Adventures in Art
What does it mean to be both a teacher and an art maker? How do they overlap? How do we keep our practices sharp? Here is a sample of writings I found on the subject…
Teacher as Artist; Artist as Teacher
Do you Really have to Choose Between Being an Artist or Art Teacher?
Do Arts Teachers Have to be Artists?
I’m Going to be an Art Teacher.
Teaching is reminiscent of the Buddhist mandalas. No two mandalas are identical, but all are beautiful and colorful works of art. All sand mandalas are created by hand with intricate details. Therefore, creating a mandala takes an enormous amount of patience, resolve and cooperation. A sand mandala can take several weeks to complete, which is why several monks will usually work on one project together.
After the mandala is completed and the ceremonies and public viewings are over, the mandala is intentionally destroyed by sweeping the sand to the side. This signifies the law of impermanence – that nothing lasts forever, and everything is in constant change.
Many of Oge Mora’s works are created from her memories and experiences. I have created lessons about using one’s memory with Kindergarten students and I think Oge Mora’s work is an excellent example of art created from personal memories.
“Mora’s illustrations are done in a mélange of cut paper, paint, and china markers. The palette is vibrant, influenced by her Nigerian heritage and her upbringing in a historically African-American community, where early on she studied the works of Jacob Lawrence and Aminah Robinson, who grew up in the same place. “I really love that I could combine Nigerian and American traditions and create a book that exists in a third space like I myself do,” Mora says. More information on Oge Mora, here. Also, she has illustrated several great books, look them up in the library, list here.
Faviana Rodriguez is an interdisciplinary artist, cultural strategist, and social justice activist based in Oakland, California. Her work is a great tool for opening up conversations about communication, through art.
“In social justice, so much of the way we organize people is through data. But too often that data doesn’t really inspire our hearts, and data is not usually delivered in the form of a story. Right now, there is an opportunity for us to tell a new story. But this new story is not just saying, “We demand this, or we need this.” A new story is also helping to create and visualize that.” … Read more about her work here and here.
Ceramic Art by Yee Sookyung 
“Embracing failure is an important part of learning, an opportunity for growth. Sometimes you have to use the mistake to rethink the problem. Thinking flexibly requires one to reassess the problem as it changes.”
The above quotes are from Edwin Catmull and Amy Wallace. They are an excerpt from the book A Mindset for Learning, written by Kristi Mraz and Christine Hertz, which is an excellent resource for teachers.
“It seems that in a time of materialism, self-interest and self-gratification to the extreme, the purpose of life has been forgotten…so too is the purpose of talent. The enhancement of humanity gives life and talent meaning. It is my hope and prayer that by using my talent in a functional way, I can remind humanity of the need to search for, and put into practice, spiritual truth.”
Resident of Jamaica Queens NY for more than 20 years, Emmett Wigglesworth is a muralist, painter, sculptor, fabric designer and poet who has been creating for over six decades. Wigglesworth has designed and illustrated several books and magazines for various publishing companies, he has written poetry which he combines with his printmaking, he produced a documentary, and he has is a seasoned teacher, more here.
“Hadieh Shafie was born in Tehran, Iran in 1969. Currently based in the United States, the artist constructs intricate designs with low-relief paper sculpture. Her compositions are reminiscent of traditional Middle Eastern art, while the artist hides hand-written and printed Farsi text within the folds of elaborate paper spirals. Both process-oriented and impossibly refined, Shafie’s skillful works are often monumental in scale, overwhelming the viewer with a visual feast of color.” This quote is from her biography. More here.
Lim Heng SweeMinimalist art is a great tool to use with elementary level art classes. The composition is already broken down into basic shapes making the work more approachable for young students than hyper realistic work. The work of Lim Hemg Swee is a purrfect example.
“Malaysian self-taught illustrator Lim Heng Swee adores cats and describes them as mysterious animals with great personalities. So, he made a series of landscapes where cats play the main role.” More of his work can be seen here and here.
Theresa-India Young was a fiber artist, interdisciplinary arts teacher, and education consultant working in the Boston area from 1975-2008. Young was a mentor in her community, helping her colleagues and local youth claim their identities as artists and pursue opportunities related to those roles. She served as an advocate for her fellow artists at the Piano Factory Studios when rising rent threatened to displace resident artists. Young mentored Boston youth by developing the Kush Club, a teen docent program, and managed Primal Arts, an educational consulting business that specializes in cultural presentations, art workshops, and museum tours. Young taught studio art and museum education at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where a scholarship is endowed in her name.
“Critical thinking is learning to interact with information actively; to bring pros and cons, evaluate them to determine the truth, transform information and generate new ideas. Critical thinking is an active process, coordinated, complex, like reading and writing, speaking and listening, which involves thought processes that start with active accumulation of information that ends well reasoned decisions.” Critical Thinking in Elementary School Children: written by Nadia Mirela Florea, Elena Hurjui (more here.)
