Reflection Entries
Keeping the Mind Open
| 01
As the introduction class to Visual Arts at OISE begins, I pictured that classes would consist of painting, sketching or colouring however, after this class I realized it is much more than that. As a student who has participated in visual arts during my elementary and secondary years I remember visual art being an environment where I was always cautious of how my final product would turn out. I was not too confident with much of my work because it did not look like the example provided or what my peers created. I have learned overtime and confirmed the aspect of Visual Arts through this class that it is more than just handing in a final product; it is a depiction of my self-expression. Within the article by McArdle, they value art as “an important means for self-expression-spontaneity, imagination, play, experimentation- and freedom of expression” (2002, pg. 155). This is so important to realize during visual arts because I am now able to view myself in artwork. As an introduction ice breaker to the course, we participated in an activity that allowed me to choose an image that expressed and described my personality. I chose this
image because it has a sense of calmness from nature with the landscape. it represents a visual of life and how the world around us provides everyone with resources and snapshots of beauty. I love being outside and in nature. It also related to my interest as I was growing up. I pictured myself hiking up the mountains, fishing off a boat and encountering animals within their habitat. This image alone allowed me to reflect, respond and analyze in a way that I was able to express myself with. As a child, my mother kept most of my art projects and when I view them today I see representations of myself. I would always paint or draw images of nature! They were art pieces that I was creating in connection with my interest and life experiences.
As a teacher candidate I never really viewed visual art as subject that created meaning or life skills. Now, I view visual art as an extremely important subject to teach especially during the primary years of education because it will allow the students to develop creativity, empathy, self-esteem and helps in making meaning of our lives and the world around us. Students will be able to enhance cognitive processes and record their thought, ideas and feelings using artwork through the use of symbols. I hope to develop visual literacy skills among my students and support them during visual arts. I want children to experience the opposite feeling of how I felt and know that any art they create in a depiction on their own personalities.
McArdle, F. (2002). “Visual Arts” in The Arts, Young Children and Learning. (pp. 151-159)
June 4, 2019
Creativity vs. Modernism
| 02
As the second class continues, I walk into visual arts with an open mind and see that there are multiple supplies on top of the tables. I couldn’t help but notice that there were natural materials, new materials that I have never worked with before and traditional materials we see daily such as water paint and pastels. We had gone into discussion about the article related to this class which discussed rethinking creativity. Creativity is an important aspect of visual arts as it is a self motivating concept for students. According to the article by Freedman he stated that “creativity in the visual arts must take into account the great numbers and profound impact of imaginary seen by student creators and their audiences” (2010). Throughout the different stations within class, the activity supported Freedman’s statement by using different visual materials and portraying different works of art to present various art pieces to the audience. I decided to use this painting as one of my visual artifacts because it was a piece that I created during this class that I was proud I had created. I was working with new materials and didn’t know how the paint would imprint onto the sheet of paper. I believe that my interest in nature made me follow the path of these colours and creating the swirls in the middle seemed to represent wavelike lines, which to me symbolized the ocean. It was a representation of my imagination.
The artifact allowed me to explore my creativity as I took a chance in the colours that I chose and experimented with different tools. I believe it is important for students to realize that the first art piece they make is not the
final product because I had to print at least two different papers to get this final piece (which in the end was not getting graded). As I was growing up knowing that my first attempt whether it was a painting or sculpture, was the only chance I got created a lot of stress and anxiety because if I didn’t follow instructions or meet the criteria I felt like I would not have done well with the project. This feeling I experienced related to the Ted talk by Ken Robinson as he asks the question does school kill creativity. One quote that really caught my attention was that we “stigmata mistakes among our children” (Robinson). Kids will take a chance and if it doesn’t look the way educators envision the final artifact to be and keep saying they did this “wrong”, kids will not take a chance with their creative skills because if they don’t know they won’t try. It is important that as educators we allow the children to explore the creative process of planning, focusing, explore, experiment, revise and refine and reflect and evaluate.
