Inspired by Thomas Hart Benton and Diego Rivera
How did the studio lesson relate to the given big idea?
This lesson relates to the given big idea because comics are stories in and of themselves. Although they may not contain any words, they oftentimes convey a stronger and more impactful message than written stories. The comic I drew tells the story of the ever-changing education system in this country. The children are sitting in an empty room at a wooden table in front of two laptops. There is no teacher present. While technology has done many wonderful things for our schools and society, in my opinion, it is overused in the classroom. Many teachers rely solely on technology for many of their lessons have a difficult time teaching without it. This encourages the students to rely heavily on technology as well. While there are many wonderful aspects to technology in the classroom, it sometimes feels as though it is overpowering our school system.
Another part of my comic portrays the students as angelic (the halo over the head), but zombie-esque (with the swirly eyes). I chose to portray the students in this manner because I feel as though that is how policy-makers and those in charge of the school systems would like to see our students. They would like to see our children acting with perfect behavior, in a calm classroom environment, learning how to ace the standardized tests that are supposedly testing our students’ academic ability. Hands-on, engaging, and creative activities have no place in the classroom if they will not help our students to fill in the correct bubble on a test that has no place in the classroom. I feel as though we are headed into a technology and test-based system where the teacher is losing his/her place and being devalued by the policy-makers of our society.
How might you employ visual art integration utilizing the studio lesson in your own classroom?
I absolutely LOVE the idea of having the children create a comic to create a story. I feel as though this could be integrated into almost any lesson/subject. In writing and literacy, students could write a creative piece on a story and then create a comic book to illustrate the story. They could also use comics to illustrate a cycle in Science in order to add an element of silliness and fun. For example, during a lesson on the water cycle, students could imagine themselves as a water droplet. They could tell of their journey as a water droplet traveling through the water cycle through a series of comics. Students could also create their own comics based on a social or political issue during social studies. The ways to integrate a comic like this are limitless. This type of story telling encourages the students to be detailed without using many words. This will teach them that artists have power over their work. They can create so many hidden meanings that may or may not been recognized by the viewer.
This lesson relates to the given big idea because comics are stories in and of themselves. Although they may not contain any words, they oftentimes convey a stronger and more impactful message than written stories. The comic I drew tells the story of the ever-changing education system in this country. The children are sitting in an empty room at a wooden table in front of two laptops. There is no teacher present. While technology has done many wonderful things for our schools and society, in my opinion, it is overused in the classroom. Many teachers rely solely on technology for many of their lessons have a difficult time teaching without it. This encourages the students to rely heavily on technology as well. While there are many wonderful aspects to technology in the classroom, it sometimes feels as though it is overpowering our school system.
Another part of my comic portrays the students as angelic (the halo over the head), but zombie-esque (with the swirly eyes). I chose to portray the students in this manner because I feel as though that is how policy-makers and those in charge of the school systems would like to see our students. They would like to see our children acting with perfect behavior, in a calm classroom environment, learning how to ace the standardized tests that are supposedly testing our students’ academic ability. Hands-on, engaging, and creative activities have no place in the classroom if they will not help our students to fill in the correct bubble on a test that has no place in the classroom. I feel as though we are headed into a technology and test-based system where the teacher is losing his/her place and being devalued by the policy-makers of our society.
How might you employ visual art integration utilizing the studio lesson in your own classroom?
I absolutely LOVE the idea of having the children create a comic to create a story. I feel as though this could be integrated into almost any lesson/subject. In writing and literacy, students could write a creative piece on a story and then create a comic book to illustrate the story. They could also use comics to illustrate a cycle in Science in order to add an element of silliness and fun. For example, during a lesson on the water cycle, students could imagine themselves as a water droplet. They could tell of their journey as a water droplet traveling through the water cycle through a series of comics. Students could also create their own comics based on a social or political issue during social studies. The ways to integrate a comic like this are limitless. This type of story telling encourages the students to be detailed without using many words. This will teach them that artists have power over their work. They can create so many hidden meanings that may or may not been recognized by the viewer.
Inspired by Faith Ringgold
How did the studio lesson relate to the given big idea?
