Creative Growth: Beau Geste

Creative Growth was a place I had heard about over the years, but I had never really checked out, partly because they usually do not have art classes for children. The organization focuses on adults with disabilities, providing studio space, materials, and instruction, as well as opportunities to exhibit in their gallery.

After finally taking the time to visit, I was absolutely blown away by the exhibit Beau Geste, which was on display through April 25. The title referred to the line work and gesture of (mostly) the human body (and that happens to be my favorite art form and subject). I have a new-found respect and awe for what is often referred to as "outsider art", and, as with most things, I have discovered that I know far less than I originally thought.

Studio Thinking and the 8 Habits of Mind

 student-made poster describing one of the "habits of mind"

On February 2, 2012, I attended a lecture at the SFMOMA entitled "What should we ask of arts education?" The speaker was Lois Hetland, who is Associate Professor of Art Education Massachusetts College of Art and Research Associate at Harvard's Project Zero. Ms. Hetland gave an inspiring and informative speech about the importance of art education in schools, but what I found most useful was her description of the "Habits of Mind" that theoretically can be achieved with the arts.

Wanting to learn more, I purchased the book that Ms. Hetland had co-authored: Studio Thinking: the Real Benefits of Art Education, which describes the theory and suggested practices using real teachers and students as examples.

The 8 Studio Habits of Mind (as listed in Studio Thinking) with a brief summary of each in my own words:

Develop Craft
Divided into 2 parts: Technique and Studio Practice. Learning to use and care for tools, materials and studio space.

Engage and Persist
Developing the abilities to stay focused and work through challenges as they arise.

Envision
Learning to imagine possible outcomes as well as next steps in the process of art making.

Express
Creating artworks that convey a particular meaning or idea.

Observe
Looking deeply at visual art in order to see/understand beyond the surface.

Reflect
Two parts: Question and Explain and Evaluate. Thinking, talking, and judging one's own work and the work of others (includes the critique process).

Stretch and Explore
Willingness to take risks and learn from mistakes.

Understand Art World 
Domain and Communities: Learning about artists and the art community in history and the present day.

International Orange

These are just three of the many amazing pieces in the exhibit entitled "International Orange: The Bridge Re-Imagined", celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. Curated by Richard Olsen through the San Francisco Arts Education Project, the exhibition consists of a variety of media, all created by students in San Francisco public schools. It runs from May 14-August 4, 2012 at the Mills Building, 220 Montgomery Street, San Francisco. For more information/images visit http://www.sfartsed.org/bridge/

Teaching Artistic Behavior

Teaching Artistic Behavior (TAB) is an organization that promotes a particular philosophy of choice-based art education. The methods described on the website http://teachingforartisticbehavior.org/ are similar to those in Montessori classrooms, the difference being that the only subjects are art and art history.

Basically, the teacher briefly demonstrates various techniques throughout the length of the curriculum (or term), and the rest of class time students are allowed to choose what materials they would like to work with.For the most part, students work independently while the teacher acts as a guide or mentor, visiting each student one-on-one.

Similar, again, to the Montessori classroom are the "choice studio centers" which contain the tools, materials, and instructions necessary for a particular medium (for example: screen printing), or even images and references about a particular era of art history. TAB suggests that centers be made available only after students have been instructed about those particular materials and clean-up procedures.

Although I believe this method of teaching may be difficult to implement, and even more difficult to sell to school administrators, the idea of encouraging independent thought and inquiry is highly appealing to me. I would imagine that not all educators are comfortable with what might seem to be a lack of structure in the curriculum. Further reading on the TAB website reveals that this method actually requires a great amount of careful planning for it to be successful. As with all good teaching practices, Teaching Artistic Behavior involves clear objectives, high expectations, and multiple forms of assessments.

Artwork from Holden High

 Mural on school wall

Book art by Bella Scanlan

Holden is a very small, alternative private school in Orinda, Ca. The students come from a range of backgrounds, due in part to the school’s sliding scale, income-based tuition. Holden provides one-on-one support and counseling for all students, and tends to have success with adolescents who would do not do well in traditional high school settings.

Initial thoughts...

 All throughout my teaching career (thus far) I have wondered if there were other ways of teaching and reaching students. In fact, I originally enrolled at St. Mary’s in the Montessori program because I felt that Montessori practices were more aligned with my teaching style. I eventually decided to pursue the single subject credential instead so that I could teach older students and concentrate solely on art education. There is still a part of me, however, that resists some of the more traditional public school methods and would like to find some way to bring a different approach to my teaching practice.