Entry #3

Amy Chou
AA192SL
February 8, 2007
Entry 3

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Even till this day, I still feel a bit odd when a student calls me ‘Ms. Chou.’ We had a wonderful experience with printmaking last week and I was afraid that this week’s curriculum would not be as successful. This week’s topic focused on plants, particularly flowers, in which I introduced the artist, Georgia O’Keeffe. I’ve begun a trend of having the students read a quote from the artist, followed by a discussion before jumping into the activity. The students were hesitant to talk at first, but they in fact had a lot to say once the discussion began. One student explained how O’Keeffe grabs the attention of the viewer by enlarging the image and placing it in focus.

We used the same process of synthesizing realism and abstraction as O’Keeffe. While some students created a more simplified flower, others worked in detail and precision. There is a sense of accomplishment from each student whether they were interested in creating an image of a flower or not. Just the whole idea of having a completed piece of work that one had created on his/her own is meaningful in itself. As I walked around the room, I noticed some students who quickly drew a flower and I am curious in whether they were really satisfied with their work. How do I differentiate a student who may like simplicity from a student who’s just too lazy to put more effort into his/her work? I know I cannot expect every student to fall in love with art but what are some other ways can I relate art to something they’re interested in without ‘telling’ them what to do?

While we were waiting for the glue to dry, we critiqued last week’s project. I truly believe in the importance of having oral skills and articulating oneself in front of an audience. It was not so much of what they had depicted, but to practice speaking about process, purpose, and significance behind a piece. Ms. Williams and I discussed about painting a mural along the hall to ‘beautify’ the campus. Unfortunately, we only have 3 more sessions before they go off track so it will be somewhat difficult to paint a mural within that time. I suggested we use the prints we had made and create sort of montage out of them. Ms. Williams also suggested the idea of including some haikus written by the students, which I thought was absolutely brilliant (I believe in the importance of fusing different subjects such as poetry and visual arts).