This studio lesson relates to the given big idea because it asked us to think of a favorite story from our childhood and depict it as a story quilt. My story quilt was inspired by a family story passed down to me from my Grandmother, who was a wonderful storyteller (she had 25 years of practice in her first grade classroom). My family is extremely Irish and very proud of it. So naturally, it is an Irish tale. As the story goes, my great-great-great-grandmother (Kate the Yank) was determined for her entire life to capture a leprechaun and take his pot of gold. One rainy day in Ireland, she was outside and saw a rainbow ahead of her. She followed it for hours and hours until she finally came to a clearly in a field where she saw a mischievous looking leprechaun playing the flute and dancing around his pot of gold. She quietly snuck up behind him, grabbed him around the waist, and held him as tight as she possibly could. However, leprechauns are known for their sneakiness and clever way with words. He promised her that if she would let him keep his pot of gold, he would give her his magic flute instead. If she blew the flute every year on St. Patrick’s Day eve, he would visit and bring gifts. Every year, the leprechaun has stuck to his word. Growing up, my sister and I played a tune on the magic flute the night before St. Patrick’s Day. When we woke up, our house would be in complete shambles! All of our furniture was flipped over and candy was absolutely everywhere. He also made a visit to each of our classrooms, tipping over desks, leaving candy, and writing notes on the board. My Grandmother became known as my sweet, but crazy, Irish Grandma and the teachers loved having her tell the story to my classmates every year. The story of the leprechaun is my favorite childhood memory and it is something I will take with me into my classroom.
For my story quilt, I chose to use colored pencil, crayon, and watercolor. Most people think of Ireland as lush and green. I wanted to portray the vivid colors of Ireland in my story quilt. Instead of just using watercolor, I chose to color everything first with crayon or colored pencil and then blend the colors with water paint. However, I did not color the rainbow with crayon or colored pencil because I wanted it to appear faint, as it appears in real life. Around the border, I used a repeating pattern of shamrocks and gold coins because I felt as though they represented the meaning of the story well.
How might you employ visual art integration utilizing the studio lesson in your own classroom?
I had a lot of fun with this studio and think it is something that children would enjoy as well. I would employ this studio with literacy. Children could illustrate their favorite story or a story we have read in class. They could choose to depict a specific part of the story or the story as a whole. Children could also choose to illustrate a personal story and share their creation with the class in order to practice their own storytelling skills.
This studio lesson relates to the given big idea because it asked us to think of a favorite story from our childhood and depict it as a story quilt. My story quilt was inspired by a family story passed down to me from my Grandmother, who was a wonderful storyteller (she had 25 years of practice in her first grade classroom). My family is extremely Irish and very proud of it. So naturally, it is an Irish tale. As the story goes, my great-great-great-grandmother (Kate the Yank) was determined for her entire life to capture a leprechaun and take his pot of gold. One rainy day in Ireland, she was outside and saw a rainbow ahead of her. She followed it for hours and hours until she finally came to a clearly in a field where she saw a mischievous looking leprechaun playing the flute and dancing around his pot of gold. She quietly snuck up behind him, grabbed him around the waist, and held him as tight as she possibly could. However, leprechauns are known for their sneakiness and clever way with words. He promised her that if she would let him keep his pot of gold, he would give her his magic flute instead. If she blew the flute every year on St. Patrick’s Day eve, he would visit and bring gifts. Every year, the leprechaun has stuck to his word. Growing up, my sister and I played a tune on the magic flute the night before St. Patrick’s Day. When we woke up, our house would be in complete shambles! All of our furniture was flipped over and candy was absolutely everywhere. He also made a visit to each of our classrooms, tipping over desks, leaving candy, and writing notes on the board. My Grandmother became known as my sweet, but crazy, Irish Grandma and the teachers loved having her tell the story to my classmates every year. The story of the leprechaun is my favorite childhood memory and it is something I will take with me into my classroom.
For my story quilt, I chose to use colored pencil, crayon, and watercolor. Most people think of Ireland as lush and green. I wanted to portray the vivid colors of Ireland in my story quilt. Instead of just using watercolor, I chose to color everything first with crayon or colored pencil and then blend the colors with water paint. However, I did not color the rainbow with crayon or colored pencil because I wanted it to appear faint, as it appears in real life. Around the border, I used a repeating pattern of shamrocks and gold coins because I felt as though they represented the meaning of the story well.
How might you employ visual art integration utilizing the studio lesson in your own classroom?
