Week 8 - Colour Theory

This week there were a few different options for people to create art. This was the lesson after the Reggio Emilia presentation so there was more than just colour theory activities available.  I chose to explore with the clay.  What happened ended up being a really fun experience.   

Reflection:  I had created a clay tile work for my 401/402 semester, so I didn’t feel pressure to create something that needed to be fired and painted.  What ended up happing was a really cool group collaboration piece.  It was very organic how it happened.  Each of us created something on our own, but then began connecting them and creating more pieces to add to the little clay community.  We ended up with a silly little animal/plant/thing community.  We took pictures to remember the crazy community we had created.  We then filmed ourselves destroying it and returning it to the clay pile.  It was great to experience something like that and create something that I will always remember without the pressure of it needing to be something precious. 

I think our time creating what we did was influenced by the ideas brought up in the Reggio Emilia presentation.  The presenter showed a video about children being able to play and explore with clay, but without being overly connected to creating lasting pieces.  The play/explore time is what is valuable, not the end result (how very “Apocalypse Now”, journey not destination). 

Adaptations:  I inquired about the cost of clay and was so happy to discover it is more than reasonable to have a classroom clay bucket.  I see huge value in using real clay over playdough.  The experience it totally different and much more connected with the earth than plastic-y, cartoonish playdough.  Also, the possibilities are so much more for what you can create with the more sturdy clay.  I plan on purchasing clay for my 405 semester and depending on how much students connect with it I will likely have afternoon clay time every 2 weeks for the entire afternoon.  I will be teaching at an inner-city school with students with very extreme challenges.  I am so encouraged with all the things we have done in this art class.  I may be thinking a little lofty, but I have high hopes for clay and a couple of the other activities we have done.

Assessment:  Are students comfortable exploring?  Are they exploring 2-D and 3-D images?  Are they using tools provided to work on details within their piece?  If their work is not easily recognizable as being a representation of something, are they able to explain what they have created?  If doing clay work over time, are students growing in the tools they use and the depth/detail in which they are creating pieces.