Student Panel Presents Benefits of Choice Art at the Art Educators Conference

This was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.  Last year a group of my high school students hosted three sessions at a middle school in Dover, Arkansas.  It was all started by the middle school art educator- Jocelyn Alvey.  She was paying attention to what we were doing in our ChoiceArt program.  Jocelyn contacted me through my IG  (schultz_life) and requested if we could Skype with her classes to help them connect to more authentic art making.  I figured we could do better than that.  I surveyed a few of my students and we planned our traveling workshop.  Soon we loaded a bus very early in the morning and headed to a town over an hour away to help art students understand the power of ChoiceArt.

Our workshop consisted of presenting our art portfolio’s on Sway.com and showing students how we develop, research, document, write, and present our ideas.  We broke off into small groups and shared our actual works so students could touch and ask questions about how it was created. We then demonstrated a few new techniques that they could start to use in their art work.

One school year later…. we are presenting our experiences at the Arkansas Art Educators Conference.  We had four high schoolers and four middle schoolers that had a lot to say about how the experience changed the way they create art.

As it goes…hear it from the “mouth of babes”.  My students were captivated and impressed by what the middle school students remembered.  They all had individual stories that recalled what the high school artists did or said that impacted them directly.  The middle school artists shared actual works of art and also shared their elaborate sketchbooks that demonstrated color mixing, compositional layout ideas, and written thoughts.  My high schoolers truly realized the full impact of their workshop.  The middle school students were so poised and clear in their voice and how much they appreciated the inspiration my students delivered.

 

After the students wrapped up their presentations, the art educators looked at the art work close-up, thumbed through the sketchbooks, and asked specific questions.  Other art educators asked Jocelyn and me more questions about how our programs got started.  I was happy that a few times my students answered the questions for me.  They were so proud of the ChoiceArt program they have created in our studio.  After a while I had some time to visit with the middle school students and it was clear to me that they were transformed.  Clear vision of what art means to them, how art can deliver powerful ideas through a visual illusion, and they want to be creators for life.  We exchanged IG’s and we will continue to help inspire each other.  It’s my hope that all the students realize their full potential and pass it forward and inspire more students.

I’m hoping to post the recordings of the students own voices through the ChoiceArt FB page so you can hear how amazing it truly was.

Students Leading Students

Artist Workshop with High School Artists

On Thursday, March 8, ten of my art students traveled to Dover Middle School (approx. 1.5 hours away from our school) to present their research, process, and inspirations for creating their art work. The students who participated in the artist workshop were selected for their ability to present, relate to younger students, and their artistic style/voice.  I wanted themes and age-appropriate work to share with the middle schoolers.

How it all began.

I was contacted by Ms. Jocelyn Alvey the Dover Middle School art teacher.  Ms. Alvey follows Schultz_Life Instagram and was so impressed by the work and level of engagement the Episcopal Upper School students have in their Choice Art program, that she reached out for some help for her students.  At first, Ms. Alvey wanted to Skype with our students about our process and presentations.  I knew we could do better than that so I hatched an idea to create a workshop program and take it on the road.  Anne Marie and Heather were instrumental in helping to plan the workshop and assisted with the details and materials. In the process of the workshop details I contacted Paul Leopoulos the Thea Foundation Director. The Thea Foundation provides art supplies and funds for art programs all around Arkansas.  All I did was ask him if he would provide some funds for our students to present to the Middle School art program.  Mr. Leopoulos was super supportive and wrote a check for $200.00 for the presentation.  Once approvals were made to travel to Dover, the Upper School artists prepared a Sway presentation of their work and practiced the techniques we planned on presenting to the Middle School artists.

 

 

We hosted two workshops to a packed art studio.  Several Upper School artists presented their Sway links and then we divided into small groups. Each Episcopal art student shared actual works of art with the small groups and told them about their ideas and how they created the work. We wanted the younger students to be able see, touch, and ask questions about the ideas.  Then each middle school artist was able to experiment with the new techniques we shared in our small groups.   We demonstrated a few techniques with the Dover artists, packing tape transfers, chalk paper marbling, and using images from books and painted papers.  We also provided painted papers, magazines, children’s books to cut up, and handouts about line designs.

