Kandinsky and Zentangle

Mel, I love your idea about the raps/poetry - this spontaneous idea has the potential to make rote learning fun! I think you will make a great teacher Mel, because of your creative spirit. 

As you know, this week was all about unleashing our creativity from the right side of our brains through the medium of visual art. I though it was important to learn that as teachers we should educate ourselves and our students in conceptual, expressionist and perceptual art forms. We should aim to teach all of these forms to reach every student's preference and give them the opportunity to try new things - they might surprise themselves. 

I recently surprised myself, when I discovered 'Zentangle'. It's being implemented in a grade 4/5/6 class with whom I am in contact two days a week as a relaxation/confidence building strategy. Music is played and for perhaps 20 minutes the student's right-sides of their brains are unleashed as they relax and create beautiful art. Zentangle is basically glorified 'doodling' and it is almost impossible NOT to be 'good' at it. Therefore, it has immense appeal to those who struggle with their artistic self-concepts (like myself). Zentangle falls into the National Curriculum's generating, realizing and responding strands, when student's Zentangles are shared and discussed as a class. 

My 30-minute Zentangle

Kandinsky's Composition VII

On a different note, Murreen Ines talked to us about the German expressionist artist Kandinsky. He is the 'expert' on what I so clumsily did last week; drawing as a response to a piece of music. It would be really  beneficial to conduct an 'Artist Study' on Kandinsky (or another artist) with students. With Kandinsky they can explore history, technique, watercolours, shape, colour, expressionism and music. This would invite students to participate meaningfully in the Australian Curriculum's 'responding' strand of The Arts.  

Mel, would you consider using Zentangle or Kandinsky in your classroom? 

As a closing note I will refer to a moment of critical significance to my growth as a Arts teacher this week. When we were played this song in the Visual Arts workshop this week, tears came to my eyes. This reminded me that - 

 "children are artists and their art, like all art, is inherently valuable. And yet it is a vulnerable art, one easily corrupted by adult influences" . 

Until next week,

Steph

Teaching Tool-Kit

http://tanglepatterns.com

http://www.zentangle.com/

References 

Brown, R., Imms, W., Watkins, M., & O'Toole, J. (2009). Valuing the visual arts. In Sinclair, C., Jeanneret, N., & O’Toole, J. (Eds.). Education in the arts: Teaching and learning in the contemporary curriculum (pp. 131-159). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.