These art classes are mixed - newbies and advanced, all grade levels - or levels of experience. Everyone is expected to do this work to their own personal best.
Treat the ceramics room with respect.
Treat others with respect
Treat yourself with respect
Be mindful of what you are actually doing - be here now. This IS your real life, it doesn't just begin when the bell rings.
Leave your baggage at the door - bring in an open mind, a beginner’s mind
Be kind
This needs to be a safe space because making art can be risky. Real fun, real learning, real art, takes work.
If something is worth doing you probably will mess up at first, but that’s the only way to ever learn to do it well. Beginning at the beginning is good.
Learning can be difficult because you have to give up on some constructs of your world. What you believed was true may change with learning.
Like some numbers aren’t even real…. ( square root of -1 … )
Making art takes courage and respect and all the aspects of P.R.I.D.E.
Keeping the room clean is a privilege and it belongs to all.
Everything you need to know is on line @ aheidemanart.com
Check the blog daily. You are expected to know what is on there. Especially if you've been absent.
Explore and read all the docs in the file cabinet as well as under the ceramics tabs.
Most of the first part of class is announcements and/or a short lesson. Make sure you are attentive, intend to pay attention and you will do well.
You will need to take notes on the note sheet or Tool Kit.
When I was growing up there was no internet, but there was the Whole Earth Catalogue - Access to Tools.
Around this time people started thinking of ideas as tools, so in some classes we call notes Tool kits.
We also use a lot of things like rubrics as tools to grade and scales to measure our learning.
Ask questions, but “I don’t get it” is difficult for me to work with. It just sounds like you weren't listening. Tell me what you do get so I can help you work from there.
The majority of the class will be work time, followed by ten minutes of clean up before the bell. You will be cleaning and doing some other things in teams.
Your team will be assigned a clean-up job. This team clean up is part of your grade.
You will also be doing some projects in a team.
You learning targets will involve ideas about materials, hand skills, behaviors and visual ideas. We will learn how to use the language of art elements to create and to discuss art. Your work will demonstrate your learning in all areas and will express something specific to you.
Your work can be very individual.
Instruction will center on
Ceramic materials
Ceramic Skills & Techniques
Methods of working
Art and Design elements
Understand, I can give you skills, techniques and help with ideas - BUT - only you can make your own art.
AND ALSO - art is not just anything you make - it’s something you make with intent and skill and using art and design elements and while intent can’t be taught, skills and art and design elements can.
There is a formula for making art
media + skills + art and design elements + intent = art
Art can express ideas that are Cerebral and analytical, Emotional and felt,
Or - Instincts like shock and surprise
Art deals with the three different parts of the brain
As you progress you will work more and more independently.
This is like an inverted triangle at the top
At first - I am doing a lot of work instructing
Planning will involve you and I
Practice will be
mostly you
Creating is
almost
all
you!
We will learn about the art/clay process in general. clay will be the media - but thinking with art elements will be the primary goal.
Students will not only be able to make and discuss their own art work but to extrapolate what they’ve learned to understand, analyze and criticize other visual work - from items that use industrial design like stacking chairs or cell phones to work found in museums.
YAY!