, I need to be checking in more and holding students accountable for their actions. Again, trust goes a very long way in the classroom.
Looking at trust from the perspective of a student, I have noted some important things to consider in the art classroom. Once a student trusts you as a teacher, they are more than likely going to take more risks and try new things in art. I have observed this in my teaching experiences and observations. In the earlier part of the semester, it was clear that a student didn’t trust a mentor teacher I was matched up with. Nearly everything that the student was asked to do ended up being some sort of power struggle between the two. On the other end of the spectrum, in the Spring semester, I was matched up with a teacher that had the trust of all of her students. When comparing my two experiences, it was night and day. Students in this classroom were extremely comfortable experimenting and trying new things in their art. The idea of earning student trust has been something that I have been focusing on heavily in my teaching thus far.
One final thing that I would like to look into with this journal stems from my experiences in the art student position, both at the high school and college level. At the high school level, I had a very good relationship with my photography teacher at the time, and I truly trusted her when I received advice and/or feedback from her. I took it in a way that was very constructive rather than destructive. Looking at an experience in a college studio course that I took a number of semesters ago, the relationship between my instructor and I was not the strongest. Any time I got feedback from this professor via critique or in written form, I felt very annoyed. I know this wasn’t ever the case, but it felt like their suggestions were personally attacking me as an artist. Therefore, I was pretty reluctant to try anything new, and I pretty much stuck to my comfort zone. I did not grow a whole lot in that art medium in that particular semester. When looking and receiving feedback about artwork, it is a personal process. Trust goes a very long way. My goal is to help students grow; and I feel that my experiences have helped me see the destructive side of not having a trust based relationship with a teacher. Ultimately, I know that art is a tough subject for some (if not all students), and a trusting relationship with students is a very good first step in helping them becoming a better artist. Trust between a teacher and student can really make or break a learning experience.
Looking at trust from the perspective of a student, I have noted some important things to consider in the art classroom. Once a student trusts you as a teacher, they are more than likely going to take more risks and try new things in art. I have observed this in my teaching experiences and observations. In the earlier part of the semester, it was clear that a student didn’t trust a mentor teacher I was matched up with. Nearly everything that the student was asked to do ended up being some sort of power struggle between the two. On the other end of the spectrum, in the Spring semester, I was matched up with a teacher that had the trust of all of her students. When comparing my two experiences, it was night and day. Students in this classroom were extremely comfortable experimenting and trying new things in their art. The idea of earning student trust has been something that I have been focusing on heavily in my teaching thus far.
One final thing that I would like to look into with this journal stems from my experiences in the art student position, both at the high school and college level. At the high school level, I had a very good relationship with my photography teacher at the time, and I truly trusted her when I received advice and/or feedback from her. I took it in a way that was very constructive rather than destructive. Looking at an experience in a college studio course that I took a number of semesters ago, the relationship between my instructor and I was not the strongest. Any time I got feedback from this professor via critique or in written form, I felt very annoyed. I know this wasn’t ever the case, but it felt like their suggestions were personally attacking me as an artist. Therefore, I was pretty reluctant to try anything new, and I pretty much stuck to my comfort zone. I did not grow a whole lot in that art medium in that particular semester. When looking and receiving feedback about artwork, it is a personal process. Trust goes a very long way. My goal is to help students grow; and I feel that my experiences have helped me see the destructive side of not having a trust based relationship with a teacher. Ultimately, I know that art is a tough subject for some (if not all students), and a trusting relationship with students is a very good first step in helping them becoming a better artist. Trust between a teacher and student can really make or break a learning experience.
