Art Education in the Elementary Grades

Prepared by: Cawigan Zolynair and Kaye

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

Art Education in the Elementary Grades

 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.

Art Education in the Elementary Grades

 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.

Art Education in the Elementary Grades

 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.

Art Education in the Elementary Grades

 Art Education in the Elementary Grades

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.
Events have also been a great
source of inspiration for artist.

An easily overlooked opportunity to

teach beauty in the everyday
context is in the simple act of
coloring a picture.
 Art Education in the Elementary Grades

While curiosity is often cited as a characteristic

of scientist, 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 make the wing “Look alive”
even when rendered in a static, 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.
MASS
RAPID
TRANSIT
  Related to curiosity is “Open-mindedness,” which
is the willingness to be exposed to new ideas and to
consider them on their own merits.

Art Education in the Elementary Grades

 It is also an asset when it comes to the idea of
“Perfection” in art- a concept which artist
reject.
An open mind is necessary for an artist to
benefit from criticism.

Art Education in the Elementary Grades

D. Art as Authentic Self-Expression

 Art can be defined as any expression of the inner

design to create beauty.
 The desire to create something that is beautiful is
the defining feature of the artist 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 be varied and
multifaceted.
D. Art as Self-Expression
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.
 F. Valuing Authenticity
o 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.
o This can be easily lost to young learners, for whom validation of their work can feel
like personal validation.
o This is not “authentic self-expression,” rather it is kind of “feeding off” of the works
of others.
o However, that it is in the nature of learners to learn via imitation, which should be
encouraged up to a point that, once a learners have a firm grasp of how to execute a
technique
o This can be done by gently encouraging them to first modify whatever it is they are
imitating to suit their own taste or satisfy their curiosity.
 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.
 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.
 When it comes to young learners the goal
should not be attaining mastery of any artistic
technique that will come with time.
Thank you for listening!
- Cawigan & Gajunia