UNIT I

Art Education in the Elementary Grades

B. The Artist Mindset in the Grades

Learning Outcomes
1.Familarize yourself with the mindset, attitude, and values that must be developed in young learners to help
foster a healthy attitude toward the practice of art.
2. Reflect on the presence or absence of these artistic values in your own life as an art educator, and consider
how to develop them to the point that you can encourage their development in others.

“Nemo dat quod non habet”

(You cannot give what you do not have)- Latin Maxim

Any practicing artist can tell you that art first begins in the mind, with artistic skills serving only to
create what is already seen in the imagination. The skill of an artist can, thus, be seen in how faithfully it can
translate what he or she imagines into a work of art. If there was nothing held in the imagination-no finished
picture, painting, drawing, or sculpture-even just fleetingly, can the end product be truly considered “art”?

It is, thus, necessary to identify the habits of the mind-the mindset-that art educators should both
possess and seek to develop in their students in the early grades through the teaching of art: the values,
philosophical positions, and the focus needed for art to thrive in Philippine education.

THINK
A. Inspired by Daily Experiences and Encounters
Part of the "artistic sense" is a sensitivity to beauty-not just in big and grand spectacles and
experiences, but particularly in the everyday things we see and experience as we go about our lives. This is
difficult to explain and likewise teach for a number of reasons:

1. Exposure -The ability to see beauty every day does not appear out of thin air; rather, it often takes
someone else explaining to us how something simple and commonplace can be beautiful, and in terms
that are appropriate for our developmental stages. Students will need to be exposed to artwork that
celebrates the common place over the course of several occasions before the lesson sticks.

2. Context - It is almost a cliché to say that beauty is subjective; that is, what is beautiful depends on the
individual. It can also be said that beauty depends on the context-we know it when we see or hear it,
but when something is framed within the right context, it suddenly appears beautiful. Conversely,
when something is placed in the wrong context, we do not perceive it as beautiful. The trick, then, is
finding the right context or what we wish the learners to appreciate. This is where careful and
deliberate manipulation of the learning environment becomes important; a quiet studio lends itself to
appreciating still life arrangements, for example, as learners concentrate on reproducing simple
outlines with whatever the medium of the day might be, or studying the way different angles and
intensities of light cast shadows.

3. Age - Children are naturally drawn to the novel, the unusual, and the exciting. Bigger, bolder, faster,
brighter, louder are a guaranteed formula to gain the interest of children. Action and movement excite
them, whereas the comparatively slow, methodical pace of everyday life does not. Educators will need
 to tailor the experiences they have planned for young learners so that they both communicate the
lesson while holding the learners' interest.

Man has been inspired by nature since the dawn of the time of man, and the ability to appreciate
beauty in nature appears to be innate. Mountains, lakes, animals, trees, flowers, insects, and the like are all
fair game for artists of all ages. It should not be difficult to get young learners to desire to commit scenes from
nature-real or imaginary-to paper, as it is an almost natural thing to do, and relatively easy as well.

Events have also been a great source of inspiration for artists. If we consider ancient art-the kind found
in the prehistoric cave systems of Europe, the pyramids of Egypt, bas-relief sculptures from Mesopotamia, and
so on, we find that most if not all of them depict events-a successful hunt, the victory of the king over his
enemies, the death of an important political or religious leader, or even the ancient incarnation of the Olympic
Games are all examples of events that have been committed in one way or another to works of art.

An easily overlooked opportunity to teach beauty in the everyday context is in the simple act of
coloring a picture. The picture can be chosen to be exciting, dynamic, full of movement and action, or simple
and quiet, with nothing particularly exciting going on-whatever the teacher deems appropriate for the class at
that particular time. The actual lesson is in the process of coloring-the quiet concentration, the stirring up of
the desire to color well when exposed to examples the children consider “better,” and so on. Within the
context of coloring pictures, lessons on form, light, shading, color harmony, and the like can be taught
organically (i.e., as the need arises) and with relative ease.