Art Journal 13 - Special Topic - 11/14/2018 #Revisit
When revisiting my teaching philosophies, I feel that one thing that has caused me to reconsider some of these things has been managing a classroom. This semester has been my first real experience in shaping and managing a classroom full of students on a semi-regular basis. With these situations and experiences, I have really learned a lot about myself both as an educator and as a person. When managing students and student behaviors, I feel that I have really grown and developed in addressing what behavior is acceptable versus unacceptable. I’ve noted in my teaching experiences that it is very important to address the behavior of the student rather than the student as a person. In order to maintain that positive teacher-student relationship, you need to keep this in mind. In terms of management, I have learned that I am the type of teacher who really goes with the idea of ‘praise publicly and punish privately.’ Thinking back to when I was a student, I hated when teachers made you feel ashamed by addressing what you are doing wrong in front of a group of peers. I’ve taken this mindset and applied it to me as a teacher. In almost every case where I need to fix a student’s behavior, I will do so in a private or one on one situation. I have seen the value of this this semester, and will continue to apply this in my future.
Another thing that I have changed since my first look at teaching philosophies is that I added dependability to this list. I have noted that I truly hold myself to a high standard of dependability. My classmates, instructors, and students can always count on me; I will always be there for them. If I say that I will have something done for my teaching partner at a certain time, it will be done. If a student requests that they need a special material or tool, I will do everything in my power in order to get it for that student. My instructors can depend on me for quality work and honesty in my school work and teaching. I will take this into my first year (and beyond) of teaching. I want students to know that they can count on me; I want parents and colleagues to know the same. Along with being dependable, it will be a goal of mine to teach students how to be dependable as well. I have learned in my experiences this semester that it is vital for me as the teacher to be able to trust and depend on my students. In the art room, we often use potentially dangerous materials, so I need to know that I will be able to trust my students in using these materials. Also in teaching art, there will be many occasions where I will need to let students use equipment for an extended period of time. I need to be sure that I can trust and depend on students to be able to use the school’s equipment.
There are two things that I would like to address that made it onto my list each time I thought about my teaching philosophies. The first thing is related to students (and myself) demonstrating respect and open-mindedness to all people and their ideas. This has always been an underlying rule for myself in the art classroom. I feel that it is an absolute staple to have. Everyone in my classroom needs to feel safe and comfortable expressing their ideas. Students should not feel that they need to hide or censor themselves because of others. One other thing that came up in each version of my philosophies is the fact that I want my students to know and understand that just like them, I am human and make mistakes too. This will become quite important to note as I enter my first year of teaching. I am not perfect, but I am more than willing to accept feedback and learn from my mistakes.
In terms of art making in relation to my teaching philosophies, a couple of things immediately come to my mind. The first thing that I am thinking about is an extension of revision of my original drawing related to my philosophies. On week one in class, I drew the some of the ingredients and tools needed to make a cake. I think that this time around I could draw and/or paint a baked cake fully decorated with frosting. I feel that this idea would really encompass my growth and development as an art educator. The tools and ingredients would act as ‘before’ and the baked and decorated cake would represent the ‘now’ or ‘after.’ This could be an art project to consider. The other thing that I was considering when brainstorming these ideas was to stick with the baked and decorated cake idea. The difference with this idea versus the previous one is that I would utilize a variety of materials to make a mixed media artwork. I think that I would draw, paint, and probably add some sort of embroidery elements to it. With this art idea, I feel that the mixture of mediums would represent new knowledge from my teaching experiences this semester. With the embroidery elements, I feel that this technique represent the connections that I have made in my teaching so far in the year. The main thing that I would really focus on and emphasize in these art ideas would be the growth of knowledge that I have experienced this semester.
As I consider the path that I am currently on in order to become an art educator, I can honestly say that I think that I am headed in the right direction. Experience has really been the best teaching tool for me. I have learned a lot from teaching by doing it, and this will continue on as I enter my student teaching. In past courses, I’ve done a lot of reading and studying on education theory, and this semester has been the time in my life where I am actually able to put this theory into practice. It has been tough at times, but overall, I have learned quite a bit about teaching art to students. I know that there will be long and tough days in my near future, but it will be worth the effort on my end. Like I said earlier, experience is the best teacher. I will need these experiences to become a champion teacher. So what I need to do as I progress is plan lessons, teach students, reflect about them, and just take one step at a time. I will get better at teaching through each day I am at a school, just as long as I keep a positive mindset and my goals in mind.