Painting by Vietnamese artist Duy Huynh 
Teaching Critical Thinking Through Art: link Teaching Kindergarten Critical Thinking Skills: link Critical thinking for Teachers and Students: link Contemporary Approaches to Teaching: link
Federico Herrero is a contemporary Costa Rican painter best known for his bright and playful abstractions. Throughout his practice, each work vacillates between Color Field-inspired painting and street art, using patches of color to create anthropomorphic forms and imaginary landscapes. “I am fascinated by the way people, who need to communicate something in a very direct way without the barrier of language, use paint,” he has explained. More of his work can be found here and here.
Color can be a powerful form of communication. Herrero’s colorful art work can be used as a teaching tool for students of all ages. We learn color by their names and their categories, but we seldom learn color by experimenting with it.
Carolyn Olson “Essential Workers” SeriesThrough her paintings, Olson, who recently retired after more than 30 years as an art teacher, tells the stories of her community and family. As a personal challenge, Olson set about illustrating the process of making a Swedish Princess Cake. Then the Covid 19 pandemic hit.
Anxiety fueled Olson’s desire to capture the stories she was hearing from family and friends. In March of 2020 Olson began telling the stories of essential workers. Her “Essential Workers Portrait” series can be seen here.
“If we want to see the real image of somebody, we may need to change our angle.”
“I perceive my calligraffiti as a tangible expression of my search for identity, both as an individual and as an artist,” he explained. “My compositions, that combine the freestyle technique of street art with traditional Arabic calligraphy, reflect the tension represented in my hyphenated identity. Despite being born and raised in France, I am not considered French. Actually, I perceive myself with strong north African roots, which I want to keep alive.” – El Seed To read more click here, this mural here, and his projects here.
Illustrator Charlene ChuaDrawing from observation helps to slow us down, allowing us to see our surroundings.
“Charlene Chua has illustrated many things over the years for kids of all ages. Her illustration work has won several awards, while books she has illustrated have been nominated for OLA Forest of Reading, USBBY Outstanding International Books, OLA Best Bets, Shining Willow Award, and Kirkus Best books. Originally from Singapore, Charlene Chua now lives and works in Canada.” More of her work can be seen here.
I have been thinking about Lois Hetland and the Studio Habits of Mind. My art room is structured around Studio Thinking, so here are a few resources…
The Studio Thinking Project Reasons for Using the Studio Habits of Mind in Your Art Room Studio Thinking Framework Studio Thinking and TAB
Art by Neil Stevens
As a teacher in a fully digital environment, I am reminded of how important my presence and support is to the remote students. The digital tools we use are critical to the process, but they do not replace the teacher. Our support for the students social-emotional well being is just as important as teaching skill sets.
The digital tools we are using should be making the teaching process easier, so I have gathered some resources here to help troubleshoot any issues with with our technology.
Zoom – Google Classroom – Seesaw – Artsonia – Flipgrid – Padlet – Jamboard
Stephen Anthony DavidsDavids has a minimalist drawing style which lends itself to a drawing lesson using observation and contour line. The content can start a conversation. (link)
Stephen Anthony Davids captures views of the world through observations of daily life, masculinity, race, class and social history. He addresses these issues with an attitude I find relatable.
“Unconscious bias will always be part of the many hurdles to jump; Whereby early on in my career I would become angry, I am more wiser now in how I deal with it.
This factor now drives me.”
“I make personal and original stories invoking nostalgia rooted from my own childhood and life around me, but ultimately, I like capturing joyous moments.” – Shannon Wright
Shannon Wright’s illustrations are colorful and childlike, she also addresses everyday issues in a kid friendly manner. Her work is a great conversation starter with elementary age students and a great way to show students how artists use storytelling. More of her work can be found here and here.
Miniature sculptures are the specialty of artist Karen Collins. She is the founder of the African American Miniature Museum and speaks about her work; “For me, the museum was a way to turn the negativity into something positive and share the stories of our ancestors’ strength and perseverance through hardship.” As a teacher, I can use her work to illustrate history while celebrating her as an artist. More information on Karen Collins can be found here and here.
The tiniest sculptures in the world are created by Willard Wigan. The sculpture shown above is the Obama Family waving hello from the inside of the eye of a needle. Wigan’s art is a wonderful example of taking the time to develop ones craft. Wigan’s story is inspiring for students, I encourage you to read more… information on Willard Wigan can be found here and here.
Laura Freeman is an illustrator from New York. The books she has illustrated are excellent tools for sharing history with elementary level students. Her work is inspiring and accessible for a young audience. More of her work can be found here.