The Art of Play

The Art of Play:
Fostering Creativity & Innovation
at the Springville Museum of Art

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The Art of Play:
Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Contents
Artworks & Artists List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V James Christensen biography.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Imagination, Intuition, Innovation & Technology Quotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Creativity—Collage Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Creativity Can Be Developed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Alphabet Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Towers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 If Pigs Could Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Nursery Rhymes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Edible Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Line – Understanding Line as an Element of Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Collective Creativity: We all see something different . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Mountains of Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Bubble Extravaganza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 101 Things to do with an Alligator. . . or a Fish. . . or a Snail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Simple Experimental Watercolor Sketchbook Covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Puppet Portraits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Pleasant Paper Cuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Airplanes and Stomp Rockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 How Would a Feather Move? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 You Can Dance Anything! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Introduction to Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Creating Imagery Through Art “Taboo” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 The Play’s the Thing: Improv’s Role in Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Stories from the Abenaki Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 The Anonymous Art Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Playful Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Creativity from a Corpse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Chance Controlling Fate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Let’s Play: Student Designed Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Fostering Creativity Through Choice-Based Artist Process, Artist Behavior, and Art Centers . . . . . . . 125 TASK Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Interdisciplinary Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Artists & Artworks

Karl G. Ackerman, The Blackbird that got into the Garden Connie M. Borup, A Compromise of Freedom and Self-Control

Carlos J. Andreson, Bois Chappono Poli, Paris

Ron Lee Brown, Potato Head Left, Robert T. Barrett, Camille, Seated

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Marilee Beard Campbell, Black African

James C. Christensen, Fantasies of the Sea

Mary May “Betsy” Campbell, Autumn Bouquet

James C. Christensen, Rhinoceros

Lou Jene M. Carter, Navajo Girl

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James C Christensen, The Egg, the Owl, & the Fish

Kate Clark-Spencer, Kate and Anne

Cyrus E. Dallin, Appeal to the Great Spirit

Jeanne Clarke, Entertaining Favorite Ladies II

Cyrus E. Dallin, Chief Washakie

Jeanne Clarke, The Earth is Full of Goodness of the Lord: Portrait of Rebecca VII

Cyrus E. Dallin, Sacajawea

Paul Howard Davis, House on the Avenues

Maynard Dixon, Road to the River, Mt. Caramel, Utah

H. Lee Deffebach, George II

Helena Dunlap, Taos Indian Chief

Joseph V. DeSantis, Head of a Woman (Opus 41)

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John Owen Erickson, Gethsemane: Self-Portrait

Louise Richards Farnsworth, Capitol from North Salt Lake

Alvin L. Gittins, Table-Top Still-Life

Paulmar Torsten J. Fjellboe, Sunset at Black Rock

Alvin L. Gittins, Vegetablescape

Mabel Pearl Frazer, Sunrise, North Rim Grand Canyon

Alvin L. Gittins, Card Player

Sharon Pearl Gray, A Well-Red Individual IX

John Hafen, Mountain Brook

Marion Roundy Hyde, Six and Seven/Eighths

John Hafen, Sunset, Great Salt Lake Brian Kershisnik, Flight Practice with Instructor

Kaziah May Hancock, One of a Kind (Self-Portrait) X

Robert L. Marshall, Money Plant (Lunaria)

David Wayne Meikle, Nevada Afternoon

Anton Jesse Rasmussen, One Eternal Round

Esther Erika Paulsen, Purple Twilight, Logan Canyon, Utah

David Howell Rosenbaum, Children at Play in Mantua, Utah

Pilar Pobil-Smith, Portrait of a well-known Utah artist of French origin: Francis Zimbeaux

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Sven Birger Sandzen, Moonrise in the Canyon, Moab, Utah

Frank Anthony Smith, Coleus Marilyn McAllister Sehlmeier, Allegory

Alexander Dimitrovich Selytin, Childhood Memories: Still-Life

Gary Ernest Smith, Riders in the Canyon

Joseph Henry Sharp, Playing the Game

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Gary Smith, Youthful Games

Images from other sources

LeConte Stewart, Steam and Snow

Anasazi Pottery 1

Aleksei Vasilevich Trotsenko, Curious Onlookers

Anasazi Pottery 2

Danquart A. Weggeland, Still-Life with Apples

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Anasazi Pottery 3

James C Christensen, Rhymes & Reasons 1, 2, & 3

Winslow Homer, Snap the Whip

Vasily Kandinsky, Composition VI

Paper Cut, Chinese 1 XIV

Paper Cut, Chinese 2

Paper Cut, Polish

Paper Cut, Chinese 3

Paper Cut, Polish Rooster

Paper Cut, Chinese 4

Pennsylvania Farm Show Butter Sculpture 2010 XV

Scott, Dragon Book Sculpture, Anonymous

Scott, Tree Book Sculpture, Anonymous

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
James C. Christensen

James Christensen is an artist who captures our curiosity with a delightful combination of innocence and humor. “My aim,” says Christensen, “always begins with a desire to connect with imagination.” He adds, “My work is an invitation to let your imagination run wild, explore, and make interpretations spontaneously.”

James Christensen, son of Sibyl and Harry Christensen, was born September 26, 1942, in Culver City, California. He grew up two blocks from the MGM studio; consequently, he and his friends often played in the back lot of the studio in Tarzan’s pond or on sets for movies such as Gone With the Wind. James loved to tell stories and use his imagination while playing and drawing.

Christensen attended Santa Monica City College, UCLA, and BYU, where he received his Master of Arts. In the middle of his studies, he served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Uruguay and became a member of the Mormon Mods, a performing group that toured Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Christensen found the local art compelling, and its influence can be seen in many of his works In 1972, Christensen moved to American Fork, Utah, and became an associate art director for the New Era, a teen magazine published by the LDS Church. He was also a freelance illustrator but continually worked on his own painting. Christensen created fantasy images for his own amusement, but he only displayed what he thought other people would like. However, he soon discovered that others liked his imaginative, magical worlds as much as he did. Christensen was a faculty member of BYU’s art department from 1976 to 1997. He traveled with students in Mexico, Europe, and in Madrid, Spain. He returns to Europe frequently, and his art often reflects his travels.

“Christensen’s work has appeared in many magazines including the American Illustration Annual and Japan’s Outstanding American Illustrators. He has won numerous awards including all the professional art honors the World Science Fiction Convention offers, and multiple Chesley Awards from the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_ Christensen) 17

James C. Christensen, Poofy Guy on a Short Leash used by permission

In addition to his paintings, prints, calendars and puzzles, Christensen’s work is available in books such as A Journey of the Imagination: The Art of James Christensen, Voyage of the Basset, and A Shakespeare Sketchbook. James also has a series of daily journals, which have ways to explore your own imagination and creativity. Christensen’s art is an integral part of a number of books including Parables, by Robert L. Miller and Robert L. Millet, and a new release, Lehi’s Dream, with Robert Millet.

Weaving dreams, hopes, fears, and humor into the fabric of everyday life, Christensen has created many enchanting works of art. “My paintings are meant to excite the imagination and invite the viewer to become a participant in the creative process,” says Christensen. His artwork delights adults and children alike.

James Christensen draws his images from experience, travel, and nature, which he combines with his own active imagination. While he does not always strive to communicate a serious meaning or moral lesson, his paintings often reflect situations that he has personally experienced and with which the viewer can also easily relate.

James C. Christensen, Fantasies of the Sea SMA Collection

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Imagination, Intuition, Innovation & Technology
IMAGINATION QUOTES A man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions. (Oliver Wendell Holmes) What is now proved was once imagined. (William Blake)

Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination. (John Dewey)

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. (Albert Einstein) The soul without imagination is like an observatory without a telescope. (Henry Ward Beecher) It’s kind of fun to do the impossible. (Walt Disney)

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple, learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. (John Steinbeck)

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try! (Dr. Seuss) Nothing comes from nothing—invention, strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory. (Sir Joshua Reynolds) Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. (Einstein) IMAGINATION AND INTUITION QUOTES We need to remember that we are created creative and can invent new scenarios as frequently as they are needed. (Maya Angelou) 19

We tried all the systems that had been tried before, then we tried our own systems and we tried some combinations that no one had ever thought of. Eventually, we flew. (Orville Wright) Original artistic invention demands that even the inventor be surprised. (Judith Schaechter) do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success... Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything. (Nikola Tesla) The art of an artist must be his own art. It is... always a continuous chain of little inventions, little technical discoveries of one’s own, in one’s relation to the tool, the material and the colors. (Emil Nolde) The painting leads the painter, and it becomes an intuitive experience. (Ardath Davis) I believe in intuition and inspiration... At times I feel certain I am right while not knowing the reason. (Albert Einstein)

The things that are acquired consciously permit us to express ourselves unconsciously with a certain richness. (Henri Matisse) The apprehension of... values is intuitive; but it is not a built-in intuition, not something with which one is born. Intuition in art is actually the result of... prolonged tuition. (Ben Shahn)

INNOVATION and TECHNOLOGY Daniel Pink A Whole New Mind The information Age is nearing an end and we are entering the “conceptual age.” He argues that the dominance of the “left-brain-driven” world, where everything is sequential and logical, is giving way to a more “right-brained” endeavor that focuses on the creative, holistic skills.

Richard Florida Rise of the Creative Class The future belongs to the creative. They will be the leaders, the earners, and the learners of the new age. It isn’t about how many engineers a nation has; it is about how many artists and poets it produces. These are the individuals who can create the new meaning necessary in a conceptual world. Ellen Langer Mindfulness She points out that from kindergarten on schooling usually focuses on goals rather than on the processes needed to achieve them. When children start a new activity with an outcome orientation, 20

questions of “can I” or “what if I can’t” are likely to predominate, creating an anxious preoccupation with success or failure rather than drawing on the child’s natural, exuberant desire to explore.

Pink The future belongs to the creative. The “test and tremble” model of school reform that is the current craze, which values a score over broader success, is unlikely to move us toward a more conceptual and creative society. Fareed Zakaria Newsweek January 2006 Since there is much to the intellect that we cannot test well, such as creativity, curiosity, ambition, or a sense of adventure, the tests don’t measure areas where America has an edge.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Creativity— Collage Titles

Workshop ideas by James Christensen

Phrases for sparking creative collages: SHE HAD A HARD TIME EXPLAINING HER DREAMS. THE MACHINE CHANGED THE WAY THEY THOUGHT ABOUT LIFE AND DEATH. HE HAD THE SOUL OF AN ARTIST, BUT SHE COULDN’T SEE IT TURNING BACK WAS NEVER AN OPTION SHE COULDN’T WAIT TO GET OUT OF THE SITUATION IT WAS THE PERFECT COMBINATION OF A MACHINE AND A LIVING THING. “WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA?” HE SAID THEY WERE HER PRIDE AND JOY. ONCE ABOARD, THEY KNEW THEY WOULD NEVER RETURN SHE SURROUNDED HERSELF WITH THINGS SHE LOVED. EVEN THOUGH THEY KNEW BETTER, THEY COULDN’T RESIST NO ONE HAD WARNED THEM JUST HOW DIFFERENT IT WOULD BE, BUT THEY DIDN’T CARE. SHE REALIZED THAT NOTHING WOULD EVER BE THE SAME HE LIVED FOR DANGER. THEY WERE A PERFECT PAIR, EVERYONE SAID SO.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Creativity can be Developed
One of the most valuable attributes an individual can possess is creativity. Creativity has often been associated with the ability to produce original artworks; but that is only one manifestation. The ability to problem-solve and think creatively can be learned and developed. Following are some general approaches to foster creativity by generating ideas: Fluency: Develop a large quantity of ideas. Use phrases such as: “How many ways . ..?” or “List all the possible . . .” Brainstorm, look for alternative solutions, list attributes or possibilities, ask a variety of appropriate questions, utilize synonyms, and accept the possibility of more than one right answer. After students have generated their own ideas use group dynamics to foster more ideas or solutions. In art: create several sketches or thumbnails; use a realistic, abstract and non-objective approach; try impossible solutions and techniques (i.e., adding water to oil pastels); transform an ordinary object into a monument, symbol or logo; give an object an imaginary function or characteristic (i.e., a rainbow that snows); imagine the image in varying styles, timeframes, cultures, and media; project how various artists would portray it; view it from varying viewpoints (i.e., a child, an adult, a foreigner).