I had a lot of fun with this studio and think it is something that children would enjoy as well. I would employ this studio with literacy. Children could illustrate their favorite story or a story we have read in class. They could choose to depict a specific part of the story or the story as a whole. Children could also choose to illustrate a personal story and share their creation with the class in order to practice their own storytelling skills.
Inspired by Jean Shin
How did the studio lesson relate to the given big idea?
This studio relates to the given big idea because we were asked to use “found objects” and look at the story behind them. We were instructed to find ordinary and every day objects that have been tossed aside or mass-produced to serve our needs. We had to examine each object in many different aspects—the original purpose of the object, how it can be used, where it came from, etc. I worked with four other girls to discuss each of our objects (mini bible, lipstick tubes, earrings, and a hair tie) to determine how all of them could be used and what each object meant. We decided to combine all of our found objects in order to create a story.
Two of our objects (the lipstick tubes, the earrings, and the hair tie) are products that people use to enhance their outer beauty. The mini bible, however, preaches of love for one another and ourselves in order to tell each of us that we are beautiful. For this reason, we decided to combine our objects in order to tell a story of inner beauty. After deciding on the theme of inner beauty, we found a bible quote from the Song of Solomon 4:7 that preaches of inner beauty: “You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in your.” We tore out the pages of the bible and glued them to a piece of background paper. I was, at first, very uncomfortable with defacing a Bible. However, we discussed this together as a group and decided that because it was to spread a message of love and inner beauty, it was not inappropriate. We wrote the quote on top of the pages with lipstick because we often cover our inner beauty with products to enhance our appearance instead of our true selves.
We used many different objects, each with their own story, to create one big story of inner beauty and the value of it. As people, we may be different, but we are flawless and beautiful. We put the picture against the mirror because that is where women judge themselves the most and see all of their outer flaws and imperfections. We thought posting it on the mirror would be an inspiring message for women to look on the inside instead of the outside.
How might you employ visual art integration utilizing the studio lesson in your own classroom?
I would love to integrate this into a literacy lesson. I would ask my students to bring in random, every day objects and create a story with them. This would inspire creativity and for my students to use their imaginations and think outside of the box. I would ask them to create a piece of art with the object and then write from the object’s perspective, about it’s journey, or something similar. This lesson would show them that they have power as authors—even over inanimate objects.
This studio relates to the given big idea because we were asked to use “found objects” and look at the story behind them. We were instructed to find ordinary and every day objects that have been tossed aside or mass-produced to serve our needs. We had to examine each object in many different aspects—the original purpose of the object, how it can be used, where it came from, etc. I worked with four other girls to discuss each of our objects (mini bible, lipstick tubes, earrings, and a hair tie) to determine how all of them could be used and what each object meant. We decided to combine all of our found objects in order to create a story.
Two of our objects (the lipstick tubes, the earrings, and the hair tie) are products that people use to enhance their outer beauty. The mini bible, however, preaches of love for one another and ourselves in order to tell each of us that we are beautiful. For this reason, we decided to combine our objects in order to tell a story of inner beauty. After deciding on the theme of inner beauty, we found a bible quote from the Song of Solomon 4:7 that preaches of inner beauty: “You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in your.” We tore out the pages of the bible and glued them to a piece of background paper. I was, at first, very uncomfortable with defacing a Bible. However, we discussed this together as a group and decided that because it was to spread a message of love and inner beauty, it was not inappropriate. We wrote the quote on top of the pages with lipstick because we often cover our inner beauty with products to enhance our appearance instead of our true selves.
We used many different objects, each with their own story, to create one big story of inner beauty and the value of it. As people, we may be different, but we are flawless and beautiful. We put the picture against the mirror because that is where women judge themselves the most and see all of their outer flaws and imperfections. We thought posting it on the mirror would be an inspiring message for women to look on the inside instead of the outside.
How might you employ visual art integration utilizing the studio lesson in your own classroom?
I would love to integrate this into a literacy lesson. I would ask my students to bring in random, every day objects and create a story with them. This would inspire creativity and for my students to use their imaginations and think outside of the box. I would ask them to create a piece of art with the object and then write from the object’s perspective, about it’s journey, or something similar. This lesson would show them that they have power as authors—even over inanimate objects.