Mark making with light.

This week students made marks with something completely different: light.

Three groups were divided into stations where they rotated to anticipate in each activity. First students drew on a large scale projection. The projection's composition was altered by the students that put assorted objects on the screen.

Demonstrating light drawings

Another station had students picking out their artwork for the show. They chose the their best works out of the projects they did for the semester.

The station that I was at involved making marks with glow sticks. The kids were so excited about this. We set up a partition with black fabric so it would block out bright light.

Once the students became situated with their glow sticks I gave them some direction. I had them try a variety of things like stand against the wall and draw shapes, make big movements, small movements, stand in a circle and put int he glowsticks in the middle for collaboration, connect the glowsticks, move them really fast, really slow, and try to think of their own ways to use the glowsticks.

Madisyn drawing with her glowstick

Since my documentation was integral to the actual making of art I tried a lot of different ways to photograph the students. This was actually one of the very few times I actually got to actively take part in artmaking with the students I was teaching. Most of the time it is based on direction, example, and guiding. I really enjoyed that! It allowed me to step back and have a lot of fun with the kids.

This lesson gave me a chance to create as well, I utilized what I knew about photography to use shudder speed in a way that I could play up color and capture light in different ways

Since I was also a participant in the artmaking I experimented with all the groups. I tried to photograph facing towards the light; this picked up an amazing amount of color even in the children's clothing. I faced away from the light on the black wall which was difficult because SLRs have a tendency to refuse to take photos if there isn't enough light on the subject. I also stood above the kids on a chair. This captured the texture of the floor which served as a background that worked unusually well.

One of the best results from my documentation was when I had the students hold their glow sticks still and I moved the camera around. This time I was the one making the marks and the kids were facilitating me. It was interesting to think about that relationship.

Students explored what kinds of motions made particular shapes. In this photo students made rounded marks with light.

The students thought of some great ways to utilize the glow sticks. They put the through belt loops, spun them on string, wove it through their clothing, and best of all collaborated with other students. I didn't have much intention of having the kids work together at first because I thought it would be a little crazy. However they chose to put the glowsticks together, formed lines, links, and saw what happened when colors were combined.

Since this lesson was in rotation I didn't get a chance to see the other parts of the lesson however there seemed to be a lot of excitement when the materials were presented in demonstrations. However I did get to refine my teaching because I was able to teach three rotations of the same thing. This lesson was a nice wrap up to Saturday School since students were able to have a large amount of input into what work was going into the show.


On Your Mark Class Photo
Fall 2009

Full Circle

This week was a head-spin! We worked hard in helping Amanda conceptualize a lesson that would be fruitful in learning a new technique in markmaking, but that wouldn't be too over-the-top for a final lesson (especially coming off a two-week break). It was a very successful lesson.

We learned about composition and the different techniques that add to creating a successful composition: symmetry, asymmetry, repetition, run-off, overlap, etc. Then, Amanda showed a video on light art. Next, we broke into stations to create several different works of art and critique what we've done the past 9 weeks.

I worked with the station that involved critique and having students choose which artwork they would like to see in the exhibition. This was interesting for me because I enjoy hearing students talk about their artwork as well as assess them based on what they say in discussing each others' work. I was thrilled that a lot of the students used vocabulary that has been introduced since the first week in the classroom! Students chose their "favorite," which would represent their best work, plus two additional pieces that they felt showed their best artistic skills. The rest of the artwork was placed into individual portfolios, which made students even prouder -- having that "real artist" feeling because they had a solid portfolio was really an excellent way to boost their confidence in art. After each selected their favorite piece, we discussed it in groups of 6. This went beyond asking "Why is this a good piece?". Students were eager to share what they thought their peers had done well in their work, which was nice to see. Even better, many of the reasons involved key terms, such as "texture," "pattern," "value," and "color."

Because the students soaked up this terminology, I feel it is important to create a worksheet for them to take home after the exhibition. This worksheet will list all of the vocabulary that we have learned about this semester, possibly with examples and definitions. I think it is necessary to encourage the students in their quest for learning art, beyond the construction paper projects that so many are forced to participate in in their public schooling. It shows how much students are capable of, and that is really important and encouraging for a future educator!