Introduction
In our unit for the semester, we focused on the exploration of art and art materials in order to build a foundation of understanding for the kindergarteners. Alongside them being able to comprehend, reflect, create, and transfer using the creative process, we wanted to ensure they had a grounding to the processes and materials they used. In doing so, we helped create a foundation of art learnings and understandings for their future art experiences. This involved various styles of simple, yet in-depth critique processes that helped familiarize them with basic art terms and describing what was present in the artwork, as well.
Through the various projects that we designed, students were able to make connections with things that inspired them and were around them in the world. Part of this was how they could tell a story with their art and the other to understand how artists create art. To ensure this, they were able to play and explore with materials to create art founded on a form of story: personal narrative, illustrative, or with a specific purpose. Then they would share these varying stories and other students would be able to reflect and comment on different aspects that they notice in the artwork.
Through the various projects that we designed, students were able to make connections with things that inspired them and were around them in the world. Part of this was how they could tell a story with their art and the other to understand how artists create art. To ensure this, they were able to play and explore with materials to create art founded on a form of story: personal narrative, illustrative, or with a specific purpose. Then they would share these varying stories and other students would be able to reflect and comment on different aspects that they notice in the artwork.
Lesson Descriptions
The Enchantment of Color
For this lesson, we wanted to focus on how colors can interact with each other and how different materials can affect the outcome. We started with dry mediums (pastels and crayons) so that they could get a feel for how they felt. Following that, we introduced wet mediums (watercolor and chalk w/ water) to show how they varied in comparison to the dry materials. On the last day, we demonstrated how the materials interacted with each other and how that would be used in some of their final illustrations.
They were asked to think of something important to them; this could range from an important family member, a favorite pet, a favorite toy, or a favorite place. As they were designing their imagery, we had them think about the story their illustration could tell about their important things. This included where their important thing would be located or where it could be found: in space, at home, in a park, or maybe even in the school. Their choice of colors was also a factor in how they could use them to create different feelings within their artwork. In one case, a student commented on how their dog had dark fur but included orange because of how energetic they were. By the end of the lesson, they had illustrations that incorporated wet and dry mediums and had a story behind the imagery they chose.
The Tell-tale Diptych
Similar to the way we used dry materials in our first lesson, this one focused more on how imagery can be created through outside influences rather than relying solely on personal ideas. The project itself was designed for the students to listen to a story without too much in terms of pictures or imagery to have them offer their own thoughts on what they “saw”. Following that, they were tasked with creating an illustration of what they saw in the story and explain how they created what they did. This was the precursor to the project final that they’d be working on. The final project utilized two different stories that were connected with one another. After listening to the stories, students were asked to list off some ideas that came to mind while they listened that pertained to: people, places, animals, and things. Once they had a word list for both stories they were then asked to create two illustrations, one on white paper and another on black paper, for both stories. The difference in paper was to have them see the different ways the background color can affect the material put on the paper and offer a visual comparison between the two.
League of Extraordinary Toymakers
For this lesson, we changed things up from 2-dimensional materials to 3-dimensional materials in order to break out of the flat illustrations we had been working on. When we introduced this project, we asked the students to think about creating a toy that had never existed before that had a purpose. We showed them art from the artists Dominic Wilcox and Alexander Calder (see above), who create sculptures (or assemblages) that include both a purpose and could be considered toy-like in their design. From there, they collaborated with each other on what purposes the sculptures may have had and compare those to the toys they would be making. At first, we had them explore with the provided materials (cardboard tubes, pipe-cleaners, Styrofoam bowls and plates, paper cups and plates, tape, straws, hot glue) to get ideas for how they could assemble their toys. This allowed them to become familiar with the different ways things could be put together and how they looked when placed certain ways. Following their prototyping day, the students moved onto the final ideas, thinking about how they could improve on their previous idea or changing to a completely new one to create. After they were completed, we had the students present their toys to the class by having their peers take guesses at what they could be. The process was similar to the way we had them thinking about Wilcox and Calder, but then we had them explain the purpose of their toy and demonstrate how it was used if they could.
Secrets of the Treasure Box
In our final lesson for the semester, we wanted the students to continue seeing how sculptures have a purpose, but this time we wanted them to see them in a more “professional” function that a toy would be. We started the lesson by sharing imagery of reliquaries with them (special boxes usually used to hold objects important to religions) and relating the term to how a treasure box can be used to hold important things. In a similar manner to the toy-maker process, we had them look at varying types of reliquaries (some historical and some from the present) and take guesses at what could be kept in them. We wanted them to think about something they had that was important to them and how they could create a reliquary for that.
Before they began the final building process, we had the students create a small model of what they planned to build using an oil-based clay designed to never, completely harden. As regular clay will dry out without the addition of water, this allowed them to work with the clay as much as they liked to get a sense of how they would be building their final treasure box. Once they finished their maquette (preliminary sculpture), then they moved onto the water-based clay. The aim was to have them create an artwork that had a purpose for what it could hold but we were unable to get to the final reflection for this one, but we intended for them to treat it like a museum display and “decipher” what the artifact could have contained.
Prepared Graduate Competencies
The PGCs that were chosen to be focused on in this lesson pertained to how students could tell stories with their art and explore a variety of materials. The goal was to get them comfortable with talking about works of art, but to also to become comfortable with talking about their own art. It is very common for people to have trouble explaining their art because they may have very personal connections and don’t want to criticized over sensitive topics. We wanted them to listen to others too because it goes hand-in-hand with being comfortable expressing your own ideas; you want to give others the same respect you want to be given when discussing and sharing art. The other intention was to create a foundation of understanding art too so that they could build upon it with future art experiences.
Comprehend
Reflect
Create
Transfer
Comprehend
- See oneself as a participant in visual art and design by experiencing, viewing, or making.
- Practice critical and analytical skills by using academic language to discuss works of art and visual.
Reflect
- Visually and/or verbally articulate how visual art and design are a means for communication.
- Persist in the creative process and innovate from failure.
- Critique connections between visual art and historic and contemporary philosophies.
Create
- Create works of visual art and design that demonstrate increasing levels of mastery in skills and techniques.
Transfer
- Critique connections between visual art and historic and contemporary philosophies
- Interpret works of art and design in the contexts of varied traditions, histories, and cultures.