Getting Our Groove Back - Goofing up

The typical beginning of the year projects in my Art room involve risk taking and problem solving at each level.  I mentioned before that the fifth and sixth graders are blasting through their own ideas and materials with Choice, but the 1st through 4th graders had a different challenge the first few weeks.

I like beginning the year with projects like these because it sets up the idea of experimentation.  Each grade level tries something new, and it's not easy (for most).  It takes hard work to fix our "mistakes" and not give up on our piece.  That's my main focus for the kids.

Work hard.  Don't give up.

Take risks.  It's going to be okay.

So the first graders have to turn a "mark" I make on their papers as their drawing into something so that it looks like it always belonged there.

The second graders drew with 2 hands and had to figure out how best to hold their markers and keep their papers from sliding all over the place.

Most of the third graders had to draw with their opposite hands.  At the end of the lesson though I did have one group hold a marker in each hand to see what they could come up with.  Here are a few hilarious pictures of that struggle.

The fourth graders did a blind contour drawing, where they drew a partner without looking at their paper.  The emphasis was on paying attention to detail and understanding that it's okay to mess up as long as we don't quit on our ideas.

Opening Projects - Goofing Up

Starting in new district presents its own challenges in a variety of ways, and I think a big one is setting expectations.  I am a firm believer in developing creativity and a positive relationship with art and ideas in my classroom.  I teach skills and techniques, for sure, and certainly see the value of teaching the elements and principles, but I stress to my students that what I'm most interested in is their ideas, originality, and effort.

So to start the year, our very first projects with each grade had lot to do with taking ownership of their artwork and problem solving.  The first and second graders fixed "mistakes" that I made for them by walking around the room and making marks on their papers.  Their job was to turn that mark into something else that made sense with their pictures.  

The third graders drew a portrait with their opposite hands, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders drew portraits of their classmates without looking at their paper.  The point being that we understand it's okay to make mistakes, as long as we don't give up on our artwork.  

My students are probably tired of hearing me say it, but in the art room, we don't mess up.  We just give ourselves new problems we need to solve.

4th Grade - Blind Contour

Similar to the second grade project "Making Mistakes," this fourth grade lesson was mainly about putting yourself in a hole and figuring your way out of it.  First, the kids made a blind contour drawing of the person sitting across from them by drawing with a Sharpie marker on a clipboard under the table.  Not being able see makes drawing a face accurately nearly impossible, so we talked a lot about letting our expectations go; whatever happens you'll just have to deal with.  Once the drawing was done, then the "fixing" could begin.  A lot of fourth graders tried many different strategies to complete their artwork with markers.  Some embraced how bizarre their faces looked, others covered it up or changed their ideas completely.  Below are some outstanding examples of students not giving up on their ideas, but working through problems.  Art is a process after all.