Teaching Art in a Time of Social Isolation (Famous Painting Reenactment)

Student Work 1

Day 4 (4/27/20) 

You can’t get far on the internet these days without seeing people reenacting famous paintings usually with some comedic twists. I decided to get on board and make it a learning exercise. As soon as I mentioned it to my Drawing 1 students they were on board, especially since I replaced their Old Masters Drawings with it. This class has always been kind of special and the students have a real chemistry about them. When they found out that they were not going to be able to finish the year together they took it pretty hard because they looked forward to their time together. It was the perfect class to use as the pilot and they would all be able to see each other, in pictures at any rate. To make it more of a learning experience they had to research famous paintings to find one that they wanted to recreate. They then had to write a two page critique on the painting and artist. Then it was time to start recreating. Again, I emphasized the importance of good photography to the overall quality.  They were so excited that I actually received some of the images before the due date. As I expected they came up with some good ones. I am not sure how many of these assignments will make the cut once we get back into the brick and mortar but for now it is making online teaching fun.

Student Work 2

Student Work 3

Student Work 4

Student Work 5

Student Work 6

Student Work 7

Teaching Art in a Time of Social Isolation "Origami"

When Dinosaurs walked the Earth

Day 3 (4/22/20) 

I have always wanted to include “Origami” into my curriculum although finding the time to squeeze it in was always a problem. Originating in Japan, in the sixth century as mostly a religious endeavor, origami still holds a certain mystical quality. At a time when more emphasis has been put on including diverse cultural experiences into art programs origami seemed like a natural bridge. This and the fact that it uses minimal materials made it one of the first options that I thought about when faced with what to do with my ceramics classes in the absence of clay. The problem I faced was how to teach students an art form as complicated as origami without being present. Fortunately the internet came to the rescue. There are tutorials on doing everything from simple to complex forms. To make it less intimidating I emphasized the overall art piece more than the individual objects. The students were allowed to stay as simple or get as complex as they wanted to. Furthermore I encouraged the students to use materials that they had on hand like magazines, newspaper and printer paper as well as found objects. I recommended some sites that showed what contemporary artists are doing in origami and encouraged the students to do some research. When it was time to start they began by posting some of their individual objects. Again, I kept reminding them that the origami modules were to be just one part of larger project and that not everything had to be origami or even paper. I wanted to make it as expansive as possible to allow for individual creativity while minimizing the anxiety of working with something new. Happily, the students seemed to embrace the project and took off in all directions. Finally, I discussed the importance of carefully photographing their projects since the only reference I would have for grading would be their photos. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of their work.

Cubes 1

Cubes 2

Crane Mobile

Flower Mobile

Zoo Animals

Butterflies

Origami Dress

Dreams

Teaching Art in a Time of Social Isolation "Land Art"

Land Art 1

Day 2 (4/17/20) 

I have to admit that when I first heard that the school was shutting down and we were going to start teaching students remotely I went into a bit of a panic. Although I have never been a stranger to technology I didn’t really feel prepared to start teaching over the internet. “Google Classroom” was something I was remotely aware of but had never really used it. Being very camera shy, the thought of video conferencing and making videos still sends shivers down my spine. Add to that the fact that I have four classes of ceramics this semester seemed to be a recipe for disaster. The possibility of sending clay home with the students in so little time was out of the question.  In light of the fact that we are not going back this year I am glad I didn’t try. I started working on learning all the programs I would need to make this happen. It came to me that perhaps this would be an opportunity to explore some areas that I had always wanted to but hadn’t had the chance. The first one, for obvious reasons, was Land or Environmental Art. I started by having my Ceramics 2 class research and write on the art of Andy Goldsworthy and other Land Artists. After writing a critique on the Land Art Piece of their choosing they had to develop their own Land Art. It is a small class so I thought it would be a good pilot group. I wasn’t disappointed and will probably use it for other classes in the future.

Land Art 2

Land Art 3

Land Art 4

Land Art 5

Due to school protocol student names are not being used.