Post Practicum Advice Review

Looking back at my first blog ever and as the end of the semester looms near, I have reviewed a lot about the advice I gave myself at the beginning of the class. I think that my advice to myself was accurate such as being the adult and preventative actions, but there are some more things that I have learned from the combination of the secondary methods class and the secondary methods practicum that I took. I think one of the most important things that I learned this semester is that you have got to be an advocate for art. Period. No one else is going to advocate for your classes the way that you would so you need to be active about campaigning for the continuation of art classes. I think that your classes have got to produce art that will have people saying that what you are doing is important that you need support because your classes are doing things that students can’t learn under a different curriculum. You need to be able to justify your budget by having your students produce works that are evident of the time, money and effort that goes into the classroom.

The second thing that I learned this semester was also about advocating for your own classroom but also about making sure that you have your own priorities straight. You have to remember who you are there for. There are going to be distractions along the way in your career but the most important thing to cement yourself in is your work. There is nothing more rewarding than working with children, and putting them first is the most important thing that a person can do.

If you don’t remember my first blog that’s okay, it took me a minute too! Check it out below, far below, like January below. I will be continuing this blog as I follow through on the path to my dream of being an art teacher! I would love for all of you to stick around and read the sassiness that comes from within and the fun lessons that I have to share!

And by reading I mean more blog posts!

Practicum

Something that I've noticed throughout my time at my secondary methods practicum is the rapport that my cooperating teacher has with her students. They relate to her, and respect her so much because she makes a point of remembering things about them. She asks them how the play is going, if they are a member, and about how their game the night before went. She remembers about their families and genuinely cares if someone they care about is not feeling well or doing well. She gets on their level and tries to make everyone feel like what they have produced is valued. Another thing that I think enables the relationship she has with her students is the honesty that she has with her students. I don't think that her students ever question or wonder where their grades are coming from or what she is thinking and I know she feels that in return her students are honest with her if they don't understand the assignment. Because of this honesty I think her students trust her a lot. I think that she has a relationship with her students where they know she has expectations for them behaviorally and art wise that create an environment in which the classroom is peacefully going to go about a routine and my cooperating teacher could leave for half an hour and come back (not that she has done this but she could) and her students would not have gotten out of hand and they would have stayed on task to get work done. This is something I found so unique about her class that was inspiring.

Would You Mind Teaching a 3D class Ms. Davis? Umm... SIGN ME UP!

In my ideal teaching situation, I am teaching all the 3 dimensional classes my heart desires! I would be helping my students to find alternative forms of art that they might not otherwise find. If someone had asked me if I was an artist in high school I probably would have said no just because no one had introduced me to the world of 3 dimensional art and while I did paint in high school, I did not consider myself worthy of the word. I feel like a lot of art students feel as though they don't fit into the label of artist because they aren't exposed fully to what being an artist can mean! One of the areas of art that are often overlooked in schools, in my opinion, is the 3 dimensional arts! I think one thing that I think will increase the success of my students in my classes is my passion for finding what everyone is good at. I took a personality test for the camp I work for and one of my top five characteristics is Individualization. I am driven to find out individual qualities about people and encourage them. I hope that everyone in my classes will feel as though they are encouraged in a personal way, not just someone telling them that their art looks nice. But for me to take the time to really help them emphasize the things that they are showing promise in. As I continue my journey into adulthood and becoming a full time teacher I want to take more classes. I plan on continuing my education by pursuing my master's degree and my PhD. I also want to take classes to further my skills in the 2 dimensional world just because I feel as though I will never be done learning and I want to be the best teacher I can for my students. Here is some work I've been well... working on! 

Skill Set

I think that their are several skills that every art teacher should be able to display in an interview with a school. Those skills should include painting, drawing, composition, knowledge of the elements and principles of design, and some knowledge of 3 dimensional skills. I will be posting some pictures of my portfolio and describe several skill which I hope to acquire before making my teaching debut.

Cereal Bowl 2016

Encaustic Painting 2015

Egg Tempera 2015

Coil Pot 2015

Color Theory Self Portrait 2016

Digital Photo 2016

Charcoal Equestrian 2015

So some things I know I need to work on is drawing specifically with graphite, I am all but completely uncomfortable drawing with graphite, charcoal is not my friend but I can figure it out for the most part. The other thing I need to work on gaining before I enter the job market is working with oil paints and water color paints. I have messed around with both materials but never truly used them. Things I am extremely comfortable with is clay, and acrylic paints although I do not show any of my acrylic paintings (one is in progress, I may update y'all later!)

Advice

College classes are like...

It's coming to the time of the year where most seniors who are applying for college are getting their acceptance letters and deciding where to go. This is an extremely big decision for high schoolers to make and it is vital for teachers to be there for their students. So what can we do as art teachers to be there for our students? Well one way that my teacher Ms. Gina Taylor brought up that I think it is awesome, is for you to introduce art related professions that students might be good at and do it in a way that gets the student thinking about it! Very subtly suggest that their skills are what is required for a job in a certain area of art. So let's list the careers that an artist can follow!

