THE JOURNEY: an overview of my art teaching philosophy in regard to developing artists
I look at the development of an artist in these three stages. Though they mix with each other, and the distinction, in reality, is not quite so neat, this has helped me develop my curriculum. It has also helped students think more deeply and critically about their creative abilities, and about how they transcend visual art and find their way into other disciplines like science and math.
Taste Test
This is a discovery period when students try different mediums and learn about various artists and styles. They may find they prefer working with clay over paint and perhaps realism over abstraction. Craftsmanship is a key piece of grading as well as developing an understanding of the Elements and Principles of art and design.
Specialization
This is where hard skills are developed and as with anything else we want to get good at, practice is necessary. Sometimes practice is hard work as with practicing scales on a piano or ball handling drills in soccer. This is where the hard work really moves a student from dabbling to mastery in their use of a particular material. This reaches it's end as students get bored and do not know what to do with their skill. Is the end goal just to draw a realistic portrait? This is usually a question that comes up and it is time for Ideation.
Ideation
As with other art forms like film, writing and music the greatest works provoke, challenge, comfort, or make us think. Visual art is the same way. Ideation deals with ideas as visual images. When students discover that they can use their sharpened skills to communicate they realize their convictions, questions and beliefs can be expressed in their artwork. Developing a voice and ideas worth exploring is challenging for many students but is essential as it gives art making and the artist its purpose.