Another thing that I have changed since my first look at teaching philosophies is that I added dependability to this list. I have noted that I truly hold myself to a high standard of dependability. My classmates, instructors, and students can always count on me; I will always be there for them. If I say that I will have something done for my teaching partner at a certain time, it will be done. If a student requests that they need a special material or tool, I will do everything in my power in order to get it for that student. My instructors can depend on me for quality work and honesty in my school work and teaching. I will take this into my first year (and beyond) of teaching. I want students to know that they can count on me; I want parents and colleagues to know the same. Along with being dependable, it will be a goal of mine to teach students how to be dependable as well. I have learned in my experiences this semester that it is vital for me as the teacher to be able to trust and depend on my students. In the art room, we often use potentially dangerous materials, so I need to know that I will be able to trust my students in using these materials. Also in teaching art, there will be many occasions where I will need to let students use equipment for an extended period of time. I need to be sure that I can trust and depend on students to be able to use the school’s equipment.
There are two things that I would like to address that made it onto my list each time I thought about my teaching philosophies. The first thing is related to students (and myself) demonstrating respect and open-mindedness to all people and their ideas. This has always been an underlying rule for myself in the art classroom. I feel that it is an absolute staple to have. Everyone in my classroom needs to feel safe and comfortable expressing their ideas. Students should not feel that they need to hide or censor themselves because of others. One other thing that came up in each version of my philosophies is the fact that I want my students to know and understand that just like them, I am human and make mistakes too. This will become quite important to note as I enter my first year of teaching. I am not perfect, but I am more than willing to accept feedback and learn from my mistakes.
In terms of art making in relation to my teaching philosophies, a couple of things immediately come to my mind. The first thing that I am thinking about is an extension of revision of my original drawing related to my philosophies. On week one in class, I drew the some of the ingredients and tools needed to make a cake. I think that this time around I could draw and/or paint a baked cake fully decorated with frosting. I feel that this idea would really encompass my growth and development as an art educator. The tools and ingredients would act as ‘before’ and the baked and decorated cake would represent the ‘now’ or ‘after.’ This could be an art project to consider. The other thing that I was considering when brainstorming these ideas was to stick with the baked and decorated cake idea. The difference with this idea versus the previous one is that I would utilize a variety of materials to make a mixed media artwork. I think that I would draw, paint, and probably add some sort of embroidery elements to it. With this art idea, I feel that the mixture of mediums would represent new knowledge from my teaching experiences this semester. With the embroidery elements, I feel that this technique represent the connections that I have made in my teaching so far in the year. The main thing that I would really focus on and emphasize in these art ideas would be the growth of knowledge that I have experienced this semester.
As I consider the path that I am currently on in order to become an art educator, I can honestly say that I think that I am headed in the right direction. Experience has really been the best teaching tool for me. I have learned a lot from teaching by doing it, and this will continue on as I enter my student teaching. In past courses, I’ve done a lot of reading and studying on education theory, and this semester has been the time in my life where I am actually able to put this theory into practice. It has been tough at times, but overall, I have learned quite a bit about teaching art to students. I know that there will be long and tough days in my near future, but it will be worth the effort on my end. Like I said earlier, experience is the best teacher. I will need these experiences to become a champion teacher. So what I need to do as I progress is plan lessons, teach students, reflect about them, and just take one step at a time. I will get better at teaching through each day I am at a school, just as long as I keep a positive mindset and my goals in mind.
