Visual Arts

I have to start my reflection off with the quote from the text, "A painter takes the sun and makes it into a yellow spot. An artist takes a yellow spot and makes it into the sun" (Picasso, pg. 141)

What: I enjoyed the visual art lesson that we had in class last week. I learned that I am better at some mediums than others. I am not very good with spacial art. I also learned from the text that visual brain receptors outnumber auditory receptors 30 to 1. It was so interesting to read that Albert Einstein rarely thought in words at all. He visualized everything.

So What: As a teacher I hope to use visual arts to make learning more fun and interesting. I was walking down the halls at my sons school yesterday and saw snowflakes made out of white string art. It was beautiful. The students had written papers and then had each made their own unique string art of a snowflake. When we heard presentations about 6 different illustrators in class this week, I was inspired by their art work. It was interesting to listen to your lecture about balance, proportion, rhythm, unity, etc. I have not taken the time to look at art work the way that I should. I enjoyed traveling around the room to the different art projects. Everyone did a great job.

Now What: As a future teacher, I'm excited to incorporate visual arts into my classroom. I enjoyed listening to the woman that spoke at the UVU Arts Conference last fall. I think her name was Mary Ellen Immordino Yang?? She said that we are inspired and awed by the arts. I really believe that. When children see beautiful art or hear music they are inspired to greatness. I want my students to be inspired to greatness! Also, in the newspaper this past week, Condoleezza Rice spoke at BYU. She said that it is important to have a well balanced education that includes elements of the arts, drama and music. She said that even when you try new things that are difficult--that self esteem comes.

Group Project: It went well. We all worked together and volunteered for assignments and it went smoothly. This is a great cohort. It was fun choosing an illustrator. Though we all had different favorites, we were able to choose Maurice Sendak and it was a lot of fun to prepare. We found a website that showed the steps of drawing characters from Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. It was a fun rotation.

Did I Grow Up With the Arts?

What-Did I grow up with the arts? I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada until the age of 9. We had music every day in school. We sang songs and performed dances in a musical program once a year. When I moved to Utah, we also had singing time in school and had a program at year end with some dancing as well. My middle school math teacher, Mr. Johnson used to play Dancing Queen every day while we corrected our math assignments. I learned from the chapter reading that when teachers are more creative, it helps with communication. Also, learned that four of the 8 ways of knowing are Art Domains--verbal, visual, musical and kinesthetic.

So What-I loved it! I have always enjoyed watching people perform and being involved myself. I love singing, dancing and playing the piano--though I'm just mediocre at all three. Music just makes me happy. When I think back to the teachers that I loved the most--they all used music and the arts in their classrooms. INTERESTING!!!

Now What-I hope to learn how to use the arts in a way that will inspire my students. I will incorporate the arts into my classroom NO MATTER WHAT!! If the Arts Program gets cut all the way out when I become a teacher--I will incorporate it into my classroom. I want my students to feel joy through the arts. I plan to learn from you a great deal.