8/6/2019 Creative Thinking in Classroom
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f some of the current school-supplycatalogs are an indication of
whatgoes on in third- or fourth-grade artclasses right now, I
believe the state ofteaching creative thinking is facing acruel and
tacky fate.
In any field of education, "what usedto be" wasn't always
perfect. But in thelast 50 years, not much in the way ofstudio
art-fine art-for kids has beenworked into the curriculum.
Everychild seems to know who Vincent vanGogh was ("He cut off his
ear!") or Mi-chelangelo. But how can we graduatechildren who can't
draw or mix colorsor appreciate the poetry of modernsculpture? (Or
for that matter, goodpoetry? But that's another story.)
The relativity of art and the crafts ofart are easy to teach,
with a little work.But if we're handing out pre-madeboats to paint
or little foam frames todecorate, all we're doing is traininglittle
future factory workers. There'snothing creative involved at all.
Thepaints are prepackaged-every color,with the instructions for
assembly.Even an image to copy for your paint-ing pleasure is
included.
The proliferation of these "kits"must make many overwhelmed
teach-ers happy. But it scares the heck outof me. What a dreary
activity art mustseem to be to these kids. Even if bysome chance
the painted outcomeis satisfying to the young artist, whatwill he
do to duplicate the feeling? Hewould need to buy another kit!
Would he know he could perhapstake an old piece of wood or
cardboardand just paint on that? Could he ever findthat color if he
had to make it himself?
Maybe it's me. I think I am a hybridin the art world, of which
there areprobably many. I started with graphicart, the kind that's
no longer used.We learned layout and design with T-Squares and pen
and ink, which had tobe perfect. I was not very good! Switch-ing to
theater arts, I then spent 15 yearsdesigning and building
props.
For those 15 years I learned by doing,a deeply satisfying way to
learn. I wentfrom community theater to networktelevision, and
learned how to work withno budget (teachers, sound familiar?)and
with excessive "throw money at theproblem" and "get me two of them"
bud-gets. And what an education it was!
FORUMThoughts to Share
I was surrounded by scenic artistswho could paint a landscape
the size ofan auditorium wall or recreate a placein a playwright's
head in perfect detail.To scale, no less!An d what a revelation!
They wouldpaint with broom-size brushes or getdown on all fours and
use cotton swabs.They would roll on their tummies onflat trolleys
to paint continuous patterns.They would climb ladders to get a look
attheir work. And so I learned adaptability.And the right tool for
the right job, some-thing my students hear over and over.Prop
builders are magicians, some-thing every good art teacher must
alsobe . As an apprentice prop maker at JoePapp's New York
Shakespeare Festivaland later at MR A Studio in Brooklyn, Iwatched
model makers sculpt objects(albeit usually period objects) out
ofcommon materials from the hardwarestore (not the art store) every
day,
On CreativeThinking inthe Classroomby Ruthann Perrypainting them
to look like the realthing. Lots of research goes into get-ting the
details right.And though most props are not per-fect, they must
"read well" from the au-dience. Up close, most props are some-what
crude looking if they've been built.They have to be able to take
abuse, sothey're built strong. If they really ge tthrown around the
stage a lot (think ofsome of Shakespeare's plays), they maybe
replaced fairly frequently in a run, oneof the rare times prop
people get to dothe same thing more than once.Every prop builder
learns to be a jack-of-all-trades. And this was what servedme so
well when I began to teach art.Sometimes my job was boring, asany
apprentice's will be from time totime. There were days spent
paintingtiny florets on set pieces or sewing littlelace flowers
onto pillows. Other times,magic. But every day brought some-thing
new to make, a new craft to learn.Wouldn't it be wonderful if art
class was
the same? An d how about a rule for arclass: All those who enter
here can beas messy as it takes. You are allowed tocolor outside
the lines. Just go for it.Every teacher knows a lesson thathe
student takes part in is imprinted ona deeper level than one that
is lecturedor read about So getting them to maketheir own artwork
is crucial. And no t every kid is going to want to hear this, buthe
creative process has to allow for longperiods of "not so good" and
"adequate"before "great" comes along. Those kitsthe school supply
companies are sellingare taking away the chance for childrento
create something from start to finishan unforgettable experience.At
the beginning of the school yearI always tell my young artists
this: "Thvery first time young Michael Jordanpicked up a
basketball, or that rock musician picked up his guitar, they
stunkThe second time, still bad. The thirdtry? Maybe a basket,
maybe one baof music. The on e hundredth time? Ohyeah baby. They
were rockin'."So why is art an y different?" I ask"Te first time
you try to draw thastill life, paint that sky or mold thaclay,
you're most likely going to bombSo what? It just takes practice and
patience. An d once you pick up the skillit sets you free to create
whatever youcan think of. The mechanics are whastop so many people
from thinking theyhave talent. It may not be easy. But neither is
learning to play the piano or playa mean game of basketball. And it
couldbe fun. Learn the mechanics and youmay surprise
yourselfi."Giving students junky, mass-produced art projects so
they have something to show for art class is wrongWhen did art
class become so resultsoriented? And on on e class a week. Andwhy:
to justify the department? MaybeArt departments are being cut
everywhere. After nine years teaching elementary school art in a
private schoolI was told they needed my classroomfor a science lab.
I would be Art-on-aCart. And though I ended up leavingthat school,
I understood the need forhands-on science. Really. I still remember
frog dissections, don't you? NRuthannPerry s an art eacherand
arist, and is the owner of MaidenheadStudio in Lawrenceville, New
Jersey.
