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.)