VISUAL ARTS PORTFOLIO MARIANNE FAY

“RISKY BUSINESS” Helping students prepare for inevitable mistakes in the creation of art and in all endeavors throughout life It is not often you watch a child create something only to hear them say, “This just won’t do.” They look at what they have made and keep working at it until the page is full and they are content and proud. We shouldn’t lose this sense of perseverance and pride just because we grow up.

THE PURPOSE The purpose of these lessons is to show students the value in taking risks in art, to have students gain an appreciation for art in all its forms and for students to understand that making mistakes in essential for learning about themselves as artists and for creating art in general.

THE FIELD TRIP The class will take a field trip to a local park to hear a local band playing a free concert. I will ask the students to record what they saw, heard, felt, and smelled in their general surroundings. Then I will ask them to note what they heard specifically when they musician played. Students should mention any and all environmental, instrumental and personal influences on the music. Afterwards there will be a meet and greet where students can comment on and ask about creating and delivering the music.

Students will be expected to freely create something personal and from the heart. They can choose any medium and topic to express their interest. They can choose hobbies, family, school or any thing they feel they can relate to on a personal level. They will be asked not to erase or throw away material but to work with their mistakes. This is to emphasize value in every idea they have. They will first look at other student’s ‘mistakes’ and ‘throwaways’ and work with those pieces to see what they can create. Then they can begin working on something of their own from the start. Lesson # 1

CAN YOU SPOT NORMAN ROCKWELL’S “MISTAKE”?

LESSON 2 Students will be asked to reflect and represent evidence of their learning in the previous class. Their representation will answer the following questions: How did I feel about not being allowed to change mistakes? How has my art progressed as a result? What does this tell me about my work? What did I learn about myself?

WHY THIS MEANINGFUL FOR ME AND FOR THE STUDENTS Throughout my education and life in general, I have always felt embarrassed when I have made mistakes. I would get so frustrated trying to erase things and make it look like I hadn’t written anything. I would frantically scratch things out so you couldn’t see what was underneath. I would crumple up my papers and throw them into the trash where they became indistinguishable pieces of lost efforts. This did not help me learn or grow in any way. Whether is was art, science or literature I never wanted to look back at those mistakes. It was only recently that I realized that I couldn’t grow into something if I couldn’t see what I was growing out of. I think this is extremely important for students to realize sooner rather than later. We need to embrace our mistakes and turn them into works of art in which we can eventually, with patience, take great pride.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Materials for field trip: Permission slips, pencils, paper, prepared questions for the musicians, snacks and appropriate attire. Materials for Lesson #1: Old, anonymous, “thrown away” pieces of artwork (provided by me). Anything else that they choose to use for creation of personal work Materials for Lesson #2: Anything they choose to help represent the emotions they felt while creating freely without allowing “mistakes”