Final Entry - Working Process 1 - 11/28/2018
In my exploration of the art journal over the course of the semester, one major thing I noticed was a transformation of me just talking about how I feel about a teaching experience in a given week, to addressing how I am performing as an educator, how my past has influenced this, and what I am aiming to do in the future in my practice. I found that as the semester went on, I dived deeper into what it means to me personally to be an art educator. Looking at these entries again has helped me reshape my teaching philosophies. I witnessed my role as both a teacher and student develop in these entries as well. Going back to my written statements over the semester, I feel that the beginning of the semester I viewed myself as more of a ‘student’ rather than a ‘teacher.’ I think this is appropriate, because at the beginning of the semester I still had a lot to learn about what it means to be an art teacher. Towards the middle and end of the semester, I began writing these entries more as a teacher, and what I am doing in my instruction and how this impacts my students. Ultimately, I observed a lot of growth in my teaching abilities and reflective responses as the semester progressed. I truly feel this is due to the teaching experiences I had this semester both at Polaris, and in EDUC 450 at Rocky Mountain High School.
This semester in my teaching has really been about making connections; I think I will utilize the hashtag “Making Connections.” In my past education coursework at CSU, I learned a lot about education theory and concepts. Learning about these theories gave me a very solid base understanding of what it means to be an art educator, but my experiences this semester have really allowed me to put these concepts and theory into practice. I have been able to try a variety of techniques and strategies that I have previously read about with students in a classroom. This has really helped solidify my understanding and knowledge of what it is like to be an art teacher. All of that reading and discussion was truly worth the effort. It was hard for a while to grasp some of these concepts, but applying them to my teaching practice has helped me make sense and make connections in my teaching. I have been able to connect the dots and determine what may or may not work for me in my classroom as I enter student teaching and beyond. Ultimately, I am quite grateful to have had these teaching experiences, even though sometimes it has been hard.
Right now, in my creation process I have two different ideas in my mind for creating an autoethnographic artwork. The first idea I have in my mind for an artwork is an embroidery piece on paper. I am thinking that I would like to use a variety of colors to create shapes or ‘fields’ and then create segmented lines (like a map) that connect each color field. Each color field would represent a concept or idea and the connecting lines would be a metaphor for ‘making connections.’ I am thinking of these materials because it is a process oriented art; a lot of time and diligence will be required on my end. Also, a great deal of care and thought goes into embroidery on paper, much like a lot of thought and care goes into planning an art lesson, and developing yourself as a teacher. The other idea I have is a sculptural artwork. Since I have really only done 2-D artworks for my art journal, I think it would be fun to explore the 3-D world. 3-D also plays into my concept a little bit, since, this semester has ‘shaped’ me as a teacher. What I have in mind, again, is a very process oriented project. I would like to roll paper into tubes, cut them into various sizes, glue them all together, and then fasten these paper tube forms onto a piece of matte board or cardboard. With this process, I will be connecting hundred of paper tubes, much like I have made a lot of connections in my teaching practice this semester. The process will take a lot of time, and has a lot of steps; this is reflective of what it means to be an art teacher as well. A lot of time and practice is involved in order to become an effective educator. Paper is a very important material in this process. One other thing that I really have focused on and improved greatly in is my organization. I have noted that teachers end up obtaining many papers and files, so organization is key to becoming an effective teacher. While many of the files I have received and created this year are digital files, the physical paper will be representative of digital and paper files I have possessed this semester. The arrangement of paper tubes will be representative of how I have become more effective in organizing my teaching files. The final thing that I would like to talk about with this art idea is the material I would use to cover the surface. I plan on spray painting these forms once they are attached onto a matte board. I wanted to choose a process that was quick for this. While the rest of the process is quite painstaking, the surface finishing will go quickly. This idea is representative of how the semester has gone for me. There have times where it has felt very drug out and draining, but when I look back at the semester, I cannot believe how quickly it has gone by; it is hard to believe we are in the last few weeks. The quickness of spray painting will be a metaphor for how quickly the weeks have gone by, and really how quickly these connections have been made in my mind.
