ARTED 450 Drawing and first day of class

For my first day of class I would introduce the idea that most people feel insecure about making art and that we're in class to experiment. I would do this by having the kids put their heads down and have them raise their hands to answer questions like "who thinks it takes talent to make good art?" or "who gets frustrated about making art?". Then I would have the kids raise their heads and talk about what I saw and how I've learned art isn't a talent but a skill to be learned. After doing this for a couple minutes I would have the kids paint and/or collage with things I have around the classroom. I would want it to be casual and fun like we did in class. I would have the kids work on large pieces of paper and in groups if I have a large class.

I would do drawing because its often what kids look at as the pinnacle of art. They see others their age who can draw very realistically and think they're good artists and if they can't do that he or she isn't. I want to help students push beyond this idea and explore what drawing can be. I would push students to use materials they don't normally use; to move away from pens and pencils. I would also push students to draw things that aren't realistic or imagery in some of our assignments. This would help them move past the typical high school idea of art. I also would want to find out what interests the kids in terms of drawing and teach them things about that. If its Manga or learning how to draw a building perfectly, so be it. I want to push them to explore their interests and I'd push those things into new contexts.
I think a drawing foundation class should use several different materials such as charcoal, pen, pencil, pastels, and watercolors. The class should include a range of drawing style opportunities and teach important vocabulary such as line, core shadow and white space. It should also introduce artists who draw and give students the chance to explore these people such as Da Vinci, Pat Perry, and Cy Twombly. It should touch on several different ideas such as figure drawing, still life, and abstract.