Edie Roberson, Canyonlands Tour (1981) Educational Fair Use

Flexibility: Develop a wide variety of ideas. Use phrases such as “How/What else . . .?” or “What other kind . . .?” View ideas in different ways or shift from one thought category to another. Reconsider the viewpoint by minifying or magnifying the problem, adapt the idea to alternative situations or timeframes, and interpret the information in a variety of ways. Consider different perspectives or viewpoints; create preposterous hybrids or cross links (i.e., a skateboard and an alligator) In art: change the image (add another object, magnify part of the image, multiply or repeat an object, reverse the object, erase or dissolve part of the image, substitute one object for another, exaggerate, minimize or distort the image, show

Bruce H. Smith, Amanda (1981) SMA 25

more that one viewpoint at the same time such as the top and side, fragment or split the image, change the background, setting or center of interest); design your artwork as a triptych with a before and after image; change it to another art form (i.e., print to sculpture).

Originality: Develop individualistic, unique, unusual, different or new ideas. Use phrases such as “What unusual way . . ?” or “Come up with your very own . . .” Reverse the question/answer process, relate unconnected information, compare unlike objects, and promote stream of thought, daydreaming or unconscious thinking; transfer aspects from one item to another; note characteristics and then list the opposites; believe you are creative; be alert to problems, spot challenges and design solutions; transform ideas into action; use humor; foster curiosity and questioning attitude; get “outside the box.” In art: transfer the object to a different setting, subject matter, or media; combine two or more media or approaches (such as realistic and abstract); rearrange old ideas into new relationships; appropriate ideas from art history and put into contemporary settings or take a current issue and put it back into history, use visual puns, oxymorons or unusual combinations (i.e., hot dog, military intelligence, floating walrus); transform one object into another (metamorphosis); imbue inanimate objects or Wayne Kimball, The Artist Mounted on Horseback animals with human characteristics; doodle; (1984) BYU MOA make photocopies of the image, cut them up and rearrange them; abstract the image; change it to an impossible setting; emphasize different elements or principles. Elaboration: Enrich existing ideas. Use phrases such as “What else . . .?” or “Give all the details . . .” Refine, expand with details, embellish, enhance a common object or idea by adding interesting details or extending its dimensions or setting. Expand on a concept by telling who, what, when, where, why or how. Forecast all possibilities or outcomes. Describe it to someone who is not present. Use web design to expand options or promote completeness. In art: intensify or add detail; expand the image into a three-dimensional form; portray it in photorealistic manner; write elaborate artist’s statements or didactic labels; make connections with other artworks.

Jeanne L-L Clarke, The Earth is Full of the Goodness of the Lord: Portrait of Rebecca (1985)

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Alphabet Animals
Kindergarten Literacy & Visual Art Lesson By Louise Nickelson OBJECTIVES Students will practice drawing & writing skills and then use those skills to create a drawing that reinforces letter identification and sounds. Students will learn to plan and to make their drawing fill the whole page. UTAH STATE CORE Kindergarten Intended Learning Outcomes 5. Understand and use basic concepts and skills. a. Develop phonological and phonemic awareness. e. Demonstrate problem-solving skills. 6. Communicate clearly in oral, artistic, written, and nonverbal form. f. Use visual art, dance, drama, and music to communicate. MATERIALS • Paper • Pencils • Crayons

LESSON Have students choose a letter they are learning and then choose an object, thing, animal, or person whose name begins with that sound. Tell them they will use the shape of the letter to make the thing they are drawing. You could draw a quick sample on the board, such as this example: Give the students paper and pencils and let them try out an idea on the paper. Tell the students to make their drawing fill the whole page. When they have tried out an idea, have the students draw it lightly on another piece of paper and then add color, using crayons. You may want them to make a border using a straightedge.

Have students show their drawings to the class and have everyone say the letter, its sound, and the name of the object. Display the drawings where the students can see them and be reminded of the letters and their sounds. 27

D is for Dog

EXTENSION Have the students create an action to go with their drawing or a short dance sequence. Have the class or small groups learn the actions/dance sequences and share them with the class. VARIATION FOR OLDER STUDENTS Students will create an alphabet book for younger students in the school or in a preschool.

Have each child in the class choose one letter from the alphabet and an item that starts with that letter. Students will use the letter to create a drawing of that item. Give the students planning paper and have them fold the paper in half one direction and then the other, so they have 4 “planning spaces.” In each space, students should make a sketch of a possible drawing: each sketch must be slightly different from the last one. Students will choose their favorite sketch and create that drawing on a new sheet of paper. Students must include a written section. This can be as simple as B is for Bumble Bee, or you can have the students make a rhyming or alliterative phrase such as “The busy bumble bee buzzed at Benny.”

Z is for Zombie by Ella, age 5

Make a list on the board or on a sheet of paper of the requirements for the drawing. For example, The paper must say what the letter name is and what the item is. The writing should be neat and easy to read. The letter shape must show (perhaps the students can outline the letter shape, so it stays visible through the drawing.). The drawing should fill the whole page. The coloring should be neat, with the lines going in the same direction (students may not always want to use color this way, but it’s a good skill to have).

You may choose to include other literacy skills such as writing a complete sentence, or art skills such as mixing colors (and yes, you can do this with crayons).

Students who finish early may be allowed to choose another letter, if you have fewer than 26 children in your class, or may be allowed to create a back or front cover for the book. The book may be put together as an accordion, which can then be displayed as a whole, if desired, or can be assembled and bound with a spiral binding. Have the class present the book to the kindergarten or other class, if possible.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Towers
Visual Art & Science Lesson for Kindergarten By Vicki Gehring OBJECTIVE Students will learn about balance by experimenting with blocks and creating a paper tower collage of shapes they have drawn and cut out. UTAH STATE CORE Standard: Perceiving

MATERIALS a long piece of colored butcher paper approx. 18” x 72” toy blocks of various shapes drawing paper pencils, crayons or paint, a wide tip black marker scissors glue, masking tape

LESSON Give each student a toy block and play a stacking game in which each student puts his or her block on top of another student’s block to build a tower. Have the students come up in their sitting order, but discuss what will happen if a student adds a block that the next student’s block can’t balance on. Have the students figure out what they can do to keep building the tower. (Make the discussion of balance as complicated or as detailed as the students’ understanding will take it.) Have the students identify the geometric names of the shapes of the blocks.

ART PROJECT Tape the colored butcher paper vertically on a wall. Tell the students that they are going to create a shape tower, by drawing and cutting out their own shapes and gluing them on this paper. Have all the students draw a geometric shape of their choice on their individual drawing paper. (Make sure they draw a large shape.) Outline each student’s shape with the black marker, and then have them color and cut out their shape. Use this opportunity to teach them to color in their whole shape. Let them write their name on their drawing. 29

Using the same process, have the students one at a time come up to glue their shape on top of the previous student’s shape discussing whether or not they think it looks like the tower will stay balanced. Use this opportunity to teach the students about applying glue.

ASSESSMENT Discuss with the students what they have learned about balance. See if each student can name the shape they drew.

Optional: Discuss the difference between the shape of the blocks and their drawings, i.e., a square vs. a cube, or 2-D vs. 3-D. Discuss the difference between physical balance and visual balance.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
If Pigs Could Fly. . .
Visual Arts, Creativity & Literacy Lesson for Elementary Grades By Louise Nickelson OBJECTIVES Students will explore the world of fantasy through listening to a story, choosing an idea, and creating an artwork based on a chosen fantasy. Students will learn about a contemporary Fantasy artist James Christensen. Students will write (with help, if needed) a statement, will create a border for their artwork, will link visual and verbal ideas, will plan their artwork, will use artmaking skills and art media. Students will display their art and discuss each other’s artworks & ideas.

UTAH STATE CORE STANDARDS I have included specific Standards for the 3rd James C. Christensen, If Pigs Could Fly grade, but the lesson fits similar Standards used by permission from the other elementary grades. From 3rd Grade Visual Arts Rainbow Chart Explore, Contextualize: Discover, look at, investigate, experience and form ideas Research, Create: Study, explore, seek, be creative, imagine, and produce From Language Arts Standard 1 (Oral Language): Students develop language for the purpose of effectively communicating through listening, speaking, viewing, and presenting. Objective 1: Develop language through listening and speaking. Objective 2: Develop language through viewing media and presenting. Objective 3: Recognize and use features of narrative and informational text. Objective 6: Write in different forms and genres. b. Produce traditional and imaginative stories, narrative and formula poetry. MATERIALS Tuesday by David Wiesner images of James Christensen’s paintings from the CD Paper Pencils and/or pens Crayons and other colored media

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LESSON Read and show students the book Tuesday, by David Wiesner. Discuss the book by asking questions such as the following: “Do you miss the story having more words?” “Why?” How often have you seen frogs on flying lily pads? Have you ever heard the phrase “If pigs could fly”? What are some things that will never happen? Explain that art based on magical, unrealistic ideas is called Fantasy Art. Show the class some of James Christensen’s art from the CD and have students identify what is not real about the scenes depicted. Have students think of some magical event or person to use as the subject of an artwork. PROJECT Illustration from Tuesday, by David Wiesner First, have students plan their artwork—even very Small image used for education purposes only, young students will benefit from this step. They can Educational Fair Use take a piece of paper and fold it in half one direction and in half the other. (Youngest students may be asked to only make 2 sketches.) In each section, students will make a sketch of an idea for their artwork. Each sketch must be slightly different from the previous one. Once they have four sketches, students can choose their favorite and begin their artwork.

The first step is to draw a border around the paper using a ruler—each edge of the border will be one ruler width. If the students draw the lines lightly, they can erase the corner lines that overlap. The second step is to lightly sketch their chosen design on the large sheet of paper. Remind the students to fill the whole space between the borders.

