Developing an Artistic Style

I have lots of fear that prevents me from creating. I have no idea who I am as an artist. I don't know what I enjoy, I don't know what I look like.

Well - that's not true. I DO know what I look like. It happened by a fluke circumstance. In a 24hr  countdown panic, I could do nothing but let go and get the assignment done. and of course in letting go, that magical thing happens. It happened once. maybe twice.

That magical thing is not some unpredictable, show up randomly cosmic event.  It's a relationship the artist has with her genius. If you trust and practice with the unknown, the unknown shows up brilliantly, and you make not just cool stuff....but authentic stuff. Art that reflects you at your core...not just your amazing draw-an-apple skills.  More like....that-feel-good-this-looks-just-like-my-soul-stuff. That mmm-yes-I'm-committed relationship.  


I missed out on this. My degree made no space for yummy relationship building. I can recognize Hagia Sophia but I can't identify myself. 


The more that I plan for my classes, the clearer it's becoming that I want to teach what my own education lacked. And not because I have weird Art Therapist ego. I'm using my experience to recognize a need. Students benefit by falling in love with who they are. Don't we all? I want my students to fall in love with their genius. Discover their genius, paint their genius. To not be afraid. 


I want it for myself. 

I picked up Finding Your Visual Voice by Dakota Mitchell.  *Drool*  I'm teaching this to my Level  2 Class. THIS is what I want students to walk away with. "It explores how & why you paint and what you respond to visually and emotionally. [This book helps bring awareness] to the combination of instincts and feelings that encourages you to pick up a paintbrush and create work that is your own". Yummyyy.  Very structured & workbook style. 

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Howard  Thurman.

Tell Me Which Way I Ought To Go From Here?

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

                                                                                                -Alice in Wonderland. 

"How do we make it more likely - by our design - that more students really understand what they are asked to learn?"

*Understanding by Design, Wiggins and McTighe 

 I'm in the middle of major curriculum reconstruction. My supervisor and the previous art therapist passed on fantastic lessons and a context to teach those lessons, and now I'm trying my best to document it. This process makes me very aware of the gaps between what I expect students to know, and what I actually teach them; what's gold, and what may get in the way. 

Handy for me, backwards design is very similar to setting therapeutic goals, which I had lots of practice in my 2nd year of grad school. I say that because my peers will let you know -I wasn't gettin' it. And it's still hard to get. I'm spending hours thinking about outcomes, and evidence, and scaffolding. It will be worth it though because duh -you can't build a  house on the sand. 

So! Starting backwards....what's the point? What do I ultimately want students to understand?

• Art 1: Visual Literacy & Personal Definitions of Art. 
• What is Art? How and why is art used as a vehicle for communication

• Art 2:  Looking at Art & Artist Identity
• How do you evaluate art? What artists, mediums, and content inspire you?

"To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. it means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now so that the steps you take are always in the right direction"

-Stephen Covey

Artherapeducation

"Studying art and design involves inquiry, posing and solving problems, perseverance, re-purposing, taking risks, and persuading and inspiring....

...Students engaged in visual art and design gain confidence in communicating and defending their ideas and decisions, and demonstrate a strong sense of self-identity...

....Artists are able to transform, reorganize, and transfer understanding into personal renderings and interpretations of the world around them" 

-Colorado Department of Education 

Visual Art Standards

I think they're a bunch of Art Therapists ;)

It's really nice to see this written because folks wonder how art therapy is done in the classroom. I too wondered and questioned as an intern and a "first year" how I was going to combine the two worlds. Well, duh. they are not two worlds. 

Just teach art.