Most of our units are based on how artists think and work so it shouldn't be too surprising to see a unit on observation. Artist observe all the time to learn, to react and to capture images for their work.
For this unit, we explore several different ways artists observe including still life, scientific illustration and urban sketching. We also worked with a few different media including pastels and watercolors. For the final project, the students could choose any media they wanted. All I asked was that the piece be created from observation... that is to say, actually looking at the thing you are making art about. It tuns out not everyone enjoys creating observational art. I think this fact was captured beautify in the story of the painting above. What follows is an excerpt from Sadie's blog, the artist who created the piece.. "I did may more layers and touched up somethings and when I thought I was done i stepped back and realized i really hated it. Sure it was the project and I could turn it in, but it was painfully boring, it had nothing interesting about it. I started to talk to my classmates about how I didn't like the project because there is nothing interesting to observe here and it takes talent and not creativity. The events to follow were an unexpected turn of events but in my opinion made the piece. I grabbed a paintbrush and dipped it into the red watercolor and mixed it with lots of water to dull the bright red down. What started out as just a little blush turned into black and red running down her face. I liked the way it turned out but then I wanted to name it. The classmate wanted to paint a giraffe for her project but since there wasn't a giraffe in the classroom she couldn't do it. In the painting it looked like she was sad while painting so I named it "I just want to paint a giraffe"" Here at The Art of South Brunswick High School, NC, we incorporate the Teaching for Artistic Behavior or TAB philosophy in our classroom. TAB states that the student is the artist and the art room is their studio. We believe students should be involved in the entire artistic process including designing, creating, and reflecting on their work. It is our job as teachers to present ideas and concepts, demonstrate techniques and materials, and encourage and support our students to create and produce works of art at the highest level.
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Art of South BArtwork by students at Art of South BThe Visual Arts Dept. at SBHS is like no other program in the state. Learn more, watch the Intro to South B video.
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Make Artists Podcast with your host Ian Sands the choice based, student directed, Teaching for Artist Behavior, high school art teacher and stuff and things... but mostly stuff. What's TAB?Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) is a student-directed art education pedagogy that directs students to think and work as artists.
BooksMaking Artists picks up where The Open Art Room left off, covering issues and situations choice teachers encounter as they design their program.
The Open Art Room provides a student-centered approach to art instruction that is inspirational, practical, and classroom-tested.
ArticlesClick Here to read the May SchoolArts Article, "What If, TAB"
Click Here to read the March SchoolArts Article, Student-Directed Answers to Five Frequently Ask Questions
Click Here to read the January SchoolArts Magazine Article Engagement Grading
Click Here to read the November SchoolArts Magazine Article Is Disco The Cure For Artist Block?
Click Here to Read the 2019 Summer SchoolArts Magazine Article Realigning the Standards!
Click Here to Read the April SchoolArts Magazine Article Tracking Student Progress with the Burn Book!
Click Here to Read the February SchoolArts Article, Build A Dynamic Art Program with Modular Teaching!
Click here to Read the October SchoolArts Article, Artists Solve Problems
Click Here to Read the Summer SchoolArts Article, Art Traps for Reluctant Students
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July 2023
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