Control Freak No More! What I learned by giving up some teacher control without losing it…

After completing several projects with my first and second grade students, I began to fear that I was falling into the “cookie cutter” realm of art teaching in which every student’s project ends up looking the same and to get that result, everyone walked through the same steps. I found the prep for these projects to be much more strenuous, because I have to think of every single step in advance. Many teachers have a knack for doing this and can still maintain excitement for the project, but I don’t seem to have this ability. This was kind of an epiphany for me. I kept telling myself that I needed to have every single aspect of a project worked out before students do the project. I can’t be caught not knowing what I’m doing! The epiphany for me was that this way of teaching completely goes against everything I am as a teacher or more accurately, as a teaching artist. Simply put, the fun is in the not knowing.

I came to this discovery through a recent proj ect my first and second grade students completed. The theme was Trees—Fiction or Non-Fiction. The planning and preparation was put into the students’ hands and minds. As a result, they had to act as a working artist might by walking through each step of the creative process. I simplified the steps so that they coul d easily identify and understand them. In assessing their work on this project, I focused most of my attention on how they understood and carried out the process, not the end result.

The project unfolded in the following creative steps:

1. Brainstorm/Think—Students were divided into groups. Each group was given an art reproduction that depicted trees. The artists we looked at included Van Gogh (Mulberry Tree), various works by pastel artist Wolf Kahn, an illustration by Eric Carle, and a stylized tree by Gustav Klimt. Each group was asked to describe t he tree in their image. They also had to determine whether the tree in their image was Fiction (pretend) or Non-Fiction (realistic). In addition, they had to describe the setting of the image—where the tree is growing. We then created a word wall of ideas as each group shared their findings. We discussed the results of our brainstorm and concluded that artists depict trees in very different ways. They each have their own personal style.

The transition from the Brainstorming Stage to the Planning stage required a lot of teacher modeling of what brainstorming really looks and sounds like. Imagining something from nothing doesn’t always come naturally. For example, to get students to think outside the box, I told a little story to help get ideas going. I asked them to imagine that they had just woken up and looked out into their back yard and saw that a funny looking tree had sprouted over night and it was growing macaroni and cheese! What would that picture look like?! Or imagine a tree that came to life! Etc. Etc. After several stories like that, they were bursting with ideas and excitement and couldn't wait to get going.

2. Plan/Sketch—Students were given pre-made planning sheets to plan out their own depiction of a tree or trees. They answered the same questions considered in the Brainstorming stage.

Is your tree fiction or non-fiction?

Where is your tree growing?

They were also given several media choices based on the materials they were familiar with at this point in the school year—Oil Pastel, Collage, or Both. Lastly, they had to draw a sketch of what their tree would look like and what details th ey would add to depict the setting they chose.

This is really where most of the control was given to students. I gave them the framework, but the plan was their own. This worked amazingly well as a tool for differentiation as well. I am a firm believer in meeting every student at their level. By asking them to plan and sketch from their own ideas, I was given a much more accurate sense of where they stand in their visual and artistic development. If they were simply copying my example or guided drawing from the board, this wouldn't give me a very true reading. The students that are further developed were able to work more independently which freed me up to help those who needed a little more guidance/coaching as they got started. The fact that everyone’s plan looks very different is also great because no one feels like they’re weird if their tree doesn’t look exactly like their neighbor’s tree.

The transition from Planning to Creating:

The challenge here was to remind students that the sketch they created in the planning stage is what they would reproduce to create their final project. Younger students don’t get this at first because they’re used to the immediate gratification of drawing something and being done. We talked about the difference between making small changes to your idea but not completely changing your idea between the planning and creating stages. Some did change their ideas but they clearly had thought about their reasons for doing this. It wasn’t just an arbitrary choice.

3. Make/Create— At this point in the project, students were ready to gather their materials and what I call “project paper,” or the nice paper they use to create their final project. I prepared a wide array of choices in different sizes and colors. Students ended up using 2 or 3 class periods to work; although, it was clear from the beginning that we would work until everyone finished so they didn’t feel rushed.

