Summertime as an art teacher/artist

It’s a funny time of year for a busy art educator.  You are coming away from super hectic weeks of art shows, receptions, ceremonies, and the dreaded end of the year studio cleaning/organizing. All you feel like doing is crashing on your couch and sleeping for days.  If you are lucky the immediate change of pace doesn’t make you sick due to the stress levels dropping so dramatically.

Well, I didn’t get sick. I am thankful.  I did put myself on a rotation of taking time to paint for myself every day.  It has helped me get in touch with the artist in me that has been denied all school year to just create for creating sake.  After launching a full choice studio for the first time it has been fast and furious.  I do need to make changes but right now I need to focus on me.  I have set a goal to get on the artist registry in my State and to prepare enough work and work flow to produce art pieces for art competitions.  I am doing a good job so far and it feels amazing.

 

I will be attending the ISTE conference to help me define and sort my new ideas for next year’s choice based studio layout.  No major shifts but defining a more transparent method of art proposal forms, submission of reflections, assessments, progress pieces, and over all methods to push my artists forward.  I have already placed two dates on the school calendar for Arts Reveal Nights.  That is when my artists present a body of work to an audience about the studio work they have created.  I had many requests from my artist students to add more artists to the presentation and to offer two events.  I am also setting goals for my students to submit works to more art competitions.

I am working with two new art teachers next year and I am super excited that we are all on the same page about choice based art and how to implement technology into the studio.  We will have a really awesome visual arts team.

I am presenting my experience with student reflections and their results from a full year of choice at the EdCloset Summer Conference.  If you need professional development, I recommend you check out the conference.     Steam & Arts Integration

Meanwhile, I can be found in my studio space at home working on some art.