Art is...Cooler than TV
In my art room I hung two large sheets of butcher paper on my walls below my windows. One says "Art Is..." and the other says "Today in Art I Learned...". When my students are finished early with their projects, one of the things they can do is write on the posters. There are rules (and yes, I have had a couple students break them). The rules are...write only school appropriate statements on the posters. Try to think of something more meaningful to say than art is fun or cool (it is both of those things, but we have A LOT of that on the posters...think of something more original to say). It is not to just write your name on...you must SAY something. No inappropriate drawings. The students have completely filled the papers up and I will be replacing them with fresh papers in the new year. It has touched me, made me smile and laugh and made me realize the impact that art and my class have made on my students. Writing and fine arts go hand in hand...they are the best ways to express ourselves. What words can't say the fine arts can...but, words are powerful. (I have typed out what my students wrote below each picture to make it easier to read, some with their misspellings, some corrected if I thought you just wouldn't be able to tell what it said. :)
Art is My Life, My Soul, My Generation. Art is Me!
In art I learned that you still can be smart if you mess up.
(Art) helps me learn new things.
I love art because it expresses me.
Art is to show your feeling.
Art is a way to have fun.
Art is...Sweet, Awesume, Cool, Fun, Wonderful. :)
Art is what you need.
(I learned how to draw a bird. I like birds. I believe that I did a beautiful bird. I love art!)
That art is for you to express yourself.
(Today in Art I learned) that I am a very good at art.
(Today in Art I Learned) how to draw a blue dog.
(Today in Art I Learned) how to make a fish. How to do step by step.
(Today in Art I Learned) I love art and myself.
(Today in Art I Learned) Keep Trying.
Art is a way to have fun.
Today I learned how to draw a bird.
Art come from the heart.
Art smart class is cool.
Art is...Radical.
Art is a thing I am addicted to.
I love Art. It is so amaving, asowome, cool for everyone.
Art is cool.
Art is...Creative.
Art you show your felling that come from your heart.
Art is Fun.
Today in Art I Learned...(I learn to draw a bird).
Art fill my heart with joy and Ms. Gallow is the best art teacher. (Vernecya, you fill MY heart with joy!)
I learn how to make a bird and I like birds. Mrs. Gallow show us her picture when she was 6 and her picture was beautiful. (I framed the first drawing I remember making...a bird that I rubbed with a crayon when I was 6 years old. My mother freaked out when I showed her and said it was the best bird she had ever seen. She gave me a photo album to put my artwork in and I have had that drawing ever since. I decided to put it in a frame and bring it into my art room. My students are always asking me, when did you first start doing art? What was the first thing you ever drew? Did you like to draw when you were little? So, I brought in my bird to show them. They were just as encouraging as my mother...they all told me how beautiful my bird was. That's all any of us need is a little encouragement, a little affirmation that what comes from us is good and beautiful, because maybe that means that we are, too. I'm drawn to art because it brings me joy, and I hope that I can instill that same sense of joy in my students, no matter what they're interested in.
I love art and I learned how to draw a blue dog and I learned about the artist George Rodrigue.
Art is my way to express myself. I love Art.
