"...For engaging with children's rights, I found myself thinking about my bedroom: how significant it was during my childhood, and how it reflected what I had and who I was." -James Mollison
This might be the most beautiful and heartbreaking book you will ever read. It will certainly inspire some of the best conversations with your students about identity, possessions, their concept of home and the world around them, and leads them to question how the world works.
I start off by playing the video above, which features still photos of children with their name and age, then pans over to a photo of where each child sleeps - their bedroom. Some photos reinforce cultural stereotypes while others challenge what it means to live in a "developed" country. Whether your students have traveled or not, this book gives an intimate glimpse into what it means to be a child from many corners of the world.
After discussing what we saw in the video, and reading some of the stories in the book, students make observations about what they saw.* They naturally begin to make comparisons to their own bedrooms and personal experiences. With fresh eyes, students then make a drawing of their bedroom from any perspective. It's interesting to notice whether students choose to draw a bird's eye or keyhole point of view. Students become very aware of their own possessions and those essential objects they cannot live without. Within a class, there may also be some differences such as having one's own room or sharing with siblings/family members, the presence of technology, and how it's decorated. Depending on time, students can make dioramas of their bedrooms and enjoy using 3D building techniques.
Stay tuned to see the printmaking project students do to capture the buildings and public places in our community as we expand the lens while considering our surroundings.
Artfully,
Catherine
*The book is set up in a very easy-to-read format. Each child's portrait is set across from a picture of their bedroom - perfect for reading aloud in class!
"Austin's Butterfly" produced by EL Education, also found here.
I can honestly say that this video is one of the best teaching tools I have ever used. It literally changed my (teaching) life and students are also deeply effected by its message. "Austin's Butterfly" steps students of any age through the powerful process of critique and shows them how this process dramatically changes the quality of their work. I recently showed this video to my 4th graders who are working on a realistic landscape drawing showing perspective. In years past I have also shown it to 5th graders working on animal and textile drawings, both using reference photographs. Even though Austin is a 1st grader, I make the point of mentioning to my classes that if a younger student's artwork can improve through a critique then an older student's work will definitely improve.
If you would like to do a critique with students (of any age), there is a simple process to introduce this invaluable feedback technique.
*Written Critique: For my fifth grade students, I asked each artist to lay out their draft, reference photo, and a blank paper. All students walked around and wrote their specific, kind suggestions for improvement on each artist's blank paper. I asked each student to visit a minimum of 5 other artworks to write their feedback. Most students gladly visited more and only time prevented them from viewing all of the artworks to give feedback. Afterward, we came back together as a group to display each student's the photo and draft then read through the comments. After the whole-class critique, this activity is like independent practice so I wanted to do quality-control on the comments and make sure students were understanding how to give appropriate feedback.
Here are a few of my favorite moments from the video that have improved my own teaching practice:
"Looking like a scientist"
Artists use skills from many other disciplines and close observation helps masters in every field. When students rush through their work, forget important or interesting details, and can't get their subject to look just right it is most often because they aren't looking like a scientist. I ask them to go back to use their scientist eyes to take their subject from the impression in their mind and create a stronger likeness to real life that elevates their work.
"Good start"
What do you think? One of the most loaded questions in the art room because it usually comes when students have hit a creative wall and are looking for permission to be done. To encourage them in continuing, I will tell them that they have a good start and then give a suggestion for moving beyond the stumbling block. If your students are consistently struggling to find the finish line, consider the (general) qualities of good artwork, or what I like to call craftsmanship. Make your students aware of expectations and give them the tools to reflect on their progress. I discuss this in more detail in my post about grading, which you can find here.
"More drafts to make it better"
I am a firm believer in the power of a sketchbook. I also believe in planning, practicing, and perfecting before starting a final project. At the beginning of each project, I have a discussion with my students about how our materials are precious. Each student gets a single piece of paper for their final project and I expect them to persevere through the challenges of finishing their project on that paper. So first, they must make a rough draft to work out their ideas, uncover snags in their plan, and erase to their heart's content. The final draft flows more smoothly and there are fewer frustrations when students have worked out the kinks in a low-pressure format like their sketchbook.
Are there any videos or resources you share with students to help them reflect on their work? Have you ever had an "aha!" moment in teaching and what inspired it?
I found this in a Google image search for "exquisite corpse". Please comment if you can provide source info!