The sessions went great and the Dover students loved the new techniques and asked excellent questions.  When the first session was about to end, Anne Marie and Matt presented Ms. Alvey the large check to inform her about the donation.  She was very touched and the Dover students got really excited about being able to purchase new materials based on what the Episcopal artists shared.

 

 

Our second session was equally packed and the word was out about the Episcopal artists so they couldn’t wait to get into the art room.  After our second session, we met up with the Dover students at lunch to continue the conversations.  As we picked up our lunch the Dover students waved individual artists to their tables.  Carter brought along paper and pencil and gave a drawing tutorial at the table.  It was difficult to see what he was doing because of the large crowd that gathered around him to see and record his work with their phones.  Haley looked through a Dover student’s sketchbook and talked about drawing.  London was mobbed at lunch to talk about all kinds of ideas.  Matt and Rodney sat with a few Dover students and enjoyed talking about school and sports.  The rest of the Episcopal students sat with Ms. Alvey and shared what they experienced during the sessions.

We all agreed that it was an amazing workshop and how much each artist benefited from the experience.  Anne Marie thinks we should start traveling all over and presenting to other art programs.  Well, you never know what will happen next…

Next up is a small group of art educator’s coming in April to observe my studio in action.  I have to admit I’m a little nervous but when I mentioned it to my students they got very excited about the idea.  It just proves that if you ignite their passion and let them lead the world opens up for them.

As I am writing this I am looking through the NAEA18 Convention sessions.  I’m so looking forward to Seattle this year.  I cannot wait to all the ChoiceArt Educators at our meeting and to hear all of your successes from this school year.

 

 

 

 

Art Students Work Like Artists

Reflecting on my own personal method of creating art, I started brainstorming on how to create my Artist Proposal to help my students navigate the ChoiceArt studio.  This helped me to create the work flow first and then the form was born.  I created it to help my students be independent in the studio.   I anchored the whole work flow with a Google form that I named the Artist Proposal.

When I created the form; I hit all the essentials I needed for recognizing the individual student and identifying the artists intentions.  The form functions as a guide to layout and describe the students art concept, Theme, Artistic Targets, and to attach the Sway link code.  The Sway link supports the selected concept with research, evidence of growth and experimentation (skill-building techniques), and written reflections with photographs/videos of the process.  This year, I included my standard based assessment rubric, so my students will be able to measure what they are establishing and how much effort is required to achieve the level they wish to accomplish for the proposal.

 

 

I have several areas where the questions are marked with required and accumulate points for completion.

My Artist Proposal includes several questions that my students need to answer before submitting their proposal.  The questions ask the “Why” they are making the project. What materials are you going to need? How is this project going to help you grow and develop? What was your inspiration? Why is this your focus at this time and how long do you feel this will take to complete?

I recommend you create an Artist Proposal that your students can understand and complete independently. 

I created mine to support the environment and culture, I have created in my studio.  Often my student’s create a Sway link first and then complete the Artist Proposal. My students have a clearer understanding of what they are striving to achieve, because they have already collected research, prepared sketches, and have a connection to the “why” for creating the piece.

My Google Form with the Artist Proposal then gathers the data I need to support them with materials,  I can set-up work spaces and storage spaces,  I gather additional support like research, exemplars, and skill building exercises.  The data collected from the form also shows where my students are functioning throughout the semester.  I can see when they are developing and or working for mastery.  I can see what Themes are the most popular and what materials I need to stock up on.  In addition to the Google form, I can show my students growth with their individual Sway links and written reflections.  The class presentations are the bonus content that I leverage to help my students build confidence and level up their skills and voice.

My assessment forms are also Google forms and student’s answer questions reflecting on their accomplishments.  The data collected from these additional forms help support the culture I am creating with ChoiceArt in my studio.  I am supporting the creating and thinking.  The end product is a bonus and the quality remains high because the students are engaged in the process and have a clear understanding of how to be successful.

I hope this blog post on the Artist Proposal is helpful.  I have a week to relax and then it’s on to this year’s Arts Reveal Night.  I have eight wonderful female artists lined up to present their work.  The group ranges from experienced to only one quarter of studio experience.  I know they have evolved so much but it’s time for them to step out and show the rest of our community.