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Practice colour theory through digital blending of paints using a three-colour mixer!

Other resources for teaching colour theory: http://paintspot.ca/colour-theory-101-things-they-didnt-teach-me-in-art-school-part-2/?utm_source=+Top+6+Resources+for+Colour+Theory&utm_campaign=Top+6+Colour+Theory&utm_medium=email

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Introduction

The following collection of images and documents demonstrate my dedication to allowing creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and inquiry to flourish in the high school art classroom. Following the instructional end of my first year in the education program, I feel a heightened sense of desire to share; I want to help people pick apart and restructure information and assist in creating new in-depth understandings about the world in relation to the self (Groen & Kawalilak, in press; Pinar, 2004; Wheatley, 2002). I want students to sense what they are doing is important in a way that transcends traditional knowledge - I want to spark the motivation to produce, discover, modify, and 'be' (Palmer, 1997; Wheatley, 2002).   Art is to be interpreted and reinterpreted with no absolute, and education is the exact same way (Lucero, 2011). To frame this within my teaching practice, I must concern myself with chance, experimentation, exploration, dynamism, community, participation, and activity; the creation of new relationships must occur for artistic and educational success. (Lucero, 2011). Rather than maintaining a focus on what is, art and education should allow one to consider what can be (Lucero, 2011; Pinar, 2004). By teaching in this way, I aim to help students establish “an intensified engagement with daily life” (Pinar, 2004, p. 37), and thus, the creation of a more open livable space where meaningful learning moments can occur frequently both inside and outside of the school setting (as we know engagement breeds good learning through participation) (Banks, et al., 2005; Palmer, 1997; Wenger, 2000; Wheatley, 2002).

Banks, J., Cochran-Smith, M., Moll, L., Richert, A., Zeichner, K., LePage, P., ... & McDonald,M. (2005). Teaching diverse learners. In L. Darling-Hammond and J. Bransford (Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do (pp.232-274). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Groen, J., & Kawalilak, C. (in press). Pathways of adult learning: An introduction to adult learning in personal, professional, and educational contexts. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press.

Lucero, J. R. (2011). Ways of being: Conceptual art modes-of-operation for pedagogy as contemporary art practice. (Doctoral dissertation)Retrieved from http://gradworks.umi.com/35/00/3500957.html

Palmer, P. J. (1997). The heart of a teacher: Identity and integrity in teaching. Change, 29(6), 14- 21.

Pinar, W. F. (2004). What is curriculum theory?. (pp. 4, 15-37, 55, 125). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization, 7(2), 226-244.

Wheatley, M. J. (2002). Turning to one another: Simple conversations to restore hope to the future. (1st ed., pp. 126, 132-135). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

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The Specialization brainstorm of subjects that can be covered in within art; I am not an expert in even half of these concepts, which really emphasizes my need to maintain collaborative efforts and draw from a strong community of practice made up of other educators and artists throughout my career. I will ask the students what they want to learn about, after presenting my own interests, to see where we intersect and shape the year accordingly. I will refrain from only letting them do what they are already comfortable with (as this is not true inquiry); I must know my students to ensure they are actually learning continuously!

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The method of currere—the infinitive form of curriculum—promises no quick fixes. On the contrary, this autobiographical method asks us to slow down, to remember even re-enter the past, and to meditatively imagine the future. Then, slowly and in one’s own terms, one analyzes one’s experience of the past and fantasies of the future in order to understand more fully, with more complexity and subtlety, one’s submergence in the present. The method of currere is not a matter of psychic survival, but one of subjective risk and social reconstruction, the achievement of selfhood and society in the age to come. To undertake this project of social and subjective reconstruction, we teachers must remember the past and imagine the future, however unpleasant each domain may be. Not only intellectually but in our character structure, we must become “temporal,” living simultaneously in the past, present, and future. (Pinar, 2004, p. 4)

This book is for my own reference; it helps inform how I frame my teaching practice in cohesion with myself as an artist. I was unsure at first, but I realize now the two can work in conjunction to form a comprehensive conceptual art practice in which activity, process, and growth are the true goals, not a particular physical end product.