This semester in my teaching has really been about making connections; I think I will utilize the hashtag “Making Connections.” In my past education coursework at CSU, I learned a lot about education theory and concepts. Learning about these theories gave me a very solid base understanding of what it means to be an art educator, but my experiences this semester have really allowed me to put these concepts and theory into practice. I have been able to try a variety of techniques and strategies that I have previously read about with students in a classroom. This has really helped solidify my understanding and knowledge of what it is like to be an art teacher. All of that reading and discussion was truly worth the effort. It was hard for a while to grasp some of these concepts, but applying them to my teaching practice has helped me make sense and make connections in my teaching. I have been able to connect the dots and determine what may or may not work for me in my classroom as I enter student teaching and beyond. Ultimately, I am quite grateful to have had these teaching experiences, even though sometimes it has been hard.
Right now, in my creation process I have two different ideas in my mind for creating an autoethnographic artwork. The first idea I have in my mind for an artwork is an embroidery piece on paper. I am thinking that I would like to use a variety of colors to create shapes or ‘fields’ and then create segmented lines (like a map) that connect each color field. Each color field would represent a concept or idea and the connecting lines would be a metaphor for ‘making connections.’ I am thinking of these materials because it is a process oriented art; a lot of time and diligence will be required on my end. Also, a great deal of care and thought goes into embroidery on paper, much like a lot of thought and care goes into planning an art lesson, and developing yourself as a teacher. The other idea I have is a sculptural artwork. Since I have really only done 2-D artworks for my art journal, I think it would be fun to explore the 3-D world. 3-D also plays into my concept a little bit, since, this semester has ‘shaped’ me as a teacher. What I have in mind, again, is a very process oriented project. I would like to roll paper into tubes, cut them into various sizes, glue them all together, and then fasten these paper tube forms onto a piece of matte board or cardboard. With this process, I will be connecting hundred of paper tubes, much like I have made a lot of connections in my teaching practice this semester. The process will take a lot of time, and has a lot of steps; this is reflective of what it means to be an art teacher as well. A lot of time and practice is involved in order to become an effective educator. Paper is a very important material in this process. One other thing that I really have focused on and improved greatly in is my organization. I have noted that teachers end up obtaining many papers and files, so organization is key to becoming an effective teacher. While many of the files I have received and created this year are digital files, the physical paper will be representative of digital and paper files I have possessed this semester. The arrangement of paper tubes will be representative of how I have become more effective in organizing my teaching files. The final thing that I would like to talk about with this art idea is the material I would use to cover the surface. I plan on spray painting these forms once they are attached onto a matte board. I wanted to choose a process that was quick for this. While the rest of the process is quite painstaking, the surface finishing will go quickly. This idea is representative of how the semester has gone for me. There have times where it has felt very drug out and draining, but when I look back at the semester, I cannot believe how quickly it has gone by; it is hard to believe we are in the last few weeks. The quickness of spray painting will be a metaphor for how quickly the weeks have gone by, and really how quickly these connections have been made in my mind.
Final Entry - Working Process 2 - 12/03/2018
After brainstorming some initial thoughts in my head, I felt that it would be appropriate for me to try out both of the previous projects I laid out for myself. I am the type of artist that truly needs to begin working on something to determine if something will be successful, and for the autoethonographic art process, I wanted to see which process is a better representation of my concept. As I began creating the embroidery artwork, I noted one thing; at the end it would probably end up looking more like a map versus an artwork that depicts my experiences at a teacher. I think that this artwork would be successful, but there needs to be a little bit more conceptual depth associated with this project. When I began creating the paper tubes and assembling them together, I have determined that this is the route that I would prefer to go down for this artwork. I noted during this process, I was a lot more reflective about my teaching practice and evolution as an educator, so in my mind this process is much more appropriate for the concept at hand. For this artwork, I have physically been making many connections through rolling paper tubes and taping them to hold form and attaching them together with glue. So far, I have created a couple of these forms and each of them are different. I feel that this is reflective of each teaching experience this semester; each week has been a little bit different and no two weeks are exactly the same. This is shown in each 'part' that I glue together. Also, organization of materials has been key in this process, much like teaching requires you to be organized. I have been handling and creating many many paper tubes, so it has forced me to think about how I want to organize this artwork. This process has also been time intensive, much like it is creating and developing art lessons; it doesn't happen in just one sitting. I have had to come back and revisit the process many different times. The final thing that I would like to address about this process is how each 'part' is formed. During the shaping process, I can try and form the tubes together but each form sort of takes it own mind and I can only 'force' the shape to some extent. This is much like what I have learned in my teaching. You can plan extensively, but as you put the plan into practice with a group of students, you have to be flexible and tailor to their needs. As a teacher, you need to become comfortable adjusting the plan as the lesson progresses and not look at it as a 'failure' if the day doesn't go exactly as planned. This process is truly reflective of me being 'shaped' as an educator. I take away things each week that influence me and my practice as I progress into my student teaching experience. I am really looking forward to finishing this artwork and seeing where the process takes me.