Third, students will color in their drawings. Have students check their drawings to make sure they are finished. The last step is to write their title in the bottom border or on a separate piece of paper. Students can write the title on the back of their planning paper so they know whether to make the words smaller or larger. Some students may need help with the writing. Give the students a chance to share their artworks with the class, and then display the artworks in the hall or other available space in the school. ASSESSMENT Have the students turn in their planning sheet with their finished artwork. Give them completion points or assign points based on grade-level appropriate criteria. Make sure students know what those criteria are before they begin the assignment. For example, 1. The artwork must have a rulerwidth border on all four sides. 2. The drawing fills the whole page within the borders. 3. The whole 32

drawing should be colored in. 4. The title is neatly written and easy to read. Help the students meet the criteria by side coaching during the project i.e. commenting on positive aspects of the artworks or titles, asking about how they are planning on meeting specific criteria, etc. EXTENSIONS FOR OLDER GRADES Divide students into small groups and have each group create a simple story and then identify a sequence of events for telling the story. Each student can produce the artwork for one or two pages. As a group, they should identify what words or phrases would help make the story clear. These can be written as separate pages (as in the David Wiesner book). The pages will be easier to make into books if the inside margin is a bit larger than the other margins; or, just make sure the side borders are big enough that the amount covered by the binding doesn’t obscure text or drawings. Have the students assemble the pages into books and use the books at a reading center, in your classroom reading time, with younger students, or put them in the library. If the books turn out particularly well, you can laminate them before assembling, or allow the class to vote on the one or two books they most want to keep for a long time and just laminate those. Add appropriate criteria for the book such as the following:

The book has large enough inner margins so all the images and words are readable when the book is compiled. The story is understandable and easy to follow. The words help the reader follow the story. The artworks have a logical flow. You can also choose just a couple of general criteria and rate the books as Wonderful! (4 pts) Good! (3 pts) Needs Help! (2 pts) Not Finished! (1 pt)

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Nursery Rhymes
Elementary Visual Art & Literacy Lesson By Louise Nickelson OBJECTIVES Students will use basic shapes to draw more complicated objects. Students will use pattern to add interest to their drawings. Students will explore color and/or color blending. Students will preplan artworks. Students will link art & literacy. UTAH STATE CORE Standard 1 — (Making): Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles. Standard 2 — (Perceiving): Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating works of art. Standard 3 — (Expressing): Students will create meaning in art Standard 4 — (Contextualizing): Students will find meaning in works of art through settings and other modes of learning. MATERIALS Images from the CD of James Christensen’s 3 Rhymes and Reasons illustrations A list of nursery rhymes Paper Pencils Colored pencils or other colored media Black pens (optional) LESSON This lesson will take two class periods.

Show the class the images of Christensen’s artworks. See if the class can identify what nursery rhymes the drawings illustrate. If they don’t know, read them several and have them decide among the choices. Ask them to repeat any nursery rhymes they know.

Ask the class to identify what makes Christensen’s illustrations interesting. Ask them what elements & principles are most evident. Ask the students to think about ways the illustrations are playful. Explain that they are going to create an illustration for a nursery rhyme and use pattern and detail to make the drawing interesting. 35

Provide a list of nursery rhymes and have students choose one rhyme to illustrate. You can include specific art criteria (these generally are skills with cross-curricular applications). Make a list of the criteria for the drawing and post it where students can see it. See ASSESSMENT for examples of criteria.

Students will then plan their drawing using a folded “planning page” with 4 spaces. Students will also need to plan where and how big to make the writing—they can use the back of their planning page. Once students have planned their drawing, they should make a very light sketch on the paper. They can include the text now or wait until their drawing is finished.

Day 2 Remind the students, or show them, if Detail from Rhymes and Reasons they have not done this before, how to illustration, James Christensen blend colors and give them a few minutes to practice. You can easily show this on an overhead projector. Students can use the back of their planning paper to try out a few blended colors. Also remind the students of the criteria for the illustration, including that 1 section must have pattern (or whatever number you have decided on). If desired, the students can use a black pen to go over their drawing and then fill it in with color. Exhibit the drawings in the school media center or some other appropriate place.

ASSESSMENT For the youngest students, give credit for completion. It is helpful to have some criteria for what a completed drawing is, so that you have a response for students who are “done” but who haven’t completed the assignment. The following is a list of possible criteria: • 4 planning sketches • a neat border • the drawing fills the page • • • • 3 or more blended colors the nursery rhyme is included the nursery rhyme is easy to read 2 or more areas of the drawing have pattern

Older students can use the criteria as a checklist to assess their artworks while they work. VARIATION Have the students make up their own nursery rhyme and then illustrate it.

EXTENSION Have the students act out their nursery rhymes in small groups. Each group can choose one of the group member’s nursery rhymes, practice saying it, and figure out how to act it out. Give the students a few minutes to practice and then have the groups take turns performing for the class. 36

The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Edible Art
Elementary–Secondary Visual Arts Lesson By Elicia Gray

TITLE OF ARTWORKS & ARTISTS Still-Life with Apples (1911), Danquart Anthon Weggeland; Money Plant (Lunaira) (1982), Robert Leroy Marshall; Childhood Memories: Still-Life, (2000) Alexander Dimitrovich Selytin; Table Top StillLife,(1953) Alvin L. Gittins; Vegetablescape (1964), Alvin L. Gittins; Entertaining: Favorite Ladies II (1992), OBJECTIVES Students will examine the artworks of Weggeland, Marshall, Selytin, Gittins, and Clarke. Students will compare and contrast different content in still life works of art. Students will prepare, create and consume edible works of art. Students will discuss the aesthetic potential of food. Students will have a textural experience in a Haunted Treasure Cave. Students will identify similarities and differences Danquart A. Weggeland, between real food and depictions of food. Still-Life with Apples (1911) Students will taste several different dishes and decide if appearance and flavor can affect aesthetic value. Students will compose a haiku in response to their edible art experience. STATE CORE LINKS Standard 1 — (Making): Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles. Standard 2 — (Perceiving): Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating works of art. Standard 3 — (Expressing): Students will create meaning in art Standard 4 — (Contextualizing): Students will find meaning in works of art through settings and other modes of learning. MATERIALS Artworks listed above, food art images (see following links), flour, water eggs, salt, olive oil, pasta roller (or rolling pin and wax paper), small cookie cutters, paper plates, plastic knives, food coloring, assorted fruits and vegetables. 37

ACTIVITY 1. Display the artworks by Weggeland, Marshall, Selytin, Gittins, and Clarke. Ask students to identify what the artworks have in common. What do each of these artworks portay? What is a still life? 2. Show an assortment of food art images (see links below). What is the medium used in all of these artworks? (answers may include vegetables, toast, jelly beans, and so forth) Can these pictures be considered art even though they are not paintings? Do these pictures have anything in common with the artworks by Weggeland, Marshall, Selytin, Gittins, and Clarke? Have students rate the paintings and the food pictures on a rating scale. Put the words “High Art” on one side and “Low Art” on the other, and then have students define what each of these terms means to them. Where do each of the pictures or artworks rank? Do the paintings Alexander Dimitrovich Selytin, rank higher or lower than the works made Childhood Memories: Still-Life (2000) out of food? Why? When viewers approach an artwork, is it necessary to know the medium in order to fully appreciate the artwork? 3. Can the rest of our senses affect our ability to have an aesthetic experience? Invite students to enter a Haunted Treasure Cave in a dark corner of the classroom. Students may experience the cave with all of their senses except sight. In advance, the teacher can prepare items such as monkey brains (slimy spaghetti), eyeballs (peeled grapes), raw flesh (tuna fish), and the like. The teacher may also choose any number of delicious or odorous smells to incorporate into the cave. Students will be given only moments to touch, smell, or taste, the items in the cave. Teachers may choose to blindfold students in order to help them more fully concentrate Heron Food Art by Sakurako Kitsa on senses other than sight. CCSA 2.0 License 4. Invite students to discuss the things they www.flickr.com/photos/kitsa_sakurako/ encountered in the cave. Is it possible that our other senses affect how beautiful we deem items to be? Would a cookie still be delicious if it smelled like tuna fish? Would we view still-life paintings differently if we could actually smell the things being depicted? How would the addition of smells or taste affect the feeling of the artworks of Weggeland, Marshall, Selytin, Gittins, and Clarke? 5. Ask students to imagine that they will add the other four senses to an artwork of their choosing. Imagine how it would smell, taste, sound, and feel. Then ask students to write a haiku poem that summarizes their ideas. A haiku is normally written in three lines, with five 38

ASSESSMENT The teacher should carefully review the written haiku looking for quality content and completion. The teacher will discuss and evaluate student thought processes and execution of those processes on a scale of 1-5. Five=Magnificent, Four=Great, Three=Good, Two=Standards were not met, One=Needs Improvement. Discussion is an important part of this lesson, and therefore, teachers must create a simple checklist with each student’s name on it, placing checkmarks beside students who have contributed or commented. At the end of each discussion period, evaluate the list to make sure that each student has had a turn to participate or comment. EXTENSION Use other materials to create aesthetic food, like candy, vegetables, or even toast. What kinds of villages or environments could students build out of food? Also, discuss times of the year when food tends to become more artistic. (gingerbread houses, scary food at Halloween, Thanksgiving food traditions, and so forth) RESOURCES http://www.noupe.com/inspiration/ food-design-at-its-best-40-extraordinaryexamples-of-edible-art.html http://greenopolis.com/goblog/greengroove/edible-fruit-and-veggie-art-willmake-you-laugh

syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line. a. Here is a teacher example in response to Entertaining: Favorite Ladies II. Polite smiles. Chit-chat. Tangy sweet bowls of fragrance. Delicious beauty. 6. Explain that students are going to create their own edible works of art. Prepare the pasta dough in advance (see recipe below) and have the students help you roll out long flat sheets of pasta with the pasta machine or the rolling pins. Invite students to create their own edible sculptures out of the sheets of dough. Students can cut them into pieces, use the tiny cookie cutters or contort them into abstract shapes. Encourage students to pay attention to how the dough feels and smells. You may also choose to add food coloring to your dough while sending it through the pasta machine. When students have finished their sculptures, boil the artworks and look at them closely before eating them. How did they change in the water? Are they bigger or smaller? Are they a different texture than before? Students may sprinkle salt and cheese or sauce on top of their pasta and eat it. Does it taste different than pasta they have had at home? What are the similarities? How is it different? 7. Encourage students to look at every-day activities in a different way. Is it possible that we have art all around us every time we eat? How can students look for aesthetic experiences throughout their day?

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Homemade pasta: Makes 1 lb. 2 c. flour 2 eggs 1-3 T. water pinch of salt drizzle of olive oil (optional)

Mix flour, salt and olive oil in a small bowl. Use a fork to whisk the eggs into the flour mixture. Add one tablespoon of water at a time until the dough comes together when you press it with your hands, but is not very sticky to the touch. If it’s too sticky, add more flour. Knead the dough 10-12 times. It will be stiff and hard to knead, but that’s okay. Divide the dough into 4 round, flat pieces and wrap each piece with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes (or put in the fridge for longer time). Work with one piece at a time to roll out the dough (using pasta maker or rolling pin) to desired thickness. You can let it rest again if you want, 30 min to an hour (I believe the pasta is less delicate/easy to break if you do this), but I usually cut it and cook it immediately. Cook for 2-4 minutes in pot of rapidly boiling water. You can also dry your noodles if you desire. To do so, lay them flat on lightly floured kitchen towels for 4-5 hours or overnight until completely dry and brittle. Then store in an airtight container.