To account for differences in working speeds, students were provided materials to make a tree sculpture while others were still finishing. They could also make a second tree drawing or collage.

4. Share and Reflect.—after everyone finished working, we shared our work in a class Art Show. I split the class into two groups so that one group was the audience for the other group. We talk about asking thoughtful questions and giving kind comments.

When all was said and done, the most rewarding and eye-opening part of this project was that I gave up my almighty teacher control and allowed students to guide themselves. I had always written about this, and talked about it, and dreamed of what it might be like to do this, but I had never really, truly been able to do it. Well, I did it, and I lived to tell the tale.

Not to mention the fact that students did an amazing job...

Farms, Dots, and Finger Painting

It's been a very busy year so far! New job and wedding all in one month...very fun and exciting, but somewhat time consuming. I think life is finally returning to some semblance of calm, so I'm hoping to be better about blog updates.

Here are the projects K-2 students have been working on...

First and Second grade students read the story The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. They then created their own dots--just like Vashti, the main character in the story. They used oil pastel to practice drawing lines and then painted with watercolor over the oil pastel to create a wax resist painting. The finishing touch was to put their dots in "gold, swirly frames" just like the story. This was a great beginning-of-the year project. The story is especially great for opening a discussion about trying your best and having confidence in your abilities.


First and Second graders also learned about landscapes by studying paintings of farms by Midwest native, Grant Wood. Students were then asked to create their own unique farm landscapes. They were given the challenge of drawing a hilly landscape and then drawing crop lines on the hills to show the form of the hills. This project included a drawing component as well as watercolor wash and finally, tempera paint. The end goal was to still be able to see each step of the project.

In the Art Room

Here are a few images of new student work. For the last few months we've been working with the theme of "Relationships." Our inspiration came from a greeting card with an interesting quote on it. The quote reads, "I am, because we are." This sparked a discussion of what it means to be both an individual AND part of a group or a pair. After our discussion, we embarked on a weaving project. Weaving seemed appropriate, since you need more than one string to make a weaving. Students started by envisioning and building their own looms or structures on which to weave. I was really impressed with what they came up with without a lot of teacher input. After their looms were built they started weaving. Some chose to use traditional weaving methods. Others chose to use slightly more "abstract" weaving methods. Either way, they have turned out really beautifully. I'm still in the process of photographing finished work, but here are a few photos.

New Work

After quite a long break, I'm finally getting around to posting something. New paintings are underway. My latest endeavors are two fold. First, I'm continuing my seasonal garden series now that Spring has sprung. As much as I love painting images of snow, some color will be nice. I'm also, starting a series of drawings of images I captured during the protest rallies at the WI State Capitol that have occurred throughout the spring. Here is a sketch for my first big drawing.

In other news, I now have an online gallery on Portal Wisconsin, a website generated by Wisconsin Public TV and WPR for all arts related events happening in the state. It's a great resource for artists and anyone interested in participating, supporting, and enjoying the arts in Wisconsin. Click here to check it out.

I also have paintings on display in Ripon, WI at the Watson Street Sub Shop.

Urban Gardens and the Passing of Time

Over this past year, I moved from central Wisconsin to the woods of northern Wisconsin, and then finally this fall settled in Madison. Over that time, I started to become far more aware of my immediate surroundings. I grew up in central Wisconsin and lived in that area for much of my life. Those surroundings were familiar and safe. Living in the north woods, I found amazing and inspiring beauty. Moving to Madison, I was afraid I would miss seeing woods and water directly outside my window, but I was so pleasantly surprised to find a different kind of beauty in Madison. I was lucky enough to move into a neighborhood inhabited by skilled gardeners. Walking through my neighborhood, I started to notice all the unique garden designs and plant choices made by my neighbors—or the professionals they hired to assist them. (Either way, as a non-gardener, the visual impact is still great.)

The undeniable links between the natural world and the human experience are both fascinating and comforting in a world that seems to be growing increasingly complicated and hurried. In these particular paintings, I’ve been working with the concepts of time and change over time by depicting urban garden plants at different stages throughout the seasons of fall and winter. In addition, the garden as a “human-orchestrated” form of nature has been a crucial idea in this series.