Final Entry - Working Process 3 - 12/05/2018
Final Entry - Working Process 4 - 12/12/2018
The title of this artwork is Growth; there are two reasons for me naming my artwork this. The first reason goes back to my first semester in art school at Colorado State University. In my Intro to 3-D course, I created a work of art that was similar to the artwork I created this semester. As a freshman, just learning the ropes of what it means to be an artist in art school, my motivations were much different than they are today, and thus, the execution of the final artwork was different. At the time, I didn’t quite have the patience, or desire really, to spend hours rolling tubes and fastening them to a surface. My 18 year old self decided to take the quickest route to finishing the project. I feel that revisiting this project in my final on-campus semester is very fitting; in the four years since the completion of the initial project, I have grown so much as a student, artist, and a person. Ultimately, I wanted to prove to myself how much I have grown and developed since I moved into my freshman dorm. Secondly, this artwork is called Growth because I feel this artwork is a symbol for the growth I have undergone in this semester as an educator. In previous semesters, I absorbed so much education theory; there was so much reading, writing, and reflection. All of this information is great, but at times in my past it was hard for me to understand what some of these theories and strategies truly meant without putting them into practice. That is what this semester has been all about. With my teaching experiences at Polaris, Rocky, and Boltz, I have begun to put this theory into practice and make the connection between all of the studying and my teaching practice. I have gained a deeper understanding of how to be an art teacher and what it means to be a teacher; many connections have been formed in my brain over the past 15 weeks. The reason why these connections were formed is due to the weekly experience of being a classroom teacher and practicing strategies with a group of real students. I truly have learned so much from my students this last semester.
Originally when thinking about this assignment, I thought that I wanted to create an embroidery piece. I began that process, but it didn’t feel as personal as I initially wanted it to. Over Fall Break, I was searching for inspiration. Sort of by accident, I began looking at images of my old artwork from my first semester at Colorado State. I stumbled across the images of the sculpture I created four years ago and a light bulb went off in my head; I knew that I wanted to revisit this process. I knew that I could execute this artwork with a higher degree of craftsmanship now compared to many semesters ago. I began the process of rolling tubes and gluing them together, and I was hooked on this idea almost immediately. The process was extremely personal. Not only was I revisiting myself as an artist, but through the process, I was really reflecting on my teaching experiences. Much like my brain making connections, I was physically making many connections with the creation of this artwork. The process felt very personal, and I was deeply connected. Also throughout the semester, I didn’t create any 3-D artwork and I felt that now would be an excellent time to do so. The 3-D form also is representative of how my experiences have shaped me over the past 15 weeks.
