On Teaching Art

Over fifty years of teaching art has given me the confidence to create lesson plans that connect with the population of various groups. While I might have several favorite lesson plans that seem to work well with most groups, I often tweak them to get a better fit. For instance, at the present time and for the last twelve years, I have been teaching art one day a week on a small Native American reservation an a one- room school where the ages range from five to thirteen. The challenge here is; what to do that is simple enought for the five year old and yet not boring for the older child. Usually the idea is to use developmental skills such as cutting and pasting and simple drawing that can be further developed by the fifth, sixth or seventh grader.

I start with something simple and directive, allowing variations on whatever I am demonstrating (hopefully it will be better than mine). Then when all the instructions are followed and everyone has a starting point, I say "make it your own", and each one does make it his or her own to the degree that none look like anything I had previously conceived...which is good, very good, since each one is a creative and exploratory expression of the art.

There are many jumping points for art lessons, such as the seasons, holidays, sports, and scenes such as landscapes and underwater fantasies. There are stories that are read that can be a book report collage, a social studies lesson can be a take off point for a galleon on the high seas on its way to discover the new world, or imitating the art of a culture such as the Maori, with all their beautiful white dots on black paper. Math can be used with graph paper to create a symmetrical design. The different approaches to art, from the wildly free and creative to the counting out of dots to make a design on graph paper allow all the students to explore their potential, and hopefully find one that fits the personal make-up of that individual. Because my students are Native American, I push for theim to incorporate their heiritage into their art, and it definitely comes through. The work is rich and exciting and I am delighted by the freedom with which they express themselves.

I get art lessons from all over. When I had my college training in art in the fifties, it was the style to let the child be free and explore the media in order to get rid of all of his or her inhibitions. I still have a place for this approach. Self-expression is a vital basis for art of any kind, but certain techniques are also valuable to learn so that the artist can be be free to practice that self-expression with confidence. So we do free, we do copy, we do paint techniques,and collage, cartooning, printmaking, papier mache, and even tracing. In other words, we explore art in all its dimensions.

Not everyone will be free and condfident. Certain ages like to have groundwork where they can achieve. Other, younger students do like to explore media and should be allowed more freedom. By giving many options gives everyone a chance. For fun, we do class murals such as a giant underwater scene where everyone draws an underwater denizen or a treasure chest or whatever they can dream up, then we cut them out and paste them on a background where they see that they have all contributed something whether they are five or thirteen. Another fun one of this sort is "Monsters Waiting for the Bus"

I guess the point that I am trying to make is to make art fun and adventurous for the students we must keep in mind that a child's art is a personal exploration of that child's creative self.

Lessons for All Ages
Lesson 1	figures
Lesson 2	freeing creativity
Lesson 3	everyone is an artist