teaching art

[Lotus]

so i've done all the paperwork and i can start volunteering at the old arts highschool mY Younger sister now goes to. i visited it recentlY and was disappointed at how the qualitY of art has declined since i've been gone. mY teacher loved me and as lame as this sounds i was kinda a 'legend' in the art dept and school in general, so i decided i want to help teach. back when i was there everyone was reallY talented and original etc.... but now its kids doing drawings of photos theY find online, technical skill not bad but underdeveloped and no originalitY or exposure to contemporary art. mY teacher thinks i'll be a great influence and i start this week. reallY nervous where to begin... a critique on what theY're doing now maYBe to get acquainted... idk. kids need to develop the abilitY to articulate whY they like or don't like visual imagery and i think casual discussions would help

i have some ideas of what to teach but i am so nervous and don't want to intimidate or bore them. anY advice... i'm reallY excited

[rat1]

errr.. well just make sure to try giving them advice 1 piece at a time or you may overwhelm their small minds and then end up failing.

[Lotus]

is starting with a laid-back critique a good idea or intimidating Ya think

they need to understand composition better for sure and also how to create Your own ideas instead of ripping off tumblr shit and drawing famous icons over and over. they also lack exposure to what can be considered art, so i feel like make a powerpoint of things theY never thought could be 'drawings' would open them up to more experimentation.

but also the teacher wants me to help the few interested students learn to oil paint. he said he's rustY and a fresh mind would help him out.

its weird being in the south, without being exposed to art that expands beYond purelY what looks nice. i'm excited to open some eYes maYBe. idk seeing potential without the guidance to use it saddens me. i know i can help but i don't want to force them or whatever

i'll probablY just begin voluntarY demonstrations etc. in one end of the art studio. its massive and people can join in or not

still nervous about how to BEGIN

[717495]

This is excellent, hope it goes well.

[rat1]

Well I don't know the basics of art but I'd just go around looking at what they've drawn, find the most basic flaw that seems to be consistently made and then correct that flaw and proceed from there.

[Creepy-male]

My thoughts on this are that it may be good to ease into things, try to win them over to your side a little bit, get them interested and connect with them, then once a good relationship has been established begin to critique them and help them develop.

I do tutoring from time to time and the most challenging thing is not the material but the relations with the people, trying to get a good line of communication and flow of things -- once that is developed its pretty easy.

They may take critiquing them from a stranger a little harshly, you may come off a little stuck up, your better off imo being less explicit about this, showing them what the step beyond what they are doing right now looks like, get them interested in that and they will want to develop, then critiquing will be a natural process for them. You may also have to be a little intelligent about the way you treat different students, not everyone wants to be a full time artist, its a good idea to put things into perspective based on the aspirations of your individual students.

My thoughts -- I don't know how teaching "art" works and all, but maybe you should start with something that will "wow" them and show them what they can hope to aspire to and get them really energized, something like that + something that involves people so you can break the ice and get people involved.

Once you get a feel for the students you should be able to tailor your efforts towards each individuals goals and try to get some synergy going between people, if you can get that going well, it will be smooth sailing.

[Lotus]

i was afraid of that octopus... i've become so desensitized to critiques and theY're ridiculouslY constructive, but i'm worried the kids aren't comfortable enough to speak openlY about art. i had an idea of having everyone pick the piece they're most proud of (since they're several months into the semester bY now), and then have everYone pick a piece of someone else's that theY connect with or appreciate. i thought maYBe that would be a more relaxed critique...

since everYone is showing what theY're proud of and then seeing other kids pick pieces of Your art You maY not have expected anYone to like. it would provoke awkward discussion at first as theY struggle to articulate whY theY like the pieces theY chose. but its extremelY important to understand what about the composition is drawing them to it. and as this happens i can help them to understand what underlYing principles etc. make something aestheticallY alluring to the viewer. it would help the artist, and also the viewers understand WHY theY like something.

because art is so filled with unconscious decision making, its a valuable skill imo to know WHY something looks good intellectuallY, in an underlYing compositional principles kinda waY. elements such as line, notane (larger harmonY of darks and lights), opposition, transition, subordination, repetition, sYmmetry etc. and rule of thirds and all that shite. maYBe even to more advanced things if theY handle it well, like the golden mean and other concepts that we see in great art, but never recognize. but developing that recognition of whY we unconsciouslY like certain compositions would onlY strength one's own strength in composing art.

i know it would bore some kids, but if You practice it enough it becomes unconscious in Your drawing.