The materials and process that I chose to create this artwork have a lot of meaning and are deliberate. The process of rolling and taping tubes, cutting them to various sizes, gluing them together into forms, and then attaching the forms onto a surface was a fairly time consuming process. I liken this process to what the semester has been like. At times, I felt like I was consumed with work and some days and weeks seemed to drag on; I was emotionally and physically exhausted at many points throughout the last 15 weeks. To finish the artwork, I decided to use spray paint; a fairly quick process. While this semester has felt quite long at times, when I look back I really cannot believe that the semester has gone as fast as it has. I feel that the act of spray painting encompasses the feeling of how quick the semester has gone. I think the interplay of a slow and quick process is essential to this work of art. The final thing I want to address here is my choice of using paper. This semester in my teaching and learning, I noted how important it is to be organized and create a system that works for you personally. For me, being unorganized is not a good option, as it truly ‘clutters’ in my mind. During the creating process, I had to be mindful of how to organize my materials and how to organize these forms onto one surface. This semester, I have begun to develop an organization system that works for me; with both paper and digital files. I feel that the organization element is relevant in this final artwork.
For me, the funnest thing about the work of art was creating it (I know, it does sound a little cliché, but it's true). During the semester, I did not have a lot of free time to sit down and create something, so the process of making this work was very therapeutic and relaxing. It was nice to sit down, turn on some music, and get lost in the process of creating a work of art. I feel that my mental status was the happiest when I was making the artwork. Also, the act of spray painting was really exciting to me as well. In my past, I utilized spray paint in a few different artworks, so it was nice to revisit this process. I truly enjoy using the expressive elements of spray paint to my advantage (ie. drips) and seeing what comes of it. With the spray painting, I saw how my approach has changed over the years with this process. In my past, I wanted to use spray paint to create things that were hyper-realistic, but now, I approach using spray paint with a much more loose and expressive mindset. I try and let the spray paint make some decisions along the way; I have only so much control (kind of like teaching art sometimes). One final thing that I enjoyed about creating the work of art was photographing it. Photo image making has been my discipline for many years now, and photographing 3-D artwork is always a fun challenge. I have noted in photographing 3-D work that inches make a huge difference; your placement of both the camera and the artwork has to be extremely deliberate. Ultimately, this photographing this artwork was a fun and rewarding challenge. One of the hardest things for me in creating this work of art was determining a good finishing point; both in creating the paper forms and in spray painting the final work. I feel that I could have continued on with creating forms for much longer and created something much bigger, but I had to force myself to finish the composition. I think that in my future, I could create an extended version of this artwork or create a series of them. Finishing spray painting was also tough in my mind. I wanted to keep going and adding more and more layers, but again, I had to force myself to be done, I figured I was done with this step when all of the white was covered, and there was an almost equal amount of black and seafoam green.
Upon completing and reflecting on this artwork, I think that the feeling of open-mindedness will be helpful in my future teaching and learning experiences. This semester I made a lot of connections and learned a lot about myself as a teacher, but I fully understand that I am still in the beginning stages. It will be imperative for me to remember that as I enter student teaching. There have been many times where I’ve gotten down on myself because I think that I failed as a teacher. It will be important for me to remember and realize that every teacher makes mistakes, and just as long as we learn from those mistakes, we will continue to grow. Ultimately, approaching things with an open mind, and not trying to dictate every single detail in a classroom are the biggest takeaways that I need to remember. There does need to be a degree of flexibility in an art classroom for students to be able to learn and create artwork. At the end of each day, I will remind myself that as long as I tried my very best that is all that I can expect. I am only human, and mistakes do happen. Just as long as I do everything in my best power to teach and reach students, I will be on the track that will lead me to success.
Originally when thinking about this assignment, I thought that I wanted to create an embroidery piece. I began that process, but it didn’t feel as personal as I initially wanted it to. Over Fall Break, I was searching for inspiration. Sort of by accident, I began looking at images of my old artwork from my first semester at Colorado State. I stumbled across the images of the sculpture I created four years ago and a light bulb went off in my head; I knew that I wanted to revisit this process. I knew that I could execute this artwork with a higher degree of craftsmanship now compared to many semesters ago. I began the process of rolling tubes and gluing them together, and I was hooked on this idea almost immediately. The process was extremely personal. Not only was I revisiting myself as an artist, but through the process, I was really reflecting on my teaching experiences. Much like my brain making connections, I was physically making many connections with the creation of this artwork. The process felt very personal, and I was deeply connected. Also throughout the semester, I didn’t create any 3-D artwork and I felt that now would be an excellent time to do so. The 3-D form also is representative of how my experiences have shaped me over the past 15 weeks.