As you can see from the photos, even very young children can do this lesson.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Line - Understanding Line as an Element of Art

Elementary Visual Art Lessons by Mary Ann Larsen Introduction

Line – the most basic of all the elements of Art – is explored here in four individual activities for elementary school students ranging from grades 3 – 6. As an introduction, utilize simple demonstration techniques with markers to model the concept of line in several forms and variations: An open line shows variety as it can be thick, emphatic, bold, and rich, or it can be thin and limp. Straight lines and straight lines with angles are called geometric lines; swirling, curvy, or sinuous lines are called organic lines. Lines can be Frank (Tony Smith), Coleus broken, they can repeat in parallel lines and they can create patterns. Give students time to practice with line variation, using markers or pencils. Let them be inventive! UTAH ELEMENTARY STATE CORE Standard 1— Making : The student will explore and refine the application of media, techniques, and artistic processes. In this standard the student learns to use new tools and materials and expands skills in the creation of art. Standard 2 — Perceiving Art: The student will analyze, reflect on, and apply the structures of art. In this standard the student uses meaningful works of art to recognize the elements and principles and applies them in personal work. Standard 3 — Expressing: The student will choose and evaluate artistic subject matter, themes, symbols, ideas, meanings, and purposes. In this standard the student investigates artistic content and begins aesthetic inquiry through observation, discussion, and the creation of art works. Standard 4 — Contextualizing: The student will interpret and apply visual arts in relation to cultures, history, and all learning. In this standard the students will place their artwork and the artworks of others within the context of civilization, other areas of learning, and life skills. Also, visit the Utah State Office of Education Fine Art Guide Book for grade level objectives on “Line.” http://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/FineArt/Core_Curriculum/Elementary/NewCore2007.htm 41

Activity One – Fine Art Connection Materials and Resources The following images are included on the CD and display examples of Line Variation, or you can find them online using the urls at the end of the lessons. Bonnie G. Phillips, Whole Wheat on Tuna Tony Smith, Coleus Jeanne L-L Clarke, The Earth is Full of the Goodness of the Lord: Portrait of Rebecca Karl G. Ackerman, The Blackbird that got into the Garden Anton J. Rasmussen, One Eternal Round Have students observe Bridget Riley’s work of art, Cataract on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Riley,_Cataract_3.jpg Or a much larger image at: http://hapstancedepart.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/bridget-riley-cataract-3-1967.png

Procedure Allow time for students to observe deeply the details of the works of art on the digital screen. They can click on the magnifying tool for super magnification, or show them the images from the CD. Have the students make small sketches in a three-inch square of some of the designs and line variations they observe. Also, have students contribute positive opinions and statements about the works of art during group critiques. Use the following questions to help build critical thinking skills: What kinds of designs were made up of a series of repetition of line? In which work of art did you observe several lines of color consisting of a sequence of dots? What other shapes or colors could the artist have used? One work of art consisted of lines that appeared tubular, like circuitry. Who was the artist? What was the work of art? What did the lines remind you of? What would you change? Which lines suggest movement? What would you do to change the direction of the movement?

Which painting is mostly made up of lines that consist of small shapes encased in color? Which color themes do you see in this painting?

Anton Rasmussen, One Eternal Round

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How does the artist use color? What colors would you change and why?

Which of the paintings consists mostly of lines representing color values? How does the artist contrast the rock formations with the sky? Tell about the contrasts.

ASSESSMENT Have students use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast any of the two paintings. Activity Two – Name Plates and Line Design Studies 5th and 6th graders OBJECTIVES Students study line variation and designs in works of art and other resources to create their own designs on their name plates. MATERIALS Strips of white drawing paper 3”x 12” Sets of 2” block letters Works of Art listed in Activity One A variety of examples using line variation and designs (See list of resources for general graphic and line designs). PROCEDURE On strips of white paper have students measure, center, and trace their names using 2” inch block letters. Have students make studies of line variation and line designs in works of art that they have observed, and use that knowledge to create their own designs using pencil. Students fill in the interior shapes of their letters using a variety of line designs. When finished, students may want to add some color, using colored pencils. Optional Warm-up Exercise After making a study of observed art consisting of a variety of line designs, students may do a small preliminary warm-up on a half sheet of drawing paper. Students center and trace four rectangles on a piece

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of paper. Using some of the designs that they have observed, along with the own ingenuity, students practice some of the graphics in the little rectangles before proceeding with their Name Plates. Activity Three - “Line” and Ancient Anasazi Pottery Designs (This lesson ideally integrates with 4th grade social studies curriculum.) OBJECTIVE In this activity, students study line variation observed in ancient Anasazi pottery designs from approximately 1000 years ago. Students create replica designs consisting of motifs that they studied in their observations.

MATERIALS Have a selection of images available for the students to look at. There are a few images of Anazasi design on the CD. Other resources to use are the graphics and books on the following list. The Caroline Arnold book is the most ideal for gathering historical facts about the Anasazi people that students can use in the classroom.

The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde, Caroline Arnold, Clarion Books, 1992. Southwest Indian Design: Stained Glass Coloring Book, Carol Krez, Dover Publications, 1997. Southwest Indian Giftwrap Paper, Muncie Hendler, Dover Publications, 1995. Southwest Indian Designs:CD and Book, Dover Publications, 1992. Southwest Indians Designs, Madeline Orban-Szontagh, Dover Publications, 1992. Pencils Thin black markers Drawing paper, 8 ½ X 5 ½

PROCEDURE Using drawing paper and pencils, students sketch out Ancient Anasazi pottery designs they have observed in their studies. Be sure that they can comment on the array of line variation they have discovered and decided to include in their sketches. The variations they find will include angular and straight geometric lines, curvy organic lines, thick lines, thin lines and repeating patterns of lines. See photos of student work that follows.

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Student examples

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Activity Four – Creating Stencil Shapes with Line Variation and Designs 5th and 6th graders In this activity, the line designs almost take on the form of texture in this simple pencil and paper format.

Objective Students create stencils as positive and negative spaces which contain interesting line designs and a variety of line.

Materials Squares of 5” drawing paper Pencils Thin markers A selection of sources showing line designs and line variety, (see general resources).

Procedure After researching “line” using a selection of graphics and other sources, students create stencil shapes on small squares of drawing paper. They fill the positive shape or the negative space with interesting and varied line designs, see student work photos:

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VARIATIONS Egyptian Art Motifs The following art design stencils were created by 6th graders while studying Ancient Egyptian Civilizations. The same technique was used with student- created- stencils and line designs in positive and negative spaces. See the following student work photos:

Assessment Rubrics Accomplished Developing Beginning

Finished project shows variation in line – thick, thin, geometric, organic…

Finished project reflects research and shows ingenuity Finished work shows quality workmanship

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RESOURCES Anasazi Pottery photographs http://www.flickr.com/photos/12150532@N04/4457056698/in/ photostream/ used by permission of the photographer Ancient Anasazi The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde, Caroline Arnold, Clarion Books, 1992. Southwest Indian Giftwrap Paper, Muncie Hendler, Dover Publications, 1995. Southwest Indian Designs: CD and Book, Dover Publications, 1992. http://www.anasazimystery.com/

Southwest Indian Design: Stained Glass Coloring Book, Carol Krez, Dover Publications, 1997.

Southwest Indians Designs, Madeline Orban-Szontagh, Dover Publications, 1992. Fine Art http://smofa.org/collections/browse.html?x=art&art_id=567&name=Whole_Wheat_on_Tuna http://smofa.org/collections/browse.html?x=art&art_id=450&name=Coleus http://smofa.org/collections/browse.html?x=art&art_id=709&name=The_Earth_is_Full_of_Goodness_ of_the_Lord:_Portrait_of_Rebecca http://smofa.org/collections/browse.html?x=art&art_id=1768&name=The_Blackbird_that_got_ into_the_Garden http://smofa.org/collections/browse.html?x=art&art_id=2132&name=One_Eternal_Round General Graphics and Line Designs eNasco Rubbing Plate Sets, Organic Shapes and leaves. Roylco Rubbing Plate Sets: Organics. Fabric swatches showing lines designs and variation.

Zentangle: Fabric Arts, Quilting. Embroidery. By Suzanne McNeil. www.d-originals.com

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Collective Creativity: We all see something different
Elementary Visual Art Lesson by Vicki Gehring OBJECTIVE Students will create a graffiti wall and invite all to use their imaginations by looking for the hidden images and by adding their own art to the wall. This is a good lesson to do before a unit that is going to require cooperation or collaborative work.

MATERIALS www.youtueb.com/watch?v=mWKCyr3PUsc (if you have problems pulling up the video, search youtube for “Students’ mural keeps South Salt Lake graffiti in check”) This is a 3 minute video on creating a mural to solve a graffiti problem. http://www.facebook.com/facesofyouth?sk=info, (click on the picture of the paper mural), a large piece of white butcher paper (2-1/2 ‘ x 5’ or cut to fit whatever large table is available), crayons, black markers, string, tape, scratch paper, a line chart Graffiti: dictionary definition — A crude drawing or inscription on a wall or other surface that can be seen by the public. However, today there are two kinds of graffiti: that which is defacing and that which is art. (The youtube video addresses both)

Teacher prep: Create a poster explaining that students are to look for hidden images and outline them with the black marker, and that they may use the open spaces and draw their own pictures.

LESSON Ask the students if they know what graffiti is. Have a discussion about the pros and cons of graffiti. Show the youtube video of the wall mural. Discuss whether or not this could be categorized as graffiti. Ask the students why or why not, and what the difference is between the two kinds of graffiti. Talk about how the mural is the work of a group of people and tell the students that that kind of art is called collaborative art. Explain that they are going to create a graffiti mural by working together as a class to create the first part of the mural and then by letting other students draw on the mural. Show the picture of the collaborative mural on the facebook site.

PROJECT Tape the large piece of butcher paper on the table. Have each student choose a different color crayon and on their scratch paper experiment by drawing different kinds of lines. Show them the line chart, but let them know they can make up their own kinds of lines. 49

Since the mural should have as many different lines as possible, after they have experimented with the lines, let the students look at each other’s lines and figure out which lines should be used to have the greatest variety on the mural. Starting with those students who have picked the lightest color crayons, have them start drawing their line on the mural paper. Each student can draw their line three times across the paper, and it can go in any direction they want. Have the students with the darker crayons go last.

Hang the mural in the hall along with black markers attached to strings and the poster explaining the project. Let the students from your class be the first to look for hidden images, then leave the poster up long enough for other students in the school to participate in the project. *Note: Watch the progress of the mural to decide when it is looking finished. Don’t leave it up until it starts getting messy. ASSESSMENT Discuss how the students felt about working together to create the graffiti wall and how they felt about letting other students draw on their work. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working together. Let the students give suggestions about how the project could have been done differently. (different use of media, different process, etc.) *If the students have created this mural in preparation for another collaborative project, have the students discuss how they can use what they learned from this project to help them with the next one.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Mountains of Sound
Music, Visual Art, & Math Lesson Grades 5-6 by Lynna Kendall OBJECTIVE Students will identify dynamics (levels of sound) while listening to recorded music. Students will also review the mathematic terms: y axis and x axis. UTAH STATE CORE OBJECTIVES 5th grade music, standard 3, Listening, Elements of music with definitions: dynamics, degrees of loud and soft. 3rd grade visual art, Color Wheel: warm and cool colors 5th Grade Math Objective 2, specify locations in a coordinate plane. MATERIALS Definitions for music dynamics: create a small poster or placard for each abbreviation. Pianissimo (pp) very soft, mezzo forte (mf) medium loud,

Louise R. Farnsworth, Capitol from North Salt Lake piano (p) soft, forte (f) loud, mezzo piano (mp) medium soft, fortissimo (ff) very loud.

Markers, colored pencils or crayons in cool colors (blue, green and violet) and warm colors (red, orange and yellow) Graph paper or “Mountains of Sound” graph handout (vertical graph lines can be moved to adapt for any music) Recording of music with dynamic variances (I used “Fireflies” by Owl City www.youtube.com/ watch?v=psuRGfAaju4) Images of artworks showing warm and cool color schemes, see the CD or SOURCES. ACTIVITY Explain the music dynamics definitions and show the placard for each definition. Ask students to think of a sound that would represent each definition. Create a body percussion sound (snapping, shuffling foot, clapping, stomping, etc) for each definition. Review each abbreviation pointing or showing the placards and have students demonstrate the dynamic level using the agreed upon body percussion. 51

Listen to the recorded music and ask the students to silently identify the dynamics used in the song. As a class decide on the beginning level, either mp or mf for Fireflies. Play the song again and turn the students into a human “dynamic graph.” Students stand and with a horizontal hand to show the dynamic of the music. Teacher models the dynamic level and visually assesses the accuracy of the class. pp -foot level p -knee level mp -hip level mf -shoulder level f -head level ff -above the head

Hand out markers, colored pencils or crayons and graph paper or “Mountain of Sounds” graph. (The graph is included at the end of the lesson.) Divide the markers into cool and warm colors.