B. Constantly Curious
While curiosity is often cited as a characteristic of scientists, it is also an essential part of being an
artist, albeit that while a scientist might be curious as to what is in the design of a bird's wing that enables it to
fly, an artist might be curious as to how to make the wing “look alive” even when rendered in astatic,
unmoving work of art. Where a scientist is curious regarding the how and why of natural phenomena, an artist
should be curious regarding how to make beautiful things given a set of limitations and parameters.

Because there will always be limitations and boundaries (e.g., lack of materials, lack of time, lack of
conducive environments, etc.), artists should also be constantly looking for ways to integrate art into areas
and disciplines where art has not traditionally been part of. These areas and disciplines will have their own
boundaries and limitations, which for the artists can provide the impetus for artistic innovations not possible
anywhere else. A good example of this can be found in Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations, where
artwork has been integrated into the walls of the commuter walkways, adding pops of color and interest into
what would otherwise be afunctional but drab commute.

C. Open-Minded
Related to curiosity is “open-mindedness,” which is the willingness to be exposed to new ideas and to
consider them on their own merits. It is the quality of not being “locked down” by a particular set of rules or
principles for the sake of tradition, but rather a willingness to wrestle with ideas and ways of doing things that
might be very different from our own-all with the attitude of learning new things to add to one's “toolbox” of
techniques and perspectives.

Some areas where an open mind is an artistic asset are:

1. Lack of resources
2. The idea of perfection
3.Criticism
 The practice of art can be an expensive endeavor-the best-quality materials are never affordable even
when available, and so where certain techniques and processes are not feasible due to lack of the proper
materials, an open mind is needed to perceive and embrace that which is possible given what is available.

Open-mindedness is also an asset when it comes to the idea of “perfection” in art-a concept which
artists reject. After all, what does perfection in art mean? Fidelity to reality? Then what do we make of
cartoons, comics, and animation? The truth is that there is no such thing as “perfect” in art without an
objective standard, and what most people hold as the standard for evaluating art is their subjective ideas of
what is and is not beautiful. Accepting that perfection in art is a fool's errand and coming to terms with one's
strengths and weaknesses as an artist are part and parcel of becoming a mature artist.

Lastly, an open mind is necessary for an artist to benefit from criticism. All criticisms, valid or
otherwise, involve a measure of pain for the one being criticized-we are proud of our work, after all, however
middling it might be-and it takes an open mind to accept that there is always something to learn, always
something that can be improved upon, even when presented to us by unpleasant people in unpleasant ways.
Criticism is an inevitable part of being an artist, and being able to take criticism well is vital to an artist's
mental, emotional, and professional well-being.

D. Art as Authentic Self-Expression

Art can be defined as any expression of the inner desire to create beauty. Thus, the desire to create
something that is beautiful is the defining feature of the artist-i.e., it is what makes an artist an artist-and any
work of art that an artist produces is but an expression of that desire. Since beauty is varied and multifaceted-
a thunderstorm can be beautiful, just like a more pastoral landscape-art can, thus, be varied and multifaceted.

The point is that art is art because the artist wishes to express something-however fleeting or nebulous
that something might be. This is what is meant by art as authentic self-expression.

E. Art as Self-Expression
Expanding this concept, we see that teaching art is not limited to a simple technique-the how of art-
but must also include teaching it as a means for students to communicate feelings, experiences, interests, and
desires-the why of art. We can see this idea at play in the tension between “being true to oneself” vis-a-vis
“giving the people what they want.”

This translates to the classroom by teaching students to use their art to express something that they
feel, rather than simply feeding off the works of others-the “authentic" part of “authentic self-expression.”

F. Valuing Authenticity
Wrapped up in the mind and heart of an artist is a desire for affirmation-some outside validation that
the work we produce is, in fact, beautiful in the way the artist intended it. That is, artists want to know that
what they wanted to express via their art has indeed been expressed.

This nuance can be easily lost to young learners, for whom validation of their artwork can feel like
personal validation. As a result, there might be a strong desire to simply imitate the work of others for the
sake of the validation it brings. This is not “authentic self-expression,” rather it is a kind of “feeding off" of the
works of others.

