Contemporary Early Childhood Art Education

Thesis Presentation

Bethany Heibel — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:08:49 +0000

I just finished the presentation for all sections. I thought it would be helpful to write down some of the comments made because they seemed like a good jumping off point.

1. It would be a good idea to take some of the lesson plans into the school and test them out on children. I could use childrens products in the Thesis show as a type of evidence of the ideas.

2. The project is for children but will be viewed by adults.

3.The process of learning may be what this project is all about. The product should be a collection of my learning.

4.Having children at the show may be helpful in illustrating the point but it would most likely be hard to control the enviornment.

Central Terminal, here I come!

Louise Nevelson and Janine Antoni

Bethany Heibel — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 03:55:02 +0000

I recently had a conversation about connecting women artists to contemporary ideas in a lesson for young children. The artists below, Janine Antoni and Louise Nevelson, both use found objects in their art. I thought it would be interesting to have students in a classroom bring in found objects in order to create a work of art. PBS art 21 has some great video resources for Janine Antoni. There is a video tape showing her creative process as well as one where she practices tight rope walking.

Young children could create their own autobiographical pieces or even create group sculptures for this type of project. You could introduce textiles and weaving or woodworking with this lesson. A child could also create a journal of objects they find.

Matisse

Bethany Heibel — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:42:15 +0000

I had been thinking about ways to make a lesson more interactive and got into a conversation about silhouettes. I thought and interesting way to introduce the work below might be to have kids interact as silhouettes. If you placed a background color on the overhead that mimicked Matisse’s work you could have children play in front of the light and form their outlines. It would be fun to video tape the event and project it on the wall to display it.

Elizabeth Murray

Bethany Heibel — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:28:38 +0000

I found a great resource for practicing artists as well as students and educators. PBS did a series called Art:21. The series focused on Contemporary Artists in the United States. I found a number of good resouces on this page. Elizabeth Murray was one of the artists who I felt would be relatable to a young child. The video, Drawing and Sketches, really highlights her connection with the childhood aura. Her cartoon like style is also very child-like.

http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/murray/index.html

Artist Statement

Bethany Heibel — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:32:03 +0000

The focus of my recent research is to investigate the creative processes of elementary aged children. Young children enter the educational system with the capacity to create but not the ability to mindfully interpret. The challenge to those guiding children (teachers, volunteers, etc.) through the world of visual imagery is to come up with a platform for creation that allows children to both construct and understand the aesthetic experience. Students have complex creative abilities and often struggle to apply them in a meaningful and productive way.

There are a number of deficits in the current art curriculum. I think there is a need for female examples and artists in childhood lessons. Most children are unaware that female artists exist besides a few obvious examples (Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe). It is important that we emphasize to young children, especially young girls, that the art world includes women. Another area that could be improved on in art programs for young children is the use of non-renewable resources. Art programs, in general, are struggling to find money to pay for supplies. If we can reuse or recycle our materials we can improve our programs by spending money on things we wish we had. Lastly, I think programs for young children often shy away from contemporary examples of art. Children need to understand what is going on now in the art world along with what was happening before. Art educators should encourage visiting artists in classes of young learners.

Through my studies I have tried to create a sense of capability and accessibility to young learners. Children in elementary schools are concrete thinkers. This means that their mental processes are based on literal interpretation and the tendency to react by using the immediate sensory information. We can teach children about art if we give them lessons that incorporate tactile experiences along with understandable media. By giving them the strategies to create both meaningful and aesthetically sound artworks we allow them to form relationships with the world of art.