Identify the dynamic marking on the left side (y axis) and the song parts, verse and chorus (x axis) at the bottom of the page.

Explain that the students and music will create a colorful mountain and valley picture. Warm colors will be used above the starting point (either mp or mf) and cool colors will be used for the valley or everything below the starting point. Basically the kinetic “human dynamic graph” will be transferred to the graph. Show pictures with warm and cool color schemes and discuss how the colors were used to create the picture. Play the music and prompt the students as the music changes from verse to chorus and from dynamic level to dynamic level. For advanced students each verse and chorus can be a different color.

Listen to the music for a final time and have the students color in the “mountains” and “valleys” as they listen.

If time permits, they can add details to the picture such as clouds, trees and flowers, etc. Display the students’ work with an explanation of the project.

Maynard Dixon, Road to the River, Mt. Caramel, Utah

ASSESSMENT There is some subjectivity to this assessment as students will hear the subtle nuances of the music differently, however, Picture/graphs should show the relative highs and lows of the music. Picture/graphs should show warm colors above the starting point of mp or mf. Picture/graphs should show cool colors below the starting point of mp or mf. 52

SOURCES In addition to the large images on the CD, you can get these images from Springville Museum of Art’s Elementary Poster set — the info from the backs of the posters can be found at smofa.org, under Education, Poster and Postcard Sets — Or, go to the online images (not very big). Louise Farnsworth, Capitol from North Salt Lake smofa.org/collections/browse.html?x=art&art_ id=876&name=Capitol_from_North_Salt_Lake Sven Birger Sandzen, Moonrise in the Canyon smofa.org/collections/browse.html?x=art&art_ id=136&name=Moonrise_in_the_Canyon,_Moab,_Utah

Maynard Dixon, Road to the River, Mount Carmel, Utah smofa.org/collections/browse.html?x=art&art_ id=1100&name=Road_to_the_River,_Mt._Carmel,_Utah Mabel Pearl Frazer, Sunrise, North Rim of the Grand Canyon smofa.org/collections/browse. html?x=art&art_id=1100&name=Road_to_the_River,_Mt._Carmel,_Utah

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Name Class

ff

Mountains of Sound

f

mf

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refrain verse 2 refrain verse 3

mp

p

pp
verse 4 refrain refrain refrain

introduction

verse

The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Bubble Extravaganza!
Elementary – Secondary Aesthetics Lesson By Elicia Gray OBJECTIVES • Students will examine the artworks of Esther Erika Paulsen, John Hafen, John Heber Stansfield, David Wayne Meilke, and Paulmar Torsten Fjellboe. • Students will investigate the aesthetic issues that pertain to various landscape artworks. • Students will create and interact with enormous life-sized bubbles. • Students will recognize the natural phenomena around them that inspire aesthetic experiences. • Students will write a creative aesthetic response to their bubble experience. • Students will compose a creative aesthetic response to an artwork.

STATE CORE LINKS Standard 1 — (Making): Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles. Standard 2 — (Perceiving): Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating works of art. Standard 3 — (Expressing): Students will create meaning in art Standard 4 — (Contextualizing): Students will find meaning in works of art through settings and other modes of learning. TITLE OF ARTWORKS & ARTISTS (on CD) Purple Twilight, Logan Canyon, Utah, Esther Erika Paulsen Mountain Brook, John Hafen Canadian Rockies, John Heber Stansfield Nevada Afternoon, David Wayne Meilke Sunset at Black Rock, Paulmar Torsten J. Fjellboe Sunset, Great Salt Lake, John Hafen. MATERIALS • Several wooden dowels or sticks • Glue • Yarn • distilled water • glycerin (found in drugstores) • dishwashing liquid (“Joy” works well) • Images listed above • soft music

Nevada Afternoon, David Wayne Meilke Springville Museum of Art 55

ACTIVITY 1. Play soft music and dim the lights. During this activity students should be as quiet as possible. Show students the artworks listed above one at a time being careful to give students enough time to fully take in the images depicted. Invite students to imagine that they are actually in the setting being shown. Students should pay attention to specific feelings they might encounter if they were a part of the picture. While the teacher shows the images, students should be silent Mountain Brook, John Hafen and simply take in the experience. After Springville Museum of Art each painting, have students write down five words that describe their feelings or thoughts about the artwork. 2. When all of the artworks have been shown, have students share the five words they chose for each painting. Were there similarities? Differences? As a class discuss the overall effect that these particular paintings might have. What sorts of emotions do they portray? 3. Explain that, by definition, an Aesthetic Experience occurs when an individual is “blown away” by a sunset, a storm, a view, or a piece of artwork. In some ways, the aesthetic value of a work of art could be determined by the feelings that it generates. Ask students to think of times when they have encountered an artwork or event that produced an aesthetic experience. As a class, discuss those experiences. 4. Explain that students can have aesthetic responses to practical experiences as well. Watching spilled milk travel across the counter, or frost on a window, even the shape of a boot print in the snow. Even simple events like these can be identified as small acts of beauty. It may be helpful to show different responses to one of these occurrences—show the difference between crying over spilled milk, and finding beauty in the puddle that it leaves behind. 5. Invite students to have an aesthetic experience with enormous bubbles. To make the homemade bubble solution: Stir together 1/2 gallon of distilled water, 1/3 cup of dishwashing liquid (we used “Joy”), and 3 tablespoons of glycerin (available at drugstores). This makes a super strong liquid that works well with the bubble wands. You may want to make several batches so that students can all work at the same time. 6. To make bubble wands, cut a threefoot length of yarn and tie one end to each dowel. Dab with hot glue or other strong glue to keep the yarn from sliding off the dowels. Cut a second, four-foot length of yarn and tie it onto both dowels so that it hangs below the first. (See photo) 56

7. To make the bubbles, hold a dowel in each hand and dip the yarn into the bubble solution. Slowly pull the dowels apart, letting a soap film form between the yarn strands. Move the wands through the air to form the bubbles. You can also move the dowels in and out and pinch off smaller bubbles as well. Teachers may choose to make only a couple of bubble wands so that students take turns making bubbles and watching bubbles. 8. Encourage students to pay attention to the colors, shapes, and emotions that occur as the bubbles present themselves. What happens when a bubble nearly forms but pops before completion? Do anticipation, disappointment, or frustration have a place in aesthetic experiences? 9. When each student has had a turn to participate, return to the classroom and invite students to write a response to their bubble experience. Students should use similes, metaphors, and rich description to illustrate their experience. ASSESSMENT The teacher should carefully review the written responses to the artworks and bubbles, looking for quality content and completion. The teacher will discuss and evaluate student thought processes and execution of those processes on a scale of 1-5. Five=Magnificent, Four=Great, Three=Good, Two=Standards were not met, One=Needs Improvement. VARIATIONS If time is short or supplies are unavailable, students may create bubbles with traditional bubble wands, or by cutting both ends off of a tin can and dipping it in a bubble solution. Waving the tin can through the air will create long bubbles of a different sort. EXTENSIONS Use other materials to create aesthetic experiences, such as dry ice, silly putty, or slime. Compare each of these materials with the bubbles. RESOURCES familyfun.go.com/crafts/giant-bubble-wand-1018723/

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58

The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
101 Things to Do With an Alligator … or a fish … or a snail …
Creative Process Lesson for all ages By Sari Christensen OBJECTIVE Students will learn and demonstrate the steps of the creative process. Students will practice creative thinking.

MATERIALS Paper, pencil, markers and/or colored pencils, crayons

The creative process is the natural process we all go through when we are trying to come up with an idea. Whether you are doing a painting or designing a new car, an architect or a scientist you use the creative process. Step 1: Brainstorm

http://www.clker.com/inc/svgedit/svg-editor. html?paramurl=/inc/clean.html?id=26591

As a class start brainstorming ideas of what to do with an alligator (or whatever object you pick, I often choose a fish because it is easy to draw). Have someone write the list on the board. At first your list will be pretty ordinary things. But as your list gets longer you will have to start to become more creative. I have them come up with 20 things as a class. As they start to have a hard time coming up with things I start to talk about being creative. Creativity is simply combining two things together that don’t normally go together. Anyone can learn to be creative. It just takes some practice. At this point you could show some examples of different artists that have done just that in their work … combining things together that don’t normally go together.

Back to brainstorming … we have made a list of 20 things to do with an alligator on the board. This assignment is actually called 101 Things To Do With An Alligator. They have to come up with the rest of the list on their own (we do this in sketchbooks). To get 101 things … you have to get creative. I will toss out ideas to help them along. For example, a fish skate board, fish flower pot, fish pencil holder, fish purse, etc … Step 2: Narrow Down Ideas Once they have completed their list, they need to narrow it down. I have them pick their best 10 ideas. 59

Step 3: Thumbnails Thumbnails are small, quick sketches to translate your ideas from words into images. These are not detailed drawings, and they are not colored. (no stick figures) Draw 10 2”x 2” squares for the thumbnails. Convert each of the 10 ideas into a quick drawing. (Younger students can do fewer sketches.) Step 4: Narrow Down Thumbnails Now that they have sketched out their different ideas, they have an idea of what will work as an image. I then have them do three more thumbnails of that one idea. Why? To see what other versions of this one idea they can come up with, because their first idea m ight not be their best idea. Step 5: Final Sketch Have the students take the idea they want to use for their final artwork and do a final sketch. Blow it up to full size. Add a background. Work out details Step 6: Final Requirements for final: · Border or Frame around the paper · Background or Environment must be included · Colored · Full page

EXTENSION Have students create their design or a model of their design in 3-D.

Fish Purse http://funkyartqueen.blogspot.com/2009/08/fish-licious. html 60

The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Simple Experimental Watercolor Sketchbook Covers
Upper Elementary–Secondary Visual Arts Lesson By Carrie Wilson TITLE OF ARTWORKS & ARTISTS http://sma.nebo.edu/collections/browse.html?x=art&art_id=1684&name=Autumn_Bouquet Campbell, Mary May, Autumn Bouquet (1991) watercolor Springville Museum of Art has a great tool. Go to the above website and scroll over the artwork. I like showing the students the up close version of the artwork to see the details. Plus the up-close version becomes abstract, which is more like what they are going to create. Janet Fish http://www.angelfire.com/art/ favoritewomenartists/janet_fish.htm Kandinsky- founder of abstract watercolor painting http://www.waunakee.k12.wi.us/faculty/ swagner/Kandinskyhandout.pdf See Kandinsky image on CD Other SMA images that will work: Thomas Leek, Eternal Forces Craig Mathews, Hurricane Mesa Lee Anne Miller, Storm Spirits on Horizon VI OBJECTIVE Students will be create a non-objective watercolor painting using many different tools like sponges and plastic wrap to get a working knowledge of the medium. STATE CORE LINKS Production

Mary May (Betsy) Campbell, detail of Autumn Bouquet

MATERIALS Watercolor sets (Cheap) Cardstock or Watercolor paper (Two to three sheets of 8” x10” for each student) Simple brushes Water bowls Towels Newspaper to cover the table Cotton Swabs Drying area Plastic Wrap Colored Pencils Sponges Markers Crayons (wax resist) Salt (Coarse works the best) 61

Book Binding: Clear packing tape or Shelve Clear Cover act like lamination Scissors A long stapler to reach the center Or Tapestry Needles (one for every four students/or more) Pushpins Paper for the inside (no more then 10 pages or it is hard to sew) Thread or thin string to go through the holes (cut into 7-9 inch pieces) ACTIVITY Watercolor can be downright fun or super frustrating for students. I find starting out with an experimental use of watercolor gives them the knowledge of watercolor without the stress. Then when more challenging projects in watercolor come, it is easier for them to succeed. Experimental basically means just see what happens, like what color will happen when the red is mixed with the green… that is right, mud! 1. Set up the tools. One bowl per table, two to three watercolor sets per four students and newspaper to cover the complete table. One great thing about watercolor is that it washes off.

