Alisha Anderson

Ecological Artist

Amano Takashi

 Aquascapes

Photography

Sacred Space

Tempoary Mandala and Digital Mandala

ARTED 450 Spirit Collage Curriculum Sketch

Spirituality and Collage

Learning Goals: 
Students will learn about design and composition.
Students will learn to think about how to be in the present.
Students will experience peace and have the opportunity to explore their spirituality.

Rational:
Students will be able to learn about design and other important parts of art making through collage which is a forgiving art form. The repetitive nature of collage will help students to experience a soothing and peaceful atmosphere. This will also give them the opportunity to focus on something that is fully in the present. This is a good opportunity to discuss and evaluate spirituality and what it means to each individual.

Provoking Questions:
What images are spiritual for you?
What is the difference between spirituality and religion?
What does it mean to experience peace?
What does it mean to experience balance?
How do/can you represent the Spirit?
What makes you, you? What is the spiritual part of your identity?

Artists:
Mandala Artists
Elliot Hurdley
Bill Viola
Hannah Hoch
Rothko
Burnett Newman
 

Utah Art Standards: 
Standard L1.V.CR.1: Use multiple approaches to begin creative endeavors.
Standard L1.V.CR.2: Shape an artistic investigation of an aspect of present-day life using traditional or contemporary practices of art or design.
Standard L1.V.CR.3: Engage in making a work of art or design without having a preconceived plan.
Standard L1.V.R.2: Analyze how one’s understanding of the world is affected by experiencing visual imagery.
Standard L1.V.R.3: Interpret an artwork or collection of works, supported by relevant and sufficient evidence found in the work and it various contexts.

Instructional Plans:
Collages using colored paper based on Matisse
Discuss what makes a good or bad collage. Talk about design principles.
Collages mixing Romare Bearden and Matisse
Create your own collage with colored paper and various supplies
Discuss spirituality vs. religion using some of the provoking questions from above
Discuss why it is important to live in the present and the value of finding peace/balance
Watch a video of monks making a Mandala
Discuss the meaning of Mandala's
Create a Mandala collage
Create a Mandala and destroy it and then document it


Culminating Project:
Students will be given a large piece of cardstock or some kind of sturdier material to use as a base. Pulling from the discussions we had about the purpose of mandala's students will make a mandala that is meaningful to them in some way on a spiritual level. They can use any materials such as magazines, photos, string, chalk, etc. They can create any design they like but it must include circles and squares to reference mandalas.

Assessment: 
Students will be graded on whether they effectively create a good design with their final mandala. The design will be compared to their earlier attempts to see if there has been any improvement. They will also be evaluated to see if they understand the concept of spirituality as we discuss it. This will be done solely through the discussion and evaluating their comments. Students will also be evaluated to see if they had opportunities to find peace through the class atmosphere.

Olivia Gude Response

While reading Gude's articles a few things stood out to me. One of the things that caught my eye was when she said "white people don't know their own culture". I think this statement has a lot of truth to it. Often I have looked at white culture as the absence of things I see in other cultures. After taking multi cultural education I am less this way, but I think it is true that white people are unaware of their own culture. We see it as 'normal', which is not true.
I also really liked what was said in another article that creativity is fostered by psychological safety and freedom. So in other words, students will feel that they can be creative when they feel like it is a safe environment and that they have the freedom to do so. I think a hard thing as an art teacher will be getting kids to stop worrying about what is the 'right' way to do something or trying to make sure they fulfill the assignment. Schools are set up so that this becomes the focus of student's learning. They want to get the good grade and that means doing everything the right way. I'm not entirely sure how to help students let go of this idea in my classroom. It might just be practice over time. Or seeing me work on projects and make mistakes along side them might help too. It's hard to say without having taught yet, but its something I want to make sure and be aware of.

Adv Studio Methods Reading Thoughts

"Graphic Novels as Contemporary Art?"
I love the idea of students creating a graphic novel together. It would be something that could get students really engaged and excited about problem solving and working together. I feel like this wouldn't work with all classes though. I'm not sure how I would be able to help students be motivated to work on this kind of project together if they don't have the initial excitement. And how could a teacher help students stay excited through the semester? It's hard even as a college student to stay motivated with longer projects sometimes.

"How the Teaching Artists Can Change the Dynamics of Teaching and Learning"
Keith Williams is one of those art teachers I think every art teacher aspires to be. Hearing stories like his about how excited the students are gets me excited to teach. While I don't plan on having a classroom like Williams, I do want to find ways to help my students be enthusiastic about making. I'm trying to make lesson plans that will help with this, but I also think it is something that comes with experience and getting to know students.

"Engaging Minds"
I had never thought of copying in quite this way before. I really liked the chapter excerpt and would have liked to have read more. It makes me want to experiment with this myself and in a classroom. I have applied this kind of theory to my musical practice but I haven't done it as thoroughly with art making. In a classroom though I would have to find the balance so that I didn't spent too much time repeating things so that students grew bored. I would have to allow them time to experiment and try their own things. This is the one thing I really wish I had had more opportunities for in my art classes when I was younger.