Week 5-Collage Murals

Demonstrations were a major part of the lesson this week. This picture documents one of these sessions, specifically demonstrating collage techniques using paint and stencils. Notice the orientation of the students in relationship to the materials, each other and the Miss Melanie. Some are sitting on the canvas and others are standing, but both are close to Miss Melanie so they can see. It is also important to note Jason's interaction during the demo. Melanie allowed him to participate in facilitating that part of the lesson which I think helped the other students relate to and better understand what they were supposed to do. The level of student engagement seems to rise when another classmate is given the opportunity to participate in the demonstration. The students seem to be able to identify with the task on a more personal level since one of their peers, and not the experienced art teacher, is creating the art. The positioning of the students is also part of an effective demonstration. Melanie created a space where the students could have enough space to get close to the point of instruction and engage what is going on. This set-up also helps the teacher manage the students and asses their understanding as she explains the information.


Here is another example of the students interacting with a teacher-led demonstration:


Attention and exploration of materials was another important component of the lesson this week. Students were allowed to work with many different techniques of collage using paint and paper. This image shows an example of one way students experimented with these materials and how they created the final composition on the larger mural. Here, Kiran is implementing chance into his creative process by allowing the pieces to fall on the canvas.




In this image is an example of a student exploring materials once they were placed on the canvas. As she applied the glue to the surface of the collage pieces, the ink started to bleed. The brushstrokes left residue of the ink color on the canvas adding another dimension to the materiality of the work.

Both of these examples are important when art teachers consider what materials they allow students to use in a project and the balance of teacher-based instruction verses student-led experimentation/self-guided learning. They offer issues to ponder such as how a teacher would be able to recreate something like this in a normal classroom setting, where there are more freedoms with materials and scale of the work? Or what kind of environment you create that allows students to respond in an unmitigated and creative way?