2. Give a fast demo. Just let the students see how to mix color on the paper, try watercolor on dry paper and then wet paper, and how to use the fun experimental materials like laying the plastic wrap over wet watercolor and letting it dry, or putting salt on the paper. 3. Have at it! Play fun music to keep the flow going. 4. Dry.

5. Second layer: Have kids come back to their watercolor to paint another layer of watercolor or draw on what they have created. I talk about reworking the surface. 6. Dry. 7. Have the students pick their favorite watercolor out of the two or three they’ve done and use it as the cover of their sketchbooks.

8. Use clear packing tape to cover the fronts with a layer of tape. Have the students overlap the tape so all the paper is covered, and then the students can add a name card or write their names to ID the sketchbooks. 9. Next, students should fold the sketchbook in half (hamburger fold). They can create a pocket by folding the second paper in half and cutting it. Then taking that half, they should fold the paper in half again and tape down the edges. I use these pockets to hold assessments and notes for the 62

students. Simple Binding: Staple in the center with three staples. See examples on the next pages.

10. Less simple binding: Take cover and paper for the inside, then prick three holes with the pushpin. Have the first hole be in the center and the other two 1 inch up and down from the center. Thread the tapestry needle with the string and leave about an inch or two hang over thread. Do not double thread or tie a knot at the end. Go through the center leaving a tail in the center of the sketchbook, now go through the top hole, loop down to the bottom hole and back through the center. Tie off over the center string. Enjoy!

Come back up through the center

Now do the second side

Leave tails in center 63

Tie off the tails

Inside of sketchbook showing the pocket

ASSESSMENT Check List: (five points each) ____: Did you mix colors? ____: Did you try an experimental tool? Which one ___________ ____: Did you do a second layer? How __________________ ____: Did you cover your sketchbook with clear tape? ____: Did you add paper to the center? ____: Did you add a pocket? ____/ 30 points

What was your favorite part of the watercolor experience? (Two sentences) What would you keep the same and what would you do differently next time? (Two sentences)

64

Finished sketchbook

VARIATIONS Do a warm-up activity: have the students fold their paper into four parts and play four dramatically different styles of music. Have them watercolor to the different music pieces. See how the different musical pieces relate to and are different from each of the watercolors of the students.

Have the students create a name card with a 3” x 5” blank white card for the cover of the sketchbook. They can tape it in with the clear tape. Make the surface of the sketchbook out of a recycled material like a cereal box. 65

66

The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Puppet Portraits
Upper Elementary—Secondary Visual Arts Lesson by Elicia Gray TITLE OF ARTWORKS & ARTISTS on CD A Well-Red Individual, Sharon Pearl Reed Gray A Compromise of Freedom and Control: Self Portrait, Connie Borup Gethsemane: Self-Portrait, John Owen Erickson George II, Helen H. Lee Deffenbach Head of a Woman (Opus 41), Joseph V. DeSantis Kate and Anne, Kate Clark-Spencer One of a Kind (Self-Portrait) Kaziah May Hancock (The Goat Woman) Portrait of a well known Utah artist of French origin: Francis Zimbeaux, Pilar Pasqual Del Pobil Smith Six and Seven/Eighths (Self-portrait) 6 7/8, Marion Roundy Hyde

OBJECTIVES Students will examine the artworks of Gray, Borup, Erickson, Deffenbach, DeSantis, Clark-Spencer, Hancock, Pobil Smith, and Hyde. Students will recount one famous fairy tale. Students will draw a brief portrait of a famous fairy tale character. Students will compare and contrast different works of portraiture. Students will prepare, create, and present their own puppet portrait. Students will discuss the narrative nature of portraiture. Students will complete a blind contour portrait. Students will write an acrostic poem that summarizes the attributes of their puppet character. Students will research one famous individual OR write a life sketch in order to identify key attributes for their portrait. Students will write a brief narrative in response to the works of Gray, Borup, Erickson, Deffenbach, Desantis, Clark-Spencer, Hancock, Pobil Smith, or Hyde.

STATE CORE LINKS Standard 1 (Making): Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles. Standard 2 (Perceiving): Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating works of art. Standard 3 (Expressing): Students will create meaning in art Standard 4 (Contextualizing): Students will find meaning in works of art through settings and other modes of learning. 67

MATERIALS Artworks listed above, famous fairy tales (such as Snow White, Rapunzel, Pinocchio, or Sleeping Beauty), cardstock, colored pencils, mini brads, scissors

ACTIVITY 1. Divide the class into small groups and invite them to recount a famous fairy tale. When students have finished telling the story to each other, have them write the name of one of the key characters at the top of a paper. In groups, have them list attributes that characterize that individual. (For example, Little Red Riding Hood has a cape, a basket, she is small, fearful, independent, trustworthy, and so forth) Based on the list they have created, invite students to create a portrait of their character. They should try to integrate as many attributes as possible from the list they composed. 2. Explain that portraits are like little stories or narratives. Many times they can tell a lot about the individual being portrayed. Show the students the portraits by Gray, Borup, Erickson, Deffenbach, DeSantis, Clark-Spencer, Hancock, Pobil Smith, and Hyde. Compare and contrast the images. What media are used? Do the titles make a difference? What is the difference between a self-portrait and a portrait? 3. Invite students to interact with the artworks by creating a brief narrative in response to one of the artworks. Have students choose a work and write a creative story about it. Students can pretend they are the artist who is producing the work, or they may imagine that they are the person being depicted. What can students infer from the images? What kinds of attributes do these individuals portray? What aspects of personality can be deduced from the style or content of the work? 4. Pair students with each other for a blind contour drawing. Students should have a piece of paper and a pencil. Ask students to focus on the minute details of the person they are drawing. What did students learn about the person they were drawing? What details might they have missed otherwise? 5. Ask students to choose a famous person that they would like to investigate, OR, students may choose to write a life sketch about themselves. After initial investigation is complete, students should carry out a brainstorming activity in order to identify 10-15 key attributes of the person they have chosen. These attributes should be incorporated into their puppet design. 6. Decide on a basic shape for the puppet. If the individual being portrayed has lots of different skills, the student may choose to create 10 different arms, each holding a 68

different ability. If the individual is extremely smart, the head might be larger than the rest of the body. If the individual possesses unfamiliar or foreign qualities, the skin tone might be green instead of the traditional color. Invite students to think outside of the box when portraying the different attributes of the portrait. 7. Draw and color each limb of the puppet separately on cardstock. Cut out all parts and attach them together using the mini brads. Students may also choose to add string to hang their puppets. 8. In order to help viewers identify key attributes of their famous puppet, students will complete an acrostic poem. An acrostic poem uses the letters in a word to begin each line of the poem. All lines of the poem relate to or describe the main topic word. For example, if the famous person is Abraham Lincoln, then the poem would be A=Always Honest, B= Bearded, E=Exceptional character, and so forth. 9. Students will display their poems and puppets together in order to help the viewers understand the characteristics being portrayed. ASSESSMENT The teacher should carefully review the acrostic poems looking for quality content Santa puppet parts, see finished Santa on the next page and completion. The teacher will evaluate the fairy tale portrait, blind contour drawing, and puppet portrait on a scale of 1-5. Five=Magnificent, Four=Great, Three=Good, Two=Standards were not met, One=Needs Improvement. VARIATIONS Teachers may choose to have their students work in groups to complete puppets. Students may also complete 3-D versions of their puppets using paper mache’. EXTENSION Students may work in groups to write and perform a simple puppet show that encompasses the attributes of all of their unique puppets.

RESOURCES http://custompapers.com/poetry-writing/ http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/acrostic-poems-30045. html 69

70

The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Pleasant Paper Cuts:
Scherenschnitte and Chinese Paper Cutting
Upper Elementary—Secondary Visual Arts Lesson by Elicia Gray OBJECTIVES Students will examine the delicate nature and technique behind Scherenschnitte. Students will compare European Scherenschnitte with Chinese Paper Cutting. Students will design, draw, and produce a cut paper design based on traditional multicultural methods. Students will recognize the visual culture around them that incorporates cut paper.

STATE CORE LINKS Standard 1 (Making): Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a Traditional Scherenschnitte variety of art media and by learning the art http://www.villageantiques.ch/objets/folkart/Scherrenschnitt.html elements and principles. Standard 2 (Perceiving): Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating works of art. Standard 3 (Expressing): Students will create meaning in art Standard 4 (Contextualizing): Students will find meaning in works of art through settings and other modes of learning. MATERIALS Colored paper, scissors, examples of Scherenschnitte and Chinese paper cuts, simple practice templates of Scherenschnitte (see link below) and samples of popular die-cuts. If your school owns a die-cut machine or a cricut machine these would be fun to show for an aesthetic discussion. ARTWORKS & ARTISTS Images of European Scherenschnitte and Chinese Paper Cutting (Some on CD)

ACTIVITY 1. Hand out band-aids to students and tell them that today everyone is getting paper cuts!! Okay, okay, MAKING papercuts. Ask students to raise their hands if they have ever created a paper snowflake. Explain that anyone who knows how to make a snowflake has already learned the art of Scherenschnitte, which literally translated from German to English, means “scissorcut.” The art tradition was founded in Switzerland and Germany in the 16th century, and was 71

2.

3.

4.

5.

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ASSESSMENT The teacher will review notes taken during the aesthetic discussion and the criticism activity, checking for coherent thoughts and clarity, and making note of areas of interest that should be reviewed further. During the cutting, the teacher will use a simple checklist to make sure students are using materials correctly and safely. Students will present their final project to the class, explaining topics and procedures that they

brought to Colonial America in the 18th century by immigrants who settled primarily in Pennsylvania, but the art of paper cutting has been around for centuries. Let’s take a look at Chinese Paper Cutting. These designs began with the invention of paper in the Han dynasty. Today, Chinese cut outs ornament walls, windows, doors, columns, mirrors, lamps and more. Entrances are decorated with paper cut outs to bring good luck. Compare the Chinese Paper Cuttings with the Scherenschnitte. Do they have common themes? What about styles? Are they similar in color? Make a list of similarities and a list of differences. Remind students that both countries use the art form to send good will and happiness to others. Bring in your school’s die cut machine or cricut cutting machine and demonstrate how it works. Are these types of paper cuts still art? What is the difference between this paper cut by machine and those cut by hand? Is one better than the other? Split students into small groups and give them time Chinese Contemporary Paper Cut to discuss their findings. Pass out the simple templates and give a brief cutting demonstration. For young grades you may want to stick with very simple shapes, but older grades will be able to understand how to fold paper in half in order to achieve symmetrical designs. Complex patterns can be found all over the internet, but a great place to start is “template Tuesday” on http://papercutting.blogspot.com. Once students understand how the cutting process works, invite them to design their own template. Older students can fold a paper in half and draw a design with pencil on the fold. If the design is intricate, they may want to use a craft knife to cut out the detailed areas. Younger children can focus on contour line. Explain that they must imagine that a tiny ant is taking a walk all the way around an object—that line is known as a contour, and it is the line on which they will cut. When the cutting is complete, display the artworks in the traditional manner by ornamenting walls, windows, doors, mirrors, and so forth.