Freedman, K. (2010.) Rethinking creativity: A definition to support contemporary practice. Art Education, 63(2), 8-15
Ken Robinson’s talk on creativity in education: http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
June 6, 2019
Connection to Art
| 03
With half of the course finished in Visual Arts this third session was a class I enjoyed as we viewed multiple art pieces consisting of a number of elements and principles of design. I was able to see multiple perspectives of an art piece within the breakdown of class discussions. The art piece called “Arizona” by Andy Goldsworthy allowed me to relate to personal experiences and create a story as the visual language spoke to me. With many of my reflections leading towards nature and the environment the colours, lines, shape, space and rhythm of this image portrayed a strong message that could be interpreted in a number of ways. The wavy lines drawn in the sand, in my view, represented water. Arizona is a dry desert, so my initial thought was that the artist used these lines to create the imagination of previous water in the land. After discussion in the class some peers stated it could have represented a quick snapshot of a canon that endured flash flooding or could represent the need for water within the area. The work of this artist and his passion for nature wanted me to do a little background research. He is an inspiration with his art by reinforcing the importance of understanding the reality of birth, life, death and rebirth within nature. As I read the article by Roberts he states that “real art must be genuine, having meaning and be more than an exhibition of technical skill” (2015). I found that his quote is important within art education because art must have connection towards the artists’ own interest and experience. I believe that within this course I learned that my big idea is the environment. My own interest reflects art within nature as it arises from my own personal experience and being exposed to the outdoors from a young age.
It is important that as a teacher candidate that I engage children with the important idea in art education and allow them to create authentic art by giving them
"Arizona" by Andy Goldsworthy
the opportunity to express ideas that are meaningful and personal. Within the four tips for fostering authentic art by Purtee, they provide a combination of exercises and authentic art to teach creative thinking and to build skills. These tips are expressed through teaching skills separately and over a period of time rather than a quick activity and to let students apply skills with open-ended tasks along with a theme-based art experience to master their creative thinking.
Purtee, M. (2015). Four tips for fostering authentic art experiences in the classroom. The Art of Education website. Retrieved from: https://www.theartofed.com/2015/08/24/4-tips-for-fosteringauthentic-art-experiences-in-the-classroom
Roberts, T. (2005). Teaching real art making. Art Education, 58(2), 40-45.
June 11, 2019
Liven Up the Museum Trip
| 04
As the Visual Art course comes to an end I truly enjoyed the experience of understanding and breaking down pieces of art while finding meaning and purpose. For my last entry I decided to talk about the field trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario. I had never taken a trip to this museum before, so I was looking forward to viewing all the beautiful art pieces they have displayed. There was a lot of art ranging from Canadian Art, Indigenous, European, modern, African, photography and drawings. It is important that when planning a field trip with students that the educator develops a purpose to engage them throughout the museum. According to the critical analysis process within the AGO package, analysis of the art helps students develop an informed response to an image using critical thinking skills. At the museum we experienced this by reviewing all the different art pieces and determining what our first impression was or what captures our attention.
During my time at the AGO we participated in an observation game that I believe would be a great way for the students to deconstruct the paintings. It will allow them to learn all while playing a 'game'. As a class we were able to question the group that analyzed the painting and engage in a follow up discussion of impressions and additional details that could help to clarify the painting. Along with this critical analysis package the article by Goodman also discusses ways to get the students excited of seeing art in person. One activity that I found would be very influential to get the interest of children is the scavenger hunt. This is where the teacher would ask the students to solve a riddle that finds an answer in a modern sculpture or painting. It also presents “the opportunity to look deeply at the work and discover features and details that might otherwise be missed” (Goodman, 2014). Overall I enjoyed the inquiry-based learning of attending the museum and sharing thoughts and feelings toward the different pieces of art. I specifically took a picture of the art piece to the left because it captures my attention due to the darkness of the image and the small area of light trying to shine through. The art piece has a dark and gloomy feeling, which I feel the artist wanted to represent as it is called “The Storm.” It has a lot of lines and texture from the clouds and I can see life within the painting of people and animals. I am happy that I was able to participate in an experience through this Visual Art course and will take my learning and understanding of arts education into my practice.
Goodman, S. (2014). Eight ways to enliven up the museum field trip. Retrieved from: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/liven-up-museum-field-trip-stacey-goodman
June 18, 2019