In considering the concept of time in terms of all its forms, measures, and impacts on humans, I started to think specifically about time in the social and cultural framework of contemporary life. I decided to look more closely at my day-to-day surroundings and all the influences pulling on average folks such as myself. I saw a lot of people like me. Happy to get by with what they have—a few spots of rust on their old cars, the signs of a wrinkle or two at the corners of their eyes, clothes from a second-hand store. Rust, wrinkles, wear and tear—these things all happen over time. It finally occurred to me that this way of life accepts the progress of time and changes that happen naturally over that progression. After making this connection, I then started to see the many forms of social and media pressures screaming messages trying to drag my sights in another direction—Don’t let your face age naturally, don’t let your car get old, don’t let your clothes go out of date! These voices are everywhere--on TV, on the internet, in shopping malls, on the shiny magazine covers at the check out aisle in the grocery store. Essentially, these messages are saying, “Don’t let time happen to you!”

Mulling all this over on walks through my neighborhood, I returned my observations to my physical surroundings. The seasons changed from cool, crunchy autumn, to the first snow fall, and then to all the subsequent inches upon inches of snow. Despite the change in seasons, the gardens I passed hadn’t been cut down, but were still there underneath it all. I saw frozen stalks and stems plunging out of snow drifts. I saw plants, long since gone to seed, balancing headdresses of snow on their delicate crowns. What I first saw as plants in a garden, I now saw as quiet, graceful totems to the undeniable progression of time. In these paintings, it is my goal to put them on a pedestal or at least carve out a little visual space for this particular area of life where humanity and nature intersect, where time is allowed and accepted.

Hard at work in the studio

While Talullah supervises from her basket, I've been working on a new series of paintings that I'm really excited about. I had started painting small 12"x12" paintings this fall. I didn't really have a focus as far as subject matter, which started to bother me. I've found that I need to have a theme. I can't jump around from subject to subject. So, I've started painting closeup images of plants and gardens that I photographed around our neighborhood. I'm lucky enough to live in close proximity to a lot of skilled gardeners who don't cut all their plants down in the fall. On my walks through the neighborhood it finally struck me how beautiful some of these plants are especially as they turn color and decay as the weather gets colder. I became even more inspired after it snowed which added a whole new element. So here is what I've come up with so far. I'm also going to start some large scale paintings in this same vein. I love painting small paintings, because I can finish them in under an hour if I put my mind to it--or take my mind away from it in some cases. But I need to have big paintings going too. More to come as those get underway.

Happy New Year!

My blog posting diligence kind of fell off after November, but here are some new photos of the projects my students are currently working on. Right now, they are thinking about and practicing methods of effective collaboration. I gave some direction when needed, but they were able to choose what form their projects take. They are required to work as a class or in small groups. The challenge is to first communicate with their teams about what direction they will go, the theme of the project, etc. Then they must delegate tasks so that the parts of the project are made and come together cohesively. For these particular students, practicing how to shift their thinking from "my work, my ideas" to "our work, our ideas" is really necessary. Hopefully this project will give them the opportunity to strengthen those skills. This lesson format has also allowed me to introduce new art techniques and processes as students need them. They are also seeing how they can really delve into a project when everyone comes together and shares the work. They are having fun watching it unfold.



So far, all three age groups are coming up with great ideas and are showing a lot of skill in working together. Each group is approaching the challenge of collaboration a little differently, and I addressed the issue a little differently in each class. In the photo above, this group is creating a group mural of a neighborhood. We started with a whole class period of learning about watercolor washes. Thinking about the sky in its various states, the students created beautiful washes on small pieces of paper. These separate pieces later came together to form the sky of their group mural. The next class I asked them to spend making buildings and houses. After we had these two basic parts of the mural completed, students naturally started making their own additions--people, trees, playgrounds, a ballerina, and even a few spaceships for good measure! After gluing all the pieces down, students ended their last work session with the idea to make the mural a progression from night time to day time. More photos to come as this progresses!

Below is a project being built by two students in the oldest group of students. At left, another group from this class works on watercolor paintings as part of their project.