The materials and process that I chose to create this artwork have a lot of meaning and are deliberate. The process of rolling and taping tubes, cutting them to various sizes, gluing them together into forms, and then attaching the forms onto a surface was a fairly time consuming process. I liken this process to what the semester has been like. At times, I felt like I was consumed with work and some days and weeks seemed to drag on; I was emotionally and physically exhausted at many points throughout the last 15 weeks. To finish the artwork, I decided to use spray paint; a fairly quick process. While this semester has felt quite long at times, when I look back I really cannot believe that the semester has gone as fast as it has. I feel that the act of spray painting encompasses the feeling of how quick the semester has gone. I think the interplay of a slow and quick process is essential to this work of art. The final thing I want to address here is my choice of using paper. This semester in my teaching and learning, I noted how important it is to be organized and create a system that works for you personally. For me, being unorganized is not a good option, as it truly ‘clutters’ in my mind. During the creating process, I had to be mindful of how to organize my materials and how to organize these forms onto one surface. This semester, I have begun to develop an organization system that works for me; with both paper and digital files. I feel that the organization element is relevant in this final artwork.
For me, the funnest thing about the work of art was creating it (I know, it does sound a little cliché, but it's true). During the semester, I did not have a lot of free time to sit down and create something, so the process of making this work was very therapeutic and relaxing. It was nice to sit down, turn on some music, and get lost in the process of creating a work of art. I feel that my mental status was the happiest when I was making the artwork. Also, the act of spray painting was really exciting to me as well. In my past, I utilized spray paint in a few different artworks, so it was nice to revisit this process. I truly enjoy using the expressive elements of spray paint to my advantage (ie. drips) and seeing what comes of it. With the spray painting, I saw how my approach has changed over the years with this process. In my past, I wanted to use spray paint to create things that were hyper-realistic, but now, I approach using spray paint with a much more loose and expressive mindset. I try and let the spray paint make some decisions along the way; I have only so much control (kind of like teaching art sometimes). One final thing that I enjoyed about creating the work of art was photographing it. Photo image making has been my discipline for many years now, and photographing 3-D artwork is always a fun challenge. I have noted in photographing 3-D work that inches make a huge difference; your placement of both the camera and the artwork has to be extremely deliberate. Ultimately, this photographing this artwork was a fun and rewarding challenge. One of the hardest things for me in creating this work of art was determining a good finishing point; both in creating the paper forms and in spray painting the final work. I feel that I could have continued on with creating forms for much longer and created something much bigger, but I had to force myself to finish the composition. I think that in my future, I could create an extended version of this artwork or create a series of them. Finishing spray painting was also tough in my mind. I wanted to keep going and adding more and more layers, but again, I had to force myself to be done, I figured I was done with this step when all of the white was covered, and there was an almost equal amount of black and seafoam green.
Upon completing and reflecting on this artwork, I think that the feeling of open-mindedness will be helpful in my future teaching and learning experiences. This semester I made a lot of connections and learned a lot about myself as a teacher, but I fully understand that I am still in the beginning stages. It will be imperative for me to remember that as I enter student teaching. There have been many times where I’ve gotten down on myself because I think that I failed as a teacher. It will be important for me to remember and realize that every teacher makes mistakes, and just as long as we learn from those mistakes, we will continue to grow. Ultimately, approaching things with an open mind, and not trying to dictate every single detail in a classroom are the biggest takeaways that I need to remember. There does need to be a degree of flexibility in an art classroom for students to be able to learn and create artwork. At the end of each day, I will remind myself that as long as I tried my very best that is all that I can expect. I am only human, and mistakes do happen. Just as long as I do everything in my best power to teach and reach students, I will be on the track that will lead me to success.