Pinar, W. F. (2004). What is curriculum theory?. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

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A research thesis that outlines some effective alternative strategies for teaching children with ADHD in middle and secondary art classrooms, which I will keep within my own resources to reference back to when encountering particularly problematic students. Thirukkumaran surveyed a twelve art teachers and quizzed them about their methodologies, successes, and failures. Although her sample is small, many of the strategies reflected what I have been learning in other education classes and what I intuitively expected from my own time learning art in an academic setting. For example, her sample found success in positioning students in less distracting areas of the room, allowing students to listen to music, encouraging exploration within a variety of scales, introducing a variety of physical media (like clay), and incorporating technology (or other student interests) in a meaningful way, providing extra direction and cues, 'chunking' instructions, allowing small exercise breaks, and offering encouragement and praise. To be fair, most of these are good strategies to use with almost any child, coded or not, which just reemphasizes the importance of appealing to student interests and keeping the art room a non-judgmental place of open exploration and creativity!

Thirukkumaran, M. R. (2012). Teaching art to students diagnosed with ADHD: An analysis of teacher strategies. (Master's thesis) Retrieved from http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/976989/1/Thirukkumaran_MA_S2013.pdf

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"An open marketplace for original teaching resources -- 900,000+ free and priced teaching resources created by teachers for instant download (including lesson plans, unit plans, and novel studies).

Although I have not used this website before and many of the lessons seem geared towards younger grades, I respect the system's principal idea of collaboration and sharing. I will keep this website on hand to reference, especially during my first year, if I am really stuck on an idea for the next lesson. However, I will be critical of any lesson I download and read experiential comments, as the content on this website is only evaluated by teachers (and anybody who can sign up for an account)! In that way I can tailor lessons as I need or base my own around a previously established foundation.

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Artstor is a comprehensive digital library of art throughout history, which will be useful in my own teaching when making references to history (during any lesson, to indicate the historical significance of a current practice or piece). It will also be useful to Art 30 students when they attempt to understand the relevance and cultural placement of their own work. This resource is also vital when teaching cultural and indigenous forms of art, if I access this route by myself instead of inviting an expert.

Unfortunately Artstor requires a subscription, which is between $300-$1765 per year for K-12 institutions, so this resource is probably not viable (especially for beginning teachers). However, its inclusion underlines the importance of tying art history and specific (cultural) periods to what one is currently making, to understand how one's work speaks in a broader sense (and to see if, how, and where it has been made before, so one may evolve into something more complex and relevant). 

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I will show work of installation artists like Lyndal Osborne (click for more information) to introduce large-scale art and the idea of 'collections and collecting', which can be a useful process for research and compiling ideas in a physical form. Work like this also demonstrates modality and multiples, which is important in any work of art as every piece is purely the sum of its elements, while demonstrating a fresh perspective on the mundane (a task generally designated to artists).

If I have the space and the students are interested, I would have them collect objects throughout the semester as an addition to their sketchbook project. 'Gathering', in my own experience, helps one realize what they want to do and why they are interested in the concepts or mediums they are interested in. At the end of the year we could do a large-scale collaborative project with all the collections, or just have the objects decorating the room as a constantly changing display of inspiration.

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"On Line explores the radical transformation of the medium of drawing throughout the twentieth century, a period when numerous artists subjected the traditional concepts of drawing to a critical examination and expanded the medium's definition in relation to gesture and form."

A. Balasubramaniam (Indian, born 1971). Rest in Resistance. 2007

A great digitized exhibition I would have students go through to help them open up to (re)defining their definitions of drawing, line, sculpture, and abstraction. Great showcase of both art history and contemporary work in a variety of scales. Each piece has a description and many of them have a video or audio description of its significance and the process used to create the piece.

