Identifying Yourself

Understanding your self-identity and thereby self-value is probably the most important and significant step in maturity. Being comfortable with who you are begins by understanding who you are. You are not: your parents, your friends, your teachers, your religion, your career, your looks, your wealth/poverty, your fashion, your education, or your culture (to name a few). These things influence who you are but they are not what make you - YOU. I believe you are more a product of the choices you make then your external influences. Your decisions are the only things you truly have any control over. Once you come to that conclusion is when I think you can identify yourself. I believe as teachers we need to help students to that realization. We all have different circumstances to overcome. Some may seem to have it easier than others but that is not within our control and so should be set aside. What we do with those challenges we are given is how determine who we are.

Collaborative Art Project

We started a project last semester that I thought was a great idea for a collaborative project. The students would be given a topic to base their project around. Once that was decided the students would create an image on cardboard that explored that topic and how it represented themselves. The cardboard images were painted and cut-out. Next all of them were arranged and attached as a single installation piece. the pieces would overlap and fit together. I think it helps the students see themselves as pieces to a puzzle and how each piece can bring it's own unique impact to the work. The idea that they are all made of the same material reinforces the similarity that we all have as well as helping to unify the work.

James Van Der Zee

Art and the Community

Creating art in our community is a two-edged sword. The community needs art whether they know it or not. But many in the community might feel it is a waste of resources depending on the community. I also believe that the community can be unified and divided at the same time. It is difficult to please everyone so that can promote division. However, those that are involved will feel like a closer community as most community efforts do. Developing an appreciation for art takes time....that effort is, however, rewarded by an understanding of of symbolism and critically thinking about the world around us. Visual art is a language and any language takes time to learn.

Disabilities

At first I wasn't sure how much I had been around kids with disabilities but after awhile quite a few came to mind. At first recollection I was thinking of my friends and thought there were none but then slowly they came back to me. First it was, "oh yeah, he had a prosthetic foot" but we still had races, rode bikes and played football... I guess he had a disability but I never thought of him like that. Another had epilepsy, another was in special ed classes for reading, another guy's left arm was "disabled" but he still could play catch one-handed even with a mit. He could slip it on and off very fast for catching then throwing. One after another came back to me but I never really thought of any of them as disabled. We would play pretty much all the same games. I guess I had quite a few friends that technically had disabilities while I was growing-up but I wouldn't have called them disabled.

I think maybe that is the lesson that will help me the most. People with disabilities are no more "different" then we all are. Some of us are better at some things then others but we all have our strengths and weaknesses. We help each other overcome our weaknesses and find our strengths. I understand some disabilities are very restrictive but I think we need to look for ways to help students use their strengths. If we focus on our strengths then our weaknesses won't seem so bad.

Bizarro Alter Ego (Anti-me)

Nit-pick, "nit" and "pick" nit-pick. I love that word. I nit-pick over details. I love to find a single word that someone says and twist it around and make them feel foolish. I don't care what you intend to say I care about how you say it. Give me a quick, open and honest revelation and watch the fun begin... I can take your very own words and deliberately find the darkest interpretation and berate you with them. Students will despair when they get into my class. I intend to have weak repetitive lessons that require no thought, no inspiration and no fun. My own family can't even stand me but I can't help it if I intimidate them with my perfection. I care for myself. No one else is worth a first thought let alone a second. Honestly, I'm in teaching for the money, the fame and the glory. Students really are a bother. I hate to work. If you take the students out of my classroom it would be a perfect job.

