Experience
In our final meeting with Cooper Home, the students finished their clay pots and sculptures they constructed in the previous meeting. Today's focus was to decorate their final work using acrylic paints, crayons, pastels, or a combination of materials. The students were asked to consider painting and drawing techniques we covered in previous lessons earlier in the year. Students explored the possibilities of how to decorate their fired clay pots in this final meeting.
Essential Understandings
Outcomes
Students will be able to:
Skills
Essential Understandings
- Artists and designers create art in a variety of forms to express ideas
- Artists and designers mix media and processes to create an art work
Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Create 3-D artwork that serves a function
- Combine 2-D and 3-D artistic techniques onto one art work
- Utilize 2-D materials in innovative and imaginative ways
- Understand the possibilities and limitations with applying 2-D materials onto a 3-D surface
Skills
- Identify different ways to decorate/finalize a clay pot/sculpture
- Creative problem solving
Documentation |
Reflection
What worked well for this art experience? Why?
One of the highlights that came from this experience was how engaged the students were with the activity of finishing up their pots. Usually returning to the same project results in a lack of interest even if there is a change of view and medium involved. Another thing that worked well was offering the students the option to draw when they were finished. While we did ask for them to continue the pot aspect by drawing where their pots would be or to animate them, they chose to work on unrelated ones, which was fine. The drawing was set up to be a secondary aspect for when they finished rather than a continuation of the project. The goal was to keep them creating and making artwork rather than sitting around doing nothing.
What didn't work well for this art experience? Why?
There were very few things that didn't work well for this experience. Everyone was on task for the duration of the class period with a few of them not doing anything in the last five minutes before clean up. Outside of that, everyone remained on task and continued past projects they had until the end of class. There were a few instances where the energy and attention lulled but students returned to the work at hand with a careful nudge. It was understandable that things would be a bit low in energy because it was the last class period but no one complained about having to keep working when last days of class are usually pretty lax.
What would you do differently? What?
I think that the best thing that would have worked was create a second project for them to work on instead of just focusing on painting their pots. It still took quite a bit of time to finish their pots but would have been better to have a secondary project for them to work on that would occupy more time than casual drawing. While it would still work to keep the secondary project optional and more for occupation of spare time, it would be better to make sure it is fully developed and thought through. That way the students have more of a connection to make with the work instead of having it be more or less busy work. That is where it will always continue to be a challenge and arising issue because there will only be so much that you can do to make sure students will make connections and persist to be engaged with the lesson.
One of the highlights that came from this experience was how engaged the students were with the activity of finishing up their pots. Usually returning to the same project results in a lack of interest even if there is a change of view and medium involved. Another thing that worked well was offering the students the option to draw when they were finished. While we did ask for them to continue the pot aspect by drawing where their pots would be or to animate them, they chose to work on unrelated ones, which was fine. The drawing was set up to be a secondary aspect for when they finished rather than a continuation of the project. The goal was to keep them creating and making artwork rather than sitting around doing nothing.
What didn't work well for this art experience? Why?
There were very few things that didn't work well for this experience. Everyone was on task for the duration of the class period with a few of them not doing anything in the last five minutes before clean up. Outside of that, everyone remained on task and continued past projects they had until the end of class. There were a few instances where the energy and attention lulled but students returned to the work at hand with a careful nudge. It was understandable that things would be a bit low in energy because it was the last class period but no one complained about having to keep working when last days of class are usually pretty lax.
What would you do differently? What?
I think that the best thing that would have worked was create a second project for them to work on instead of just focusing on painting their pots. It still took quite a bit of time to finish their pots but would have been better to have a secondary project for them to work on that would occupy more time than casual drawing. While it would still work to keep the secondary project optional and more for occupation of spare time, it would be better to make sure it is fully developed and thought through. That way the students have more of a connection to make with the work instead of having it be more or less busy work. That is where it will always continue to be a challenge and arising issue because there will only be so much that you can do to make sure students will make connections and persist to be engaged with the lesson.