Exquisite Corpse: if you've done some reading about Salvador Dalí and his Surrealist pals you have probably come across references to this game they used to play. "Corpse" doesn't conjure up the most delightful visuals but most Surreal art isn't really granny-approved, which is exactly why kids love it. Like many examples in art history, there are images from Dali that aren't suitable for school - so curate carefully - but Surreal art is too fun not to share and sparks such great conversations about imagination, dreams, and artists' inspiration.
Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, FL. Source: phaidon.com.
If you ever find yourself in Florida, specifically in the St. Petersburg area, you MUST visit the Salvador Dali Museum. The whole experience is exquisite from the art to the architecture and the gift shop has great materials for teachers. When I visited, a few years ago, they were even distributing free (!) packets to teachers with a picture book, DVD, and other resources.
Image source: mentalfloss.com
Dalí's work is filled with color and imagination. They are so stimulating to look at that I structure discussions around absorbing the details and composition to reveal surprising narratives that students might miss without close observation. For younger students, I start with Persistence of Memory and ask students to identify objects and areas that remind them of real life and then find objects that came from Dalí's imagination.
Source: artanthologyinc.com.
Other examples of Dalí's work make excellent provocations for the "See, Think, Wonder" exercise. I have students to sit quietly and just observe the painting for about 30 seconds to absorb all of the interesting details. Then ask students the following questions:
What do you see?
What do you think is going on?
What does it make you wonder?
These higher order questions require students to identify objects, analyze their significance based on background knowledge, and form judgments about what they are seeing - or at least identify gaps in their understanding for which they need more information. If you'd like to extend this looking exercise into a formal writing assignment it would be fascinating for students to write the story behind the painting. How did all of these creatures and objects come to be in this place?
What questions or thinking exercises do you do with your students to encourage close looking at artworks?
I LOVE Antoinette Portis' Not A Box story and this animated version is the perfect provocation to warm up students' creativity muscles. In my last post, Where Do Artists Get Their Ideas? Part 1: Observation, I started talking about how my third graders are in a new unit exploring where artists find inspiration. My students had a million great ideas but this unit will focus on two major ones: observation and imagination.
Observation lends itself to close looking, realism, and developing drawing techniques. It is good for little scientists and provides a wealth of subject material. It can also be frustrating for students whose drawing skills are developing or who still have beautifully active what-if brains. Third graders are thrilled by fantasy and I want to encourage creative thinking in their artworks. So we watch the "Not A Box" video (above) and draw our own not-a-box in our sketchbooks. There is an equally adorable book, and probably a YouTube video, called Not A Stick but it features a pig so we tend to avoid that here in the Middle East.
The not-a-box concept is a great first step into discussing imagination and creativity as a "place" where artists get their ideas. Although the audience can only see a box the rabbit sees so much more. Not just one thing but the sky is merely the beginning. This models for students how to make that leap between the visible (observation) and invisible (imagination). It also sets us up for a more sophisticated conversation about artists who use their imagination to inspire their artworks, like Salvador Dali and his Surrealist friends. Spoiler alert: part 3!
Do you have any other books or videos that celebrate imagination?
Recording a class discussion about where artists get their ideas.
3rd grade artists are exploring where artists find inspiration for their artworks. The picture above is the result of just ONE class brainstorming ideas and the other classes were equally thoughtful. This discussion leads us into our unit called Observation and Imagination. Last year, students only worked on developing ideas from their imagination but I thought some of the more linear thinkers got lost so now we have observation as a starting point.
To get started, I ask students if they know what the words observation and imagination mean. I try to connect "observation" to careful looking and "imagination" to being creative. You can also ask students to think about other professions that require observation (scientist, detective) and imagination (author, inventor). Then we look at artists who used observation to inspire their artworks. We focus on examples of Realism (Millets The Gleaners, Ruysch's still lifes) and hyper-realism (Chuck Close portraits) so that students easily see how artists can be inspired by even the most everyday details of everyday life. Artist Danny Gregory came to visit my school last year and his work and philosophy is about celebrating the artistic quality of daily life and the world around us. Check out his work here and see if he can come to your school! His style is very accessible for students to encourage observation and drawing skills.
Artist Danny Gregory visiting our school!
We wrapped up our first lesson by heading outdoors with our sketchbooks to draw in the garden next to our classroom. Last year before Danny Gregory's visit, the 4th graders produced beautiful architectural drawings of our school and some of them were selected to hang in the administration offices. So don't shy away from the outdoors even if it's not bursting with nature - your principal will thank you for it!
How do you bring life to observational drawing? How do you jumpstart creativity?