Safe environment

It is important for students to know that your classroom is a place where they can explore any ideas and address many of the questions that arise in life. It is difficult for many students to feel this way but that should not preclude us from putting every effort into ensuring that they can bring any problems or concerns to us by continually asserting that fact. Demonstrating it at every opportunity that presents itself.
Currently, there is an element of "cool" to being gay or bi. Many kids are proclaiming it because of all the emphasis that the media and Hollywood is putting on individuals that are coming out and the efforts toward gay marriage. The shock effect is also a component that teens find enticing. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_percent_of_the_world_is_gay provides references that support the actual percentage of people that are gay is somewhere between 0.6 - 5%. http://gaylife.about.com/od/comingout/a/population.htm believes 5% is an accurate figure. While most other sites I found hold around 1%.
If a child tells us they are gay then my concern is that we don't push them into making a declaration to the world based upon what may be a curiosity or worse a childish act for attention. I think it is important for them to research and discuss this with family and counselors. So my advice to them would be to start there when they are ready.
As teachers, we are there to teach children how to cope with issues by using their minds to think things through. Learning from both history and the ability to envision the results and consequences of their actions. Ultimately, the important thing is the child feels and is safe in their classroom environment. We need to let them know we care about them no matter who they are or what they do. We need to believe in them and support them and they will reciprocate. We are their training wheels. Whatever the choices they make in life are inevitably up to them.

Discriminating taste

I can't recall being directly discriminated against but I can recall feeling like an outsider because of my race. In my previous job there was a lot of diversity. It seemed like folks still grouped outside and to some extent inside of work by race. I had a close friend of mine that was celebrating a promotion so I went to his promotion party. I was one of the few causcasians at the party. I was told I was their "token white-guy". It didn't really offend me but I couldn't help but wonder if the roles had been reversed would another person have taken offense. I find it ironic that we want to take any reference to race as an offense if it is a caucasian saying it. At the same time it is perfectly acceptable for race to be used as an excuse for actions that would be inappropriate otherwise if you are not a caucasian. Ofili is a prime example of this. He puts out an overtly offensive work and calls it art. He even makes attempts to justify this as an exploration of his African heritage. I also find it ironic that he wants total acceptance of his work because he is black stating that his work is about black exploitation. Simultaneously he tries to gain fame through that very same venue thereby being a perpetrator of exploitation himself.

Scoping an Audience - Crafting Pleasure

Relating to the Audience : Pleasure - I plan on having my students paint a landscape that represents their idea of pleasure. I believe that every artist wants their work to convey meaning and feeling to their audience in some regard. Whether that feeling be positive or negative. I think pleasure is a good place to start. By learning what gives a viewer a sense of pleasure you also learn what makes them uncomfortable through the converse. If there is an artist that can cause any emotional reaction to you as a viewer then you have an opportunity to learn from them. That is why I choose to study Thomas Kinkaide. I believe that he has polarized the art community and the general public more than any other artist today. One group tends to love his work the other loathe it. This is not a scientific fact but a general observation. I find it interesting that he can draw-out both reactions simultaneously. I want my students to learn why. As a secondary interdisciplinary connection the students can also learn how far an artist can take commercialization of their work. I am sure that my choice will not be a popular one but I believe that we need to have an open mind if we expect an open mind from others. Critical thinking and understanding are far more important for students then having exposure solely to artists whose work may be in fashion now simply because they are not main-stream but who's to say that won't change tomorrow.

ATC cards

Entry #3/4 Opinionated Chameleon

While in high school I felt pretty controlled by my father, by the school rules, and by my friends expectations. It is interesting how much things changed the summer after graduation. I left school and gave up on art, all my friends and on my family to a large extent. It was a longtime before I picked up a pencil to draw anything. Eventually I got back to drawing and school but I had a new perspective. I was there because I wanted to be there. I did things not because it was expected but because it was my choice. I have worked hard in college and am a much better student now then I ever was in high school. I think my artwork has improved as well. Primarily because I pursued what I was interested in. I think it is important to remember that things can change a lot from high school to college so don't "write-off" any students. They all may come around sooner or later.

I feel guilty when I spend time on things that I enjoy that don't include my family. I like to win but success is not something to tie self-worth to because you will not always succeed. If you let success in your aspirations anchor themselves to your self-worth then you run the risk of losing yourself whenever you fail. So rebounding from a failure is probably what makes me feel the most worthy. I love when things go unexpectedly. When a movie can surprise me I usually consider it a good movie. I like to be prepared which sounds contrary to liking things to go unexpectedly but if I am not prepared when I know what is coming that both embarasses and infuriates me.

I think I am an adrenaline addict. I love mountain biking down and diving off cliffs. I love rollercoasters and high places. I find comfort every night in knowing that my family is safe and I can look forward to the next day. The thought of my kids growing up and moving away is probably my most depressing thought.

