Mission Statement (my goal in teaching art)

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” 
-Pablo Picasso

Universally, children explore ways to create and express themselves through art.  They explore on their own, or with guidance.  When they reach the age of nine, ten, or eleven they often begin to compare their creations with those of their peers.  If they feel they are not “as talented” they may give up on their creative impulses.  Many adults will quickly admit that they cannot even draw good stick figures. They have never developed their artistic ability past their elementary years.
I believe that, with guidance, children can develop their abilities and continue to benefit from their creative experiences.  I am not suggesting that every student can attain the same level of artistic talent, but rather that each student can benefit from developing her artistic abilities to reach her maximum potential.
My goal is to nurture confidence and desire in my students to continue to create and appreciate the creations of others beyond their elementary school years, so that they may reach their own full potential.
I want to help children remain artists when they grow up.

In Picasso's Words

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” -Pablo Picasso

Blueberries

Schools are often evaluated as businesses. It is a poor comparison and this is a great illustration of why. The Blueberry Story.

An interview with Ran Ortner: winner of GR's artprize

Is Creativity Suffering?

Please watch the video linked to the title and let me know what you think.

a favorite lesson

I use the book, First Painter, by Kathryn Lansky to start a discussion with my fifth grade students about the origins of art. We discuss the possible reasons that paintings might have been made on cave walls when little time was available for leisure activities. We study the Lascaux and Chauvet cave paintings. We discuss the simple expressive lines and shapes used to create the images. We look at the basic components of paint, binders and pigments, and learn about some of the different types of each. We use a mortar and pestle to grind some local sandstone and other "soft"rocks and produce some red, yellow, brown, and orange pigments. We also break down some charred wood to get a black pigment. We use egg yolk as a binder to mix our own paint and then paint animal images on rocks. 

A couple of shots from a halloween party last year.

Art Prize, Grand Rapids 2009

I must say that I have had more discussions about art with more people in the past month than I have had in the past five years. Regardless of what else Artprize has accomplished, it has certainly brought art to the attention of a lot of people and to their daily conversation. I think that is a phenomenal success in itself.
I encouraged my students and their families to visit Grand Rapids during the event and many did. On Monday morning it was not hard to spot those that made a weekend trip to some of the venues. They were the ones bouncing down the hallway calling my name and saying "I got to go to Artprize! I got to go to Artprize! Did you see.....?"
I took my kindergarten daughter down on opening night and she was enthralled. When we took my mom and dad back to one of the galleries a week later, she gave them a complete tour recounting every observation and technical detail that we had discussed on our previous visit. It was one of those magical moments.
I enjoyed the work a great deal. Sure, some of it had more depth and displayed more creativity or mastery, but it was fun to see and discuss all of it. I like that the organizers didn't try to sort and select the art ahead of time. It is what it is. Let us see it and respond.
If you don't know what I am talking about, this post title will take you to the Artprize site.

Here we go!

I am an elementary art teacher. I am the only one of my kind in my district. While the fourth grade teachers are collaborating to find creative ways to present their curriculum to their students I am discussing my ideas with myself. Occasionally I run my latest spark by my wife or the music teacher across the hall, but that is largely just to hear my idea spoken out loud. I have been craving a way to really work with others who are trying to help first graders create space in their drawings by overlapping images, or fifth graders to design and construct a dwelling specifically for an exotic environment. Much of my collaboration with my colleagues is in the form of supporting something that they are working on. I enjoy this and have developed some great art experiences for my students this way. I do need, however, a way to discuss the problems that I face in my day to day interaction with my students and to share the failures and successes I encounter along the way.
I also need a place that I can share images and pieces that I find inspirational, comical, or dumbfounding.
I want this to be a positive place. Feel free to be critical, just not cynical. I enjoy a passionate discussion exploring two opposing ideas. I do not enjoy close minded or rhetorical rants.
I hope to get a group of artsy followers who can help me be a better art teacher and I would love to share what I think works to help others.