Do note however that it is in the nature of learners to learn via imitation, which should be encouraged
up to a point-that is, once the learners have a firm grasp of how to execute a technique (via imitation), they
should be encouraged to move beyond imitating the work of others toward creating original work of their
own.

Because there will be a tendency for young learners to value others' workover their own, moving them
toward originality involves opening their eyes to the value of their own original work. This can be done by
gently encouraging them to first modify whatever it is they are imitating to suit their own tastes or satisfy their
curiosity: switching up the color palette, for example, or moving an object in a composition somewhere else.
Students need to learn that this is already a valid creative exercise in and of itself, and only when they are
comfortable with modifying existing work should they then be encouraged to come up with completely
original work of their own.

G. Enjoyment in the Process

It would be very strange for an artist to not enjoy the process of creating art-after all, this is one of the
reasons why he or she is an artist. An artist must enjoy the process, plain and simple-or else pursue something
other than art.

Let us be very clear with this: Everyone feels the desire to create beauty, but only an artist perseveres
when the process of creating beauty becomes tedious, frustrating, and repetitive for the sake of producing
something beautiful. This is why artists will endure long, lonely hours of drawing a pattern by hand, for
example, or create sketch after sketch after sketch in repeated attempts to understand the visual physiology
of something before committing it to a more permanent medium.

As an art teacher, you will find learners with a varying degree of patience and grit for the process of
creating art in your classroom: a few will be willing to take the time to carefully and neatly fill in areas with
color, many will start well and then give up as the minutes pass, and a few will hardly care for any art exercise
you give them. You might not be able to turn them into artists, but the overall goal is to expose them to a wide
variety of artistic processes so that they might find one that they enjoy, as they will be more likely to pursue it
to completion.

Make no mistake: sooner or later, the artistic process will become difficult. When it comes to young
learners, the goal should not be attaining mastery of any artistic technique-that will come with time. Instead,
the goal is to teach them to love the creation of beauty, however small it might appear to us. Afterall, love
makes the labor light.

EXPERIENCE
Answer the following questions. Share your answers with your classmates.

1. Can comic books be considered "art”? Why or why not?

2. Can designing a slide presentation be considered an "artistic" process?
3. Can editing a video to upload onto the Internet be considered an “artistic" process? Why or why not?
4.Can editing a photo on your phone be considered "art”? Why or why not?
5.These and other questions help reveal our own artistic “blind spots" and biases, which young learners often
do not yet have but can acquire because of a teacher's influence.

ASSESS
Discuss the following with your peers:
 1. How have you come to appreciate beauty in nature and everyday occurrences? Can you recall if there
was a definitive moment, or did you always seem to possess the ability? Given that young learners are
inundated with input from television and the Internet and are easily excited by hype, how do you think
you as a future art educator encourage them to find beauty in their own ordinary, day-to-day lives?

2. In what ways are you/are you not “artistically curious”? In what ways can art be more integrated with
your own daily experiences and contexts?

3. Do you remember when you came to understand art as being a form of self-expression? How did you
come to realize this?

4. When and how did you come to appreciate the value of your own original work? Discuss some
strategies you might have for teaching young students to do the same.

5. How do you cope with the frustrations inherent in the art process? Share ideas with one another on
how you intend to develop patience and endurance in your future students.

6. How well do you cope with criticism of your art? Do you find that your response depends on who is
giving the critique, and how it is given, rather than what the critique actually is? Why or why not?

CHALLENGE
1. Critique one another's art portfolios. Try to keep your comments strictly about the art and not about
the artist. Pay particular attention to the following:
 Listen to criticisms of your own portfolio. How many of them contain something you can
actually use to improve your work?
 Consider your own habits when giving criticism: how much of what you say is actionable on the
part of the recipient?

2. Consider an art form that you yourself do not particularly like or enjoy. Why do you dislike it? List down
your reasons. If you cannot identify at least 10concrete reasons for you to continue disliking it,
consider trying to create a work using that art form and then revisiting your list of reasons to dislike it
to see if they are still true.

HARNESS
Consider a student who likes to draw but dislikes watercolor painting. Discuss in class the strategies
you might employ to get the student to at least give watercolor painting a chance.