Assertive, idealistic, opinionated, ethical, and confident are words that I think are good descriptors for who I see myself as. I am a husband and father. I give priority to these roles. I like work and college but being a provider is the primary goal of these activities. In my freetime I like to play with my kids and build. I know shopping is not a traditional past-time for guys but I don't mind walking around the mall/store holding my wife's hand and looking at stuff. I consider myself a conservative. I believe that the government is there to keep peace and freedom and outside of that they should be in the background. I think men and women are different. I think they have equal value and status but they are complementary in their design and nature. Where one is lacking the other has strength. I like blue jeans and t-shirts, any music without vulgarities and art that is thought-provoking without being distasteful. I think too many artists substitute shock value for ability. No skill - just being disgusting with no substance or purpose and calling it art does not make it art. Sounds pretty opinionated now that I read it but I started this entry by telling you that.

Entry #2 - The Cult of Curriculum

Curriculum needs to be challenging without being intimidating, fun without being frivolous, and teach technical skills without being monotonous. Other things to consider are do I teach about that old master whose abilities have stood the test of time or about that edgy contemporary artist I read about in Cool New Artist Weekly whose style has revamped the old master’s style in an exciting way. Do we go with what we know works by re-running that old lesson or do we do a re-model and rip it apart with a new project and direction. Stop - you’re both right. I think great curriculum needs to excite us as well as the students so if the lesson seems dry and we aren’t looking forward to it - change it up. I also think that teaching about older artists is equally important.
Bottomline: Nothing can be sacred in our curriculum. We need to question what we teach, how we teach and why we teach it. Clearly, balance is key to developing a great curriculum.

Thomas Kinkade reminds me a lot of how Norman Rockwell must have been treated during his time. I find Rockwell's work to be inspiring in the fact that he could capture moments that are universally understood. Much like Kinkade can capture moments that are universally peaceful. Both Kinkade and Rockwell do not seem to receive the recognition that they deserve because they are not offending or mocking. Classified as "low-brow" artwork solely because it is widely accepted. If you like something - like because you like it or dislike it because you dislike it. I find it ironic when I hear people say that they liked a certain band or book or movie until it became popular. Taking the opposite position does not make you an individual anymore then following the crowd does... Everything provides an opportunity to learn.

Michal Rovner is a contemporary filmographer. Her films deal with flocks of birds in flight. The changing directions and blurry changes in focus are reminiscent of cubist work in that they show dramatic changes in direction but the subject changes and not the position of the viewer as in a typical cubist painting. She mixes both still and motion images as well as intermingling painted images to elicit more of the view that this is not a nature film but a metaphor. Rovner is not intent with studying birds in flight but drawing parallels with how birds change directions abruptly just as stages of life can change abruptly.

Art teaching and art making go hand in hand. I think that we need to make art to stay in connection with why we should make art. Art is an outlet but it is also an inspiration to observe and study things around us. We look for patterns naturally but we need to record them as well. Drawing connections to otherwise unrelated subjects just as Rovner does is the source of inspiration for many new discoveries. That ability to observe, refine, analyze and draw conclusions is a major reason for having art in school.

Demonstrating our own proficiency in the classroom will add credibility to our lessons and also allow us to remember the more challenging aspects of lessons. I think that remembering where you came from in this sense will help you to anticipate problems.

Entry # 1 High School

This is a piece of my artwork. It was an early attempt at oil painting. I chose a pretty common theme, a lighthouse scene, but I am pretty satisfied with the composition and execution. While not a cutting edge art piece it was fun and allowed me to experiment with a monochromatic color scheme in a foreign medium. I think trying to work in new mediums and new techniques is important to keep your students' experience in perspective.

I was not very interested in high school as a student. I am sure I was not alone in that mindset. Art was always a fun class for me but I don't think I was as dedicated to it as I should have been. As an art teacher, it will be up to me to make the class interesting enough to overcome that kind of attitude. While I find the challenge pretty exciting, being that I was interested in art and felt that way makes it a bit daunting to think about keeping the attention and interest of teens that don't care about art.