Polish Papercut http://myfriendshouse.files.wordpress. com/2010/07/polish-paper-cutting.jpg 72

implemented. Teacher will award points for quality work, careful execution, innovative ideas, and proper care of materials.

VARIATIONS Explore paper cutting from around the world. There are numerous examples from all over the world that include aspects of cut paper. The layered cut paper artworks in Poland are among the most beautiful in all the world.

EXTENSIONS Have a festival in which different countries are celebrated and decorated with images of their traditional paper cutting techniques. Share other cultural aspects, such as food, music, and language. Design a papercut for your school, a local business, celebration, or occasion. RESOURCES http://papercutting.blogspot.com/2010/02/templatetuesday-papercuts-for-kids.html http://www.swissfest.org/images/alpfest.jpg http://velvetmirror.blox.pl/2009/07/Buty-Wycinanki. html

This papercut was designed by Cindy Ferguson for a brochure on Provo’s Historic District. Her blog is the first one listed under RESOURCES. used by permission of the artist 73

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Airplanes and Stomp Rockets
Older Elementary–Secondary Visual Arts Lesson By Elicia Gray

ARTWORKS & ARTISTS on CD Card Players, Alvin L. Gittins Youthful Games, Gary Ernest Smith Flight Practice with Instructor, Brian T. Kershisnik

OBJECTIVES Students will examine the artworks of Gittins, Smith, and Kershisnik. Students will play simple video games in order to investigate rules and techniques. Students will investigate the aesthetics of flight. Students will study the difference between ‘what is art’ and ‘when is art.’ Students will create, design, and decorate a paper airplane. Students will create, design, and decorate a paper stomp rocket. Students will invent rules to a game that utilizes stomp rockets and airplanes. Students will complete the “If Then” worksheet.

Gary Ernest Smith, Youthful Games

STATE CORE LINKS Standard 1 Making: Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles. Standard 2 Perceiving: Students will find meaning by analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating works of art. Standard 3 Expressing: Students will create meaning in art Standard 4 Contextualizing: Students will find meaning in works of art through settings and other modes of learning. MATERIALS Rockets: Paper, tape, colored pencils, scissors Launcher: 2-liter bottle, plastic tubing, duct tape

ACTIVITY 1. Challenge one student to a quick game of tick-tack-toe at the front of the classroom. Then show the images by Gittens, Smith, and Kershisnik. Ask students to identify what a game of tick-tacktoe has in common with these works. They are all about fun, games, play, leisure, and the like. Each of the paintings is about a ‘game’ of some sort—even kite flying has a set of rules. What rules might be present for each of these games? 75

2. Invite the students to visit http://www.oyunlar1.com/flightgames.asp and choose a few games to play briefly. Ask students to make a list of the types of rules needed in order to win the games. What are the challenges? What are the hardships? What do all of these particular games have in common? Explain that all of these games are about flight and flying. Ask students to make a list of things that an object needs in order to be able to fly. 3. Talk about the aesthetics of flight. Is there an “art” to flying? What happens if planes or rockets are not designed or built to perfection? Does it matter what an object looks like for it to fly? Do you think that objects that look nicer have a better chance of flight? When does the ‘art’ take place? Is it in the object, or in the act of flying? What other aspects of art can students identify? 4. Sometimes the question of “What is art,” is also “When is it art?” Explain that students will complete two phases of experimentation in order to identify the ‘what’ and ‘when’ of art. Phase one includes paper airplanes, and phase two includes paper stomp rockets. 5. In groups, have students create a number of paper airplanes. They can design, create, and decorate them however they wish, but they must also create a list of criteria or rules for a game that will involve their airplanes. While they design and create, ask students to think about where the art comes into play. Is it in the designing, the creating, or in the flying? Take students outside to explain their games and demonstrate the flight of their airplanes. Are points awarded for height? Length of flight? Appearance? 6. Phase two of the experiment includes the stomp rocket design and creation. Create a simple rocket launcher by attaching a long length of flexible plastic tubing to an empty two-liter bottle (you can buy the tubing at hardware stores). Use duct tape or other strong tape to secure the bottle to the tube. If you would like to construct or purchase a more complicated launcher, see the links under Resources. 7. Show students how to construct rockets by wrapping paper around a plastic tube that is slightly larger in diameter than the launching tube. Secure the paper with tape. Pinch the top of the tube into a cone shape and secure with tape. (Individual rocket designs may vary, and specific construction of the cone shaped tip can be left up to each artist) Add fins or other decorative materials if desired. Rolling the paper around the tube 8. Once again divide students into small groups 76

ASSESSMENT The teacher should carefully review the If Then worksheet, looking for quality content and completion. Teacher will evaluate the stomp rockets and airplanes on a scale of 1-5. Five=Magnificent, Four=Great, Three=Good, Two=Standards were not met, One=Needs Improvement. Students’ thought processes and team efforts will also be taken into consideration. VARIATIONS Teachers may choose to have a class contest so that students can compete against each other for prizes. EXTENSION Explore the science behind paper airplanes and stomp rockets. What types of forces help to propel the airplanes further or the rockets higher?

and invite them to design a contest or a game in order to exhibit their rockets. Take the students outside and have them explain their games, show their rockets and test them on the launcher. (You may want to build several rocket launchers). 9. When all rockets have been flown, explain the idea of aesthetic experience and “Ah Ha!” moments. What types of feelings did students display when their rockets were flown? Were there any rockets that flopped? What feelings were expressed in that case? 10. Discuss the art aspect of the lesson by having students complete the “If Then” worksheet. Ask students to consider different variables and place them into the blanks provided. Discuss the findings as a class. Were the rockets art? How about the flight? Can students identify any aesthetic moments? The finished rocket

RESOURCES www.oyunlar1.com/flightgames.asp www.instructables.com/id/Paper-Stomp-RocketsEasy-and-Fun/?&sort=ACTIVE&limit=40&offset=40 www.amazon.com/D-L-Company-20008-Rocket/ dp/B0006O8Q7Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=13252 07637&sr=8-1 77

A commercially made rocket launcher, similar to those made using a pop bottle

Is it Art? Sometimes the question is not IF, but WHEN. Can art be provisional? Fill in the blanks below to complete the conditional statements. The first one is completed for you.
it has a scrumptious aroma pizza IF______________________________________ THEN__________________________can be art.

Name

If . . . Then

IF______________________________________ THEN__________________________can be art. IF______________________________________ THEN__________________________can be art. IF______________________________________ THEN__________________________can be art. IF______________________________________ THEN__________________________can be art. IF______________________________________ THEN__________________________can be art. IF______________________________________ THEN__________________________can be art. IF______________________________________ THEN__________________________can be art. IF______________________________________ THEN__________________________can be art. IF______________________________________ THEN__________________________can be art. IF______________________________________ THEN__________________________can be art.
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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
How Would a Feather Move?
Elementary Dance Lesson OBJECTIVES Students will explore movement inspired by the qualities of an object. They will create a pattern with a definite beginning and ending, that moves through space, and that has a variety of levels. (You can include additional objectives for older students by the way you structure the pattern.) MATERIALS A variety of objects including such things as feathers, rocks, wood, fabric, and manmade items Music or instruments for the students to play (see RESOURCES) LESSON Introduction Dance/movement provides wonderful chances for students to explore and expand their creativity and problem-solving abilities. Additionally, dance gives young students a chance to move, to use energy, and to incorporate higher thinking skills with a Photograph of Barn Owl down by Elaine Craig kinetic area. In this lesson, the structure should used by permission give students starting places for letting their imaginations fly—give them only the limitations that allow the class to function: students should be able to start and stop when asked, should be careful about the space around them so they don’t run into each other, and should follow your directions. Give the students a chance to choose an object from those assembled or use some way to pass them out randomly. Each student should hold his or her object and take a minute to think about its properties. You may need to ask a few questions such as how does the object feel? Is it heavy, light, sharp, smooth, etc? Then have the students spread out on the floor and move in ways the object inspires. You can side coach by asking the students questions again such as how could you move in ways that suggest you’re very heavy or very light? What movements are smooth, what sharp? How could you move in ways that are round or square, or jagged? Another effective side coaching technique is to recognize successful movements and shapes the students make. For example, “That’s a really heavy way of moving,” “I like how smoothly you’re moving,” etc. 79

When students have had several minutes to explore, have them create a pattern that has a beginning shape that reflects some quality of their object and hold that shape for 4 counts, then they should move through space in ways that reflect their object for 12 counts, then move through different levels for 12 counts and then back to their beginning shape, or to a new shape inspired by their object and hold that shape for 4 counts. (The counts are variable, of course, adapt them to your students, and just be sure to give the students enough counts to really move through space.) If your class is new to dance, it may help to have the students go through the pattern just to get the timing down. For example, you could get everyone to make a shape, and have them count to four, then move, counting to 12, etc. A drum works very well for establishing the beats, and although a good drum is nice, anything that makes a clear sound will work. Give the students verbal cues such as “Get ready to move through space,” “now change levels,” and “now return to your ending shape.” When the students have had a few minutes to work out their patterns, divide the class into 3 groups and have them take turns sharing their patterns with the class. After each group, have students identify shapes and movement that had a strong quality. ASSESSMENT You can assess student participation by using a checklist and if desired, giving a –, a √, or a +. The most important thing you can do is provide positive feedback and note students who need extra encouragement. VARIATIONS 1. Divide students into small groups and give each group three different objects. Students have to create a movement pattern based on their objects. You may provide some structure such as they have to start in a shape that relates to 1 of their objects, then move through space as a 2nd object and then change levels based on the 3rd object, and last, return to a shape based on the 1st object. Students can choose movement patterns and do them as a group, with each student doing the same movements, or they may do different but related movements. Do ask students to work as a group rather than creating unrelated movements. When each group has worked out their patterns, have them get with another group and decide what would work as percussion accompaniment. One group will perform while the second group provides music and then they will switch places. 2. Instead of objects, have clothing items, artworks, music or other things that could be inspiration for the students’ movement. SOURCES Amazon.com has a lot of different percussion instruments for good prices as do other sites online. Locally, check the toy sections of big stores or toy stores. Make your own rhythm instruments: a lidded plastic ice cream container makes a usable drum extra small water bottles can become shakers, just put different objects inside to create different sounds. Glue the tops on or cut pieces of dowel the size of the inside diameter of the necks and glue in for maracas. Make wood blocks from a sanded piece of 2x4 and a small dowel.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
You Can Dance Anything!
Dance Ideas for K-12 by Louise Nickelson INTRODUCTION Teachers in the arts have long known that in addition to providing lifetime experiences, the arts provides skills that are used in all areas of the curriculum and can be used to reinforce other lessons and to help retention. A recent broadcast on KSL TV talked about the success of a dance program by the Beverly Taylor Sorensen program and how it helped students remember things they had learned in their unit on the Middle Ages. According to one of the students,

“It’s a good way to learn stuff, not just sit down and have somebody talk to you. You can do actions for it to help you remember it,” said sixth-grader Jacob Johnson. Other students echoed Johnson’s reaction. According to the class’ teacher, “The kids go home and tell their parents, ‘We danced this today.’ And I have parents tell me about dance all the time. It’s the thing they remember. It’s the thing they love doing because they experience it, they’re out of their seats and they’re living it,” said Jana Shumway, dance specialist at William Penn Elementary. http://www.ksl.com/?sid=18912896 If you have never done dance with your students, see the “Introduction to Dance” in this packet—it provides ideas on how to manage the class. The following list is a few of the ways you might use dance in your classroom: Dance natural processes — seeds sprouting, growing, moving in the wind, autumn coming and the leaves falling from the trees, photosynthesis, blood movements through the body, white corpuscles fighting off disease organisms, etc.