[Lotus]

plus this is completelY voluntarY for them. i just do random sessions for those who care, meanwhile being flexible and teaching something they maY request to learn.

idk, theY need to grow both conceptuallY and technicallY. but i dont wanna bore anYone
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thanks for the replies guys, keep em coming

[Kim]

Having them critique each other's work can be awkward, too. Even if you ask them to pick a peer's drawing that they really like, some might not be picked and feel a bit bruised. Perhaps bring in pictures of famous (or not so famous) pieces of art from different periods, of different styles, etc. and ask them how they relate to them and why? That way you can bring up composition and such without hurting their egos right away. When I critique my students' writing, I always start with a positive. I have become very skilled in finding something good in everything.

[Creepy-male]

Maybe have them bring in a composition they like and have them analyze what they like about it, and try to get an open discussion of this sort of thing going? Idk you have to find your own style to this thing, but g'luck

[Lotus]

Maybe have them bring in a composition they like and have them analyze what they like about it, and try to get an open discussion of this sort of thing going? Idk you have to find your own style to this thing, but g'luck

not a bad idea, i just thought kids would drift off and get bored if it didn't directlY relate to what they're doing. but it depends on the crowd, guess i'll see

[rat1]

allie you seem very inspired

[Lotus]

just excited to help kids grow artistically. i had to career shadow a HS art 1 class once and i improved their drawings skills more in 3 daYs than their teacher all semester

[Creepy-male]

I think people have to develop their own teaching style, that's why I do tutoring through a website that hosts a profile rather than getting a job being a tutor at some company. I have the freedom to develop my skills in my own way -- I'm very lenient and fair to about pricing, I usually do a first session at no cost to see if the energy is good between me and the student (I learned this from experience unfortunately -- first time cracking into things was awkward as hell).

[Aquagraph]

If I show you my Infantile face will you paint watercolours with me?

[Lotus]

i hate watercolors

[Aquagraph]

i hate watercolors

Me too. I always manage to fuck it up with the water proportions and the paper gets fucking curled. Then I just throw some more water and tilt the work so it turns into non-representative art.

[Lotus]

true, i'm not going to be easY but i have to keep in mind these kids don't have to do anYthing i ask since i'm onlY a volunteer and theY're all AP art students so theY've gotta cram in 24 pieces bY like maY. so they have a right to ignore me since theY're on a deadline. i mean theY have decent technical skills, but theY waste their talent doing photorealism of various celebrities. if i see one more jolie or monroe portrait i'll kill someone. theY can draw, but theY aren't inspired enough to look inward instead of outward i guess.

i maY stick to just teaching them how to oil paint. i know some kids are interested but they have no idea where to begin

[uniden]

is starting with a laid-back critique a good idea or intimidating Ya think

they need to understand composition better for sure and also how to create Your own ideas instead of ripping off tumblr shit and drawing famous icons over and over. they also lack exposure to what can be considered art, so i feel like make a powerpoint of things theY never thought could be 'drawings' would open them up to more experimentation.

but also the teacher wants me to help the few interested students learn to oil paint. he said he's rustY and a fresh mind would help him out.

its weird being in the south, without being exposed to art that expands beYond purelY what looks nice. i'm excited to open some eYes maYBe. idk seeing potential without the guidance to use it saddens me. i know i can help but i don't want to force them or whatever

i'll probablY just begin voluntarY demonstrations etc. in one end of the art studio. its massive and people can join in or not

still nervous about how to BEGIN

I'm really curious about the first bolded part, Allie. How do you mean to go about teaching them how to come up with their own ideas? It kind of reminds me of teaching "critical thinking." How do you do that?

As for the second bolded part, yeah that's a rather limiting sentiment. I've gone about asking people in the arts what they consider to be artistic and what makes things artistic to them. Then one day I asked some random person the same sort of question, and he basically replied that anything that can be enjoyed for purely aesthetic reasons can be considered art. :\

[Absurd]

Can you oaint misery> Oe an elwphant?