Architecture: model builder, city planner, interior designer, landscape architecture, marine architecture, theme park designer, environmental architect (sciency)

Art Education: art therapist, artist in residence, community arts, grant writer, historian, museum educator, researcher, art teacher K-12

Artisan: blacksmith, bookbinder, ceramist, fiber artist, furniture maker, jewelry designer, metalsmith, sign painter, woodworker

Art Services: art director, artist’s agent, gallery director, appraiser, consultant, critic, auctioneer, art supply sales

Design: exhibits, floor coverings, floral, housewares, packaging, textile, toy, displays

Digital Media: advertising, animation/cartoonist, photographer, game designer, graphics, website design

Fashion: color consultant, clothing designer, art director, illustrator, merchandiser, patternmaker

Fine Arts: courtroom/police sketch artist, fine art copyist, mural artist, painter, sculptor, photographer

Graphic Design: advertising, calligrapher, font design, graphic artist (media)

Illustration: scientific/ medical, botanical, children’s books, animation, automobiles, editorial, fashion

Industrial Design: airline, automotive, factory, equipment, sports, tool (sciency)

Museums: art historian, art photographer, conservator, curator, educator, exhibition designer, lecturer, museum director

Photography: aerial, architectural, cinema, commercial, crime scene, fashion, photojournalism, portrait

Publishing: book design, art writer, art researcher, art critic, magazine designer

Theater: art director, costume designer, lighting designer, makeup artist, program designer, puppet maker, set design, special effects (applies to film industry)

(Totally a list from Ms. Gina Taylor's powerpoint as well.)

Students may be feeling like the meme below but they have got to pull it together their senior year and start preparing if they are going to be art majors in college. One really important way for art teachers to help seniors prepare is to help them put together their portfolio! Help your students put together their best work and a variety of works that showcase their skills and their knowledge of important points in art such as composition, elements and principles, etc.

 Another way that art teachers can help their students prepare for college is by telling them all the things that they had wished they had known about going to college. So I put together a list of things I wish I had known before I gone to college and definitely before the first day of classes.

Do not bring a map with you on the first day of classes, you will be teased.
Instead walk to your classes with a friend or roommate the day before classes this will also help you determine if you have enough time to go to the bathroom or if you will be just getting to class barely on time.

Do not wear the lanyard they give you at orientation, this is a way of picking out freshman, I was that freshman and you will be made fun of.
This is an awesome way of keeping your school ID but another way is keeping it in your wallet or purse.

Bring water, even if your teachers don't allow food and drink in the classroom the majority of them will allow water, and during the summer walking to class can get hot and you don't want a headache.

If you have classes back to back to back make sure to take care of yourself and bring something to eat.

When you get advised hold on to EVERYTHING THEY EVER GIVE YOU. Also keep up with your major and core requirements and know what you have to take, advisers are not the end all be all authority on what classes to take and in the end it is your responsibility to make sure you are graduating on time.

Take all of your core classes first. I know you want to take your major classes because you love your major and you're excited but the reality is that the majority of students change their major at least once. I changed my major five times. But the more you change your major the longer it will take for you to graduate. This means, all of my theatre credits do not count for my art education degree. So be careful.

Some of the most important life lessons you will not learn in the classroom so make sure you take time to enjoy your time at college it WILL fly by.

Going along with the last one, one of the most important lessons you will learn, is how to get along with your roommates. I can't give you much advice their as it is still and will always be a learning process, but come to every situation with an open mind, a forgiving heart, and a subdued tongue.

Collage

Today we will be covering collage!More specifically a lesson for collage, this one I am actually very much interested in creating for my classroom, so interested it's one I'm writing now for my Secondary Methods class! Who would have thought it? My lesson is inspired by the works of Frank Stella and his sculptural pieces. He uses color to create movement and rhythm in his artwork.

The lesson would involve creating a PowerPoint for the students to get to know his work and the assignment. The project would be a relief paper sculpture with torn and cut techniques used to create movement and rhythm. Students could vary colors as well but I'm really looking for how the shapes of their paper influence the movement of the piece.

Students would need paper. (Really?) YES. Scissors, glue, cardboard (for structural reasons) and some form of backing such as cardboard. (Collect 'em boxes!) And of course student's may need colored pencils, colored markers, paint and what not.

What are the things you need to teach your students Libby? Well I'll tell you. You are going to have to go over the differences between sculpture in the round and relief sculpture. You should show them various tearing techniques and cutting techniques. Some of you may be like: What? Various??? YOU JUST TEAR IT LIBBY. No...

Please bare with me on this horrible video... AND DO NOT GIVE YOUR STUDENTS KNIVES! (Obviously... but really, don't)

Here are some of Frank Stella's pieces.

Experimentation

Monday we played with marker washes in my Art Education Secondary Methods class and we talked about experimentation. I think that it is important for students to produce work that teaches them the elements and principles so that they have all the tools they need to create wonderfully inspired and creative pieces of art but I also think that it is extremely vital that students have time and space to experiment in a safe environment with the guidance of an instructor. If students do not know how to use a material or they cannot achieve the desired effect with the material they are using, most likely they will not continue to use the material. This is where the teacher steps in and this is why it is important for teachers to provide time in class to experiment with materials. That is exactly what we did on Monday. We took markers and watercolor paper and experimented with them in producing a similar affect as watercolor or India ink. This experimentation could be added into class easily by using it as a warm up before the use of the actual watercolors or ink. To understand how to use the materials students could play with the marker washes first. Take a plastic plate or palette and draw on it with the water based marker then take the paint brush and go to town, you can also experiment by drawing directly on the paper and then adding water on top of that.

(This is a picture from my elementary methods practicum in which a student used India ink to create a form and then drew with pastels to create the monster's features.)