For example, have a group of students create a rock formation. Other students can be the wind or water, gradually taking pieces of the formation away and depositing them in an appropriate place. Talk about how the process works as the students dance, about where the rock will wear first, how that wearing process develops, etc. You may direct the students in general ways or ask them how they can represent specific ideas. For example, how could they represent what creates an arch? How could you represent the stronger rock that is left behind in an arch shape? You can use appropriate artwork or photos to help the students understand the concepts. The dance can be improvisation or the students can work out specific patterns that make up a dance. Some students could be narrators or the teacher can be the narrator. Present the dance to other classes. 81

Just as the students referenced above are using dance to help them understand and remember about life in the Middle Ages, you can use dance for other social studies topics. Although learning folk dances or square dances is a perfectly good way to add a fun element to a unit on a foreign country or pioneer life, don’t stop with those kinds of dancing. Students could also dance, The trek West, or other migrations Daily life during a particular time period or in a particular country A specific routine or chore such as hunting buffalo, washing clothes in a stream, gathering roots & berries The way the government operated, who was in charge, who controlled what departments, etc. Battles or wars Kinds of recreation from specific places or times The possibilities are endless! LANGUAGE ARTS – Adjectives, Nouns, & Verbs

Have students choose a noun and find a shape that represents that noun and hold that shape for 4 counts. Next, the students should choose an adjective that could modify the noun. Students have 4 counts to move into a variation of their first shape that is inspired by the adjective. Now have students choose a verb. Students have 8 counts (or more) to move their shape in ways that relate to the verb. Then students have 4 counts to move back to their original shape. Have the students take turns showing their dance patterns. The students who are watching can try to identify the words the dancers chose.

Variation 1: Have the students write a noun, an adjective, and a verb on three separate pieces of paper. Each student, or student group, chooses 1 strip of paper from the noun group, 1 from the verbs, and 1 from the adjectives. Organize the dance as above. Give students a chance to show their dances. Variation 2: Impromptu– Divide the class into 3-4 groups. Have 1 group on the “stage” at a time. Designated students first call out a noun and the students “performing” must choose a shape that embodies that noun in some way. Complete the series as described above, just with students being given the words they use. Have each group take a turn.

Variation 3: As a class, choose 6-7 nouns, modifying adjectives, and related verbs (or they can be silly combinations) and write the groups on 6-7 pieces of paper. Divide the class into small groups and have 1 student from each group choose a slip of paper. They should keep their words secret from other groups. Each group will create a dance sequence as above. Designate one group to begin. Each group that is watching must confer, and decide which set of words the dancing group has been given. They will have 1 vote at the end of the first group’s performance. The first group to correctly identify the word set will get to be next to perform. Let all groups have a chance to perform.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Introduction to Dance
by Chris Roberts For most elementary teachers the very thought of walking their students down to the gym and leading a dance lesson is about as appealing as driving to their dentist and getting a root canal (and for those few of you who enjoy that experience—i.e. Bill Murray in The Little Shop of Horrors—perhaps it’s as appealing as sitting through 3 hours of an Amway presentation). I felt that way at one time in my teaching career—but now I actually took forward to those wonderful times I share with my students when we creatively move together. The students (especially the boys!) get very put out if we miss our time in the gym. Dance is powerful. Students get a chance to express themselves in ways humans have been doing for thousands of years.

For those willing to give it a go, you need to lead your students through a few lessons of basic management rules or agreements. The beginning lessons from First Steps in Teaching Creative Dance to Children by Mary Joyce (1993) are excellent starting points.

Your students need to learn the following: • to respond to a quiet signal • to move through the gym without bumping or touching each other • to move their bodies and not their mouths • to know the boundaries and stay in them • to focus their energy on the objective you’re working on As they advance to working in small groups, they’ll also need • excellent listening skills • problem-solving skills

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As you read the dance lesson plans in this packet, it should come to your attention that students move. Every lesson is usually about 90 percent moving! Your students get an excellent aerobic workout. If you can’t get the Mary Joyce book, please don’t let that stop you. You can take the lessons in here and go for it. Another good source for help and/or information is Doris Trujillo, the dance specialist in the state office. She can be reached at 763-8614. I am also willing to help out any way I can for I truly wish all students to get the opportunity to move their bodies creatively. I can be reached at 801-7984055.

There is a marvelous book titled, Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andrede—In this book, Gerald (a giraffe, of course) learns to dance by finding his own special music. It’s a great read-aloud picture book for K-5. It is my hope you all find your own special music and help your students find theirs.

Giraffe Dancing, inspired by the book Giraffe’s Can’t Dance, Kindergarten student http://marymaking.blogspot.com/2010/02/ giraffes-cant-dance.html Art Lesson Read the book to the students, have each student choose a dance pose for their giraffe, draw and paint the giraffe. The next class time, have students paint a background on a separate piece of paper. Students cut out the giraffe, and paste it on the background.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Creating Imagery through Art “Taboo”
Visual Art & Literacy Lesson for grades 6-12 by Jennie LaFortune

Lesson may be simplified or made more complex depending on grade. This lesson has a heavy focus on writing in the arts. OBJECTIVES 1. Students will practice interpreting art through examination and discussion with peers. 2. Students will explore perspective with background knowledge to critique art pieces. 3. Students will use inquiry to promote ideas and exploration. 4. Students will write creatively using imagery and perspective. 5. Students will examine color and perception while listening to group ideas.

Duration: approximately 1 ½ hours or two 45 minute class periods. Lesson may be stretched for greater complexity and depth.

MATERIALS Suggested works are listed below and part of the Springville Museum of Art collection. Teachers may choose other art works that fit with desired curriculum or focus. Any six pieces will do for to accomplish the objectives and activity. Images are on the CD or can be found at, http://smofa.org/  Image of Black African by Marilee Beard Campbell  Image of Steam and Snow by LeConte Stewart  Image of Riders in the Canyon by Gary Ernest Smith  Image of Curious Onlookers by Sleksei Vasilevich Trotsenko  Image of House on the Avenues by Paul Howard Davis  Image of Allegory by Marilyn McCallister Sehlmeier  Paper  Pencil or pen  Bulletin board  List of “taboo” words (either created by you or the students depending on activity preference below)  Thesaurus Concepts/Key Terms to Review or Introduce: Imagery- language that appeals to the senses. Detailed descriptions of people or objects stated in terms of our senses (sight, touch, smell, taste, hear). Perspective- a technique used to representing a three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional surface; the relationship of aspects of a subject to each other and to a whole. 85

Point of View- the perspective, attitude, or outlook of a narrator or character in a piece of art (or literature).

The Big Picture: Students will “play the game” of Taboo using art and writing. Each picture (six choices) will be assigned a number and established groups will secretly choose the picture they are to describe. Their descriptions must apply great imagery and original depth. A typed list of “thou shalt not use” words will be next to each picture (see below). After discussion and writing has taken place, descriptions will be read. Student groups will keep track of how many pictures they can tell from the group description to add an element of competition. The class will vote on one passage for the “overall favorite” or “finest written” or best use of imagery.” Activity Sequence: 1. Set groups up according to your liking and class needs (student choice, teacher choice, random, etc.). Ideal size is no less than three and no more than four. 2. Come up with a list of “taboo” or “thou shalt not use” words (approximately 5-10) for each picture. Words should be obvious go to words or phrases that students would naturally use. For example, if a picture were of a sunset and the ocean, some “taboo” words on the list might be orange, red, sun, bright, beautiful, water, ocean, blue, beach, sunset, etc. This list of taboo words will force the students to use layered words and phrases (imagery) in unexpected ways, producing incredible writing about the artwork (see 8th grade student examples attached). 3. Pictures will be hung on a wall or bulletin board with a number next to the picture. If you are using the Internet, showing the picture online and then printing it off will help students see more definition and a better resolution of the piece.

4. Instruct students that they are going to go on a gallery stroll around the room and each group will secretly choose a work of art that speaks the group. It is fine if more than one group chooses the same painting. It actually works better in the end contest to see how different the descriptions are for the same work of art. 5. Explain the rules and intent of the game/assignment to the students a. Each group will take a good look at their chosen picture (shhh ….it’s a secret) b. Using the brainstorming sheet, explain the goals and desired result of their description (go over concepts like imagery, perspective, and point of view). Remind the class that the goal is to make your description sound great (full of imagery), but to not make it too easy for the class to guess, either (part of the fun of the game). c. Optional: read a sample of a group’s description d. Using the brainstorming sheet (see attached) explain how to begin writing i. Give verbal samples of how the voice of perspective may be from someone looking at the picture, or someone in the picture. Maybe there’s a dog or cat that could speak from their point of view. Perhaps even the grass, house, or door might want to describe their daily life in the scenery you are looking at. Make it interesting! 86

6. Give students approximately 45 minutes to compose their description. Have a thesaurus handy.

7. When each group is finished, one reader per group will stand in front of the “gallery” and read their composition. The other groups will quietly deliberate for a few seconds after the description is read and write down which picture (the picture number) they think the group described. 8. When all the groups have gone, see which group has the highest number of correct guesses. To extend the competition you could vote on “overall favorite” or “finest written” or best use of imagery.”

ASSESSMENT Such an activity as this uses an informal assessment. To assess, observe group interaction as the students write, and listen to the group descriptions as they read them aloud. For student accountability and presentation, collect descriptions and hang them below the artwork.

http://sarahharrisiarblog.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html

Creating Imagery through Art “Taboo” Example (8th grade Language Arts class) Lauren Finlinson, Sarah Nelson, and Riley Swann Group 4 Picture was a photograph of the Sydney Opera House Taboo words: purple, lights, water, bridge, buildings, blue, tall, dome(s)

Looking out at the vibrant lavender sky that blankets us, I want to get there soon. Up ahead of the vessel lies a spectacular twinkle of sparks in the dusk like stars that litter the ground. I can hear shouts and laughter from the city, but more prominent ly, sounds of music reverberate off the structure ahead. It’s like a crystal being shoved out of the ground- jagged and sharp. It’s as if the setting sun had leaked through the ceiling and into the construction, setting it alight with its power, and leaving the rest of the world to sink into violet. To the right, I can see a magnificent ark erected over the ocean strung out like a harp. Pin-point sparkles, like the ones in the city, are scattered along its surface, working their way from sight to sight with ease. The air here is cool and pungent with the scent of salty spray. I lean over the rim of the ship, studying the rippling surface of nave beneath us. The city and the sunset are reflected on its surface in perfect detail. I close my eyes and try to breathe it all in, willing us to move faster. I can’t wait to become par t of the scene.

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Name(s) Art #

Category Café
Taking you through beginning to end of your art and writing feast

Starters

General Observations:

Word Brainstorm – possible layered words to use (imagery)

Mains

Draