Artwork, 1st Nine Weeks

Artwork 2

Art Display 1

The Classroom

A sampling on my kids' awesome artwork! Great job guys,

Hooray!

A teacher friend loaned me her Digital camera, so I'm in the process of photographing the work my kids had displayed in the local restaurant! Check back soon to see the work we're most proud of.

Stupid eBay

So I lost my bidding war on eBay for a digital camera...Meaning it'll be a while longer before I can start posting my student's artwork. Hold your horses....They're amazing oil pastel still life drawings and charcoal sketches are coming. :)

My whole body is so tired right now and feel like the work is just piling up...I've got to fill out my online gradebook, grade a zillion projects, type up lesson plans for next week , get ready for the NTSG meeting tommorow and desperately need a nap.

On a really fun note, though...Two of my girls stayed until 4:45 today to work on their projects. They look really good..But the best part was that they were able to experience that feeling when you're working on a project you're really getting into and its way after everyone else has left. The later it gets the more relaxed you become while you work. Its definitely one of my favorite feelings..No wonder every art class I took I'd skip out of class early and come back after dark. There's just something cathartic about it for me. (and these two ladies, too!)

So, you're an art teacher?

Although I spent my college days studying Political Science with a concentration in Poverty and Human Capability, I've ended up a high school art teacher in the Mississippi Delta with Teach for America. Weird, right?

I've been at this gig for probably seven weeks now, and am finding that its a lot harder than I thought. It's NOT all Splatterpaint and pinch pots....in fact, more than once I've been close to tears because I just can't seem to explain some techinique or idea so that all of my kids will get it. And maybe having the confidence to create your own artwork isn't as important to some people as being able to read, but if a child has a creative outlet and they can FEEL successful about, then I'm pretty sure they're more likely to try harder in other subjects where they might not be as successful. Another TFA art teacher said it well when she explained that her Big Goal was to boost the self efficacy of her students. Right on.

Because my school disctrict doesn't offer Art classes before the High School level, I've had to teach concepts that most art students get in middle school (Line, Shape, Form, Value, Color, Texture or Balance, Unity, Rhythm, Movement, Patterns, etc)
This has resulted in 7 weeks of mini-lessons so my kids have the foundation to really sink their teeth into some tough artwork later..but since I don't even really have an art background its been difficult for me to figure out how best to teach them. Yikes. Things are going fairly well so far, considering...

My kids are awesome (most of the time) and the people at my school have been supportive of me, but we don't have that many resources. But I do want to thank the friends and strangers who've been so kind to send gift certificates to craft stores and money for art supplies! You have no idea how much that will help my class...

This week we're wrapping up a value and color exercise and moving on to texture. I'm a little nervous about how that's going to go. Anyway, as soon as I get a digital camera I'm going to post examples of my kids' work...so keep checking back.

Strike two

So I haven't quite figured this whole blogging thing out just yet. Maybe that's because I'm so late getting on the bandwagon... or maybe I just do better with paper and pencil. Anyway, as soon as I get a digital camera I'm going to start taking photos of my kids' artwork and posting it...they're really talented.