The exhibition is segmented into three distinct parts - Surface Tension, Line Extension, and Confluence - which display how line has transformed. Students should explore a history of technical elements both for inspiration and to expand their viewpoints; in the specific case of line, they should understand how it was used as an indicator of movement, why it expanded into sculpture ("real"/"social" space), and why/how line can now be used (literally and conceptually) to give meaning to the area around and between the lines, so they may incorporate such ideas into their own work.

This will help the students think about the function of EVERY element when creating work, not just the obvious surface symbols. I believe this is an important history to look at within high school as so much of the work will be based on line, drawing and two-dimensionality (because of the obvious space, time, and monetary constraints).

I will introduce the gallery segments within my own similarly segmented lessons; I can refer back when teaching abstractions, minimalism, line, form, negative space, and scale, giving a brief run-down of the history of such concepts and showing relevant artists. 

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Comprehensive yet easy-to-read guide on documenting artwork. This guide is great because the author compiled a whole bunch of extra hyperlinks for topics he doesn't elaborate on, and tells you how to do a lot of the optimizing in both Photoshop AND on-board the camera. I would have students refer back to this guide when they are learning how to photograph their work professionally, which I would teach a class on if the school has the appropriate resources. Even if they do not have the money, make-shift lighting can always be arranged relatively inexpensively using daylight bulbs, and I can bring my own camera in to help those students who wish to start a digital portfolio for applications.

Below is a link to another good tutorial, which stands as a compressed edition for the basic elements of photography (covers ISO, aperture, and shutter speed).

http://www.dpchallenge.com/tutorial.php?TUTORIAL_ID=45

Compton, J. R. (2013). How to photograph art or just about anything else. Retrieved from http://www.dallasartsrevue.com/resources/How-to-Photo-Art.shtml

Goyer, H. (n.d.). A beginner's guide to simple photography concepts: Iso, aperature, and shutter speed. Retrieved from http://www.dpchallenge.com/tutorial.php?TUTORIAL_ID=45

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"In the early phases of the writing process, it’s a good idea to be as honest with yourself as possible and take stock of what you know about your art, your process and your ideas.

Consider asking yourself these questions:

What am I doing?

How am I doing it?

Why am I doing it?

What influences me most?

How does my art relate to the art of my contemporaries?

What do I want other people to understand about my art?

Am I unwilling to discuss any aspects of my work? If so, why?

Freewriting and mind-mapping, two of the most prevalent brainstorming strategies, can help you work through your ideas."

These are good questions to ask oneself when writing an artist statement; this document describes methodologies of writing about one's work and processes in an authentic and comprehensible way. It also shows a series of strong examples.

I will have students read over this guide and use it as a reference when crafting their own statements, of which they will produce two or three during the semester as they grow and progress.

Students will write at the beginning of the year, after offering them this guide and an artist statement writing lesson, so we can both understand and see where they are at artistically. This process will hopefully give the students some ideas about what they want to persist during the year by allowing them a chance to reflect. I will use this initial statement in comparative or formative assessment at the end as an achievement indicator (regarding both artistic and written expression growth) when compared to their second or third statements. 

Assessing and reading artist statements will guide my teaching in that I will have an understanding regarding what to teach, and how to teach it to specific students. It will also give students a chance to demonstrate what they have learned in a different format. 

CGU Writing Center. (2014). Writing in art: Introduction. Retrieved from http://www.cgu.edu/pages/7483.asp

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Portraiture - It's a necessity.

Personally I keep my focus on the imperfections within art, so showing examples like artist Jenny Saville and Maja Ruznic (click for more information) may help students break away from reproducing fashion glam photos or carbon copies of their source image. I want my students to keep it interesting and put some emotion into the product!

Of course, we will need to practice proper facial proportions before we can distort in a purposeful way, so this would be a secondary portraiture assignment or part of a small series.

Although annoying initially, I also found drawing a scaled grid over the source image and the canvas to be extremely helpful while learning how to continuously look at previously drawn elements to get proportions correct (this technique is especially helpful with large-scale portraits). I will have students do at least one 'grid' portrait, but the end goal is to get students to a point of forgoing the grid in favour of simply asking themselves evaluation questions like "how far is the corner of the eye from the bridge of the nose actually?" to make sure everything lines up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW9ELeVoCf4 There are many tutorials on youtube for creating these grids, which I will have the students to access before class to prepare them for the hands-on lesson.  

I acknowledge the above portraiture examples are somewhat creepy and I may not be able to show them to every class, but the point is to show non-traditional portraits in addition to classical ones to widen student perspectives regarding drawing, painting, and (self)portraits.

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Earth From Above, a cool project by Yann Arthus-Bertrand documenting natural and man-made structures from the sky. I would use it in my classroom as a reference or inspiration resource when teaching line, form, colour, or composition; the images are rich enough to lend inspiration for any of those topics. The book would also be good to use in a class about multimedia, abstracting natural forms, texture, and perspectives (both literal and conceptual).

I would allow this book to be accessed during work or planning time, and would show three or four pages when introducing one of the topics outlined above.

Arthus-Bertrand, Y. (2003). Earth from above: 366 days. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams.

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The link directs to a brief rotoscoping tutorial in .pdf format; the tutorial was given to me by a video technician when I attended ACAD and was very helpful for a project I wanted to explore further.

I have worked with AnimatePro myself, and found it quite straightforward. However, I would offer both of the rotoscoping tutorials I posted in a lesson as described in the previous rotoscoping post, because students will have access to different resources and may already come to the class with a preference for one program or another.

A screenshot of the program and the work I was doing.

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The link directs to a brief rotoscoping tutorial in .pdf format; the tutorial was given to me by a video technician when I attended ACAD and was very helpful for a project I wanted to explore further.

Rotoscoping is basically a 'dumbed-down' version of animation in which the artist traces over a video frame-by-frame, removing the video background at the end. The results are often very interesting and varied, and can be far removed from the original content (depending on the technique of the artist). Rotoscoping is useful in a classroom setting as a tool for exploring animation, movement, and drawing, because of the amount of time it saves compared to 'true' animation (which is lengthy and impractical for high school students).

If I choose to take an entire week or so to explore animation or movement I would begin by explaining the process, offering students these tutorials, and provide them with assistance in choosing and clipping videos for use. Although it is not deeply practical to use such an expensive program (Photoshop), there are free trials available for download that last a full month (more than enough time to experiment). 

A .gif from probably the most well-known rotoscoping production, A Scanner Darkly (Linklater, 2006).

Linklater, R. (Director) (2006). A scanner darkly [DVD].

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The link to download Audacity, which is a simple free program I will suggest for students who are interested in rudimentary sound work. Although I doubt I will assign any sound manipulation tasks within my first few years of teaching, it is good to have a trusted resource handy for those students who wish to push the boundaries on their own initiative.

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'Each hour-long episode... is loosely structured around a theme that unifies the individual artists – as diverse as their mediums may be. [For example,] season 4 episodes of “Art in the Twenty-First Century” include the themes of “Romance,” “Protest,” “Ecology,” and “Paradox" (Art 21, 2007).'

Awesome series of videos - not only are they are grouped thematically, but the Art 21 curators work hard to consistently showcase a wide range of artists, styles, and techniques within a particular theme. This format makes it easy to focus on a certain concept while demonstrating a wide variety of ideas for inspiration. However, because they are an hour long I will only show segments for inspiration or have individual students watch the parts that most relate to the work they are producing and the direction they wish to take. I love these videos but I always get a little sleepy when watching something for an hour in class.

Art 21. (2007). Art in the twenty-first century, season 4. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/art21/films/art-in-the-twenty-first-century-season-4-2007