1. ARTISTS’ IDEA JOURNALS By Dawn Knight Creative Arts Program Leader Fort Richmond Collegiate

2.   A class of kindergarteners is asked to raise their hands if they are artists, and all of them do. A class of sixth graders is asked, and only about a third of them do. What happened? Do we fear criticism and keep our creativity to ourselves? - Daniel Pink   All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once they grow up. -Pablo Picasso

3. THE BENEFITS OF IDEA JOURNALS
(For Kids!)
COLLECTION: Idea journals are personal storage and filing systems for visual resources.
OBSERVATION: Idea journals are gyms for exercising artistic muscles.
CREATION: Idea journals are playgrounds for new media and artistic techniques.
REFLECTION: Idea journals are mirrors to examine experiences and memories.
EXPLORATION: Idea journals are gardens for growing new ideas.

4. For Teachers…
In the context of a classroom, these physical manifestations of their thoughts, ideas, and skills can serve as concrete evidence of student learning.
The idea journals become portfolios or visual collections of student achievement, and teachers can witness how students’ ideas, skills, understanding and attitudes have evolved over time.

5. JACOB’S PROGRESS:
Here’s his first idea journal drawing…
It’s a “realistic” portrait
of his friend Stefan.
He drew this picture in his idea journal in the first week of school,
in September, 2002.

6. And after a lot of hard work and focus, and regular practice in his sketchbook…
here’s the last drawing in that
same idea journal.
It’s a self-portrait.
It was drawn in the end of May 2003, only eight months later.

7. COLLECTION Sample…

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9. OBSERVATION Sample…

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13. EXPLORATION Sample…

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18. CREATION Sample…

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21. REFLECTION Sample…

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23. HANDMADE BOOKS & JOURNALS
Tunnel Book
Star Book
Flag Book
Pop-Up Book
Accordion Book
Flutter Book

24. HANDMADE BOOKS & JOURNALS
Coptic Stitch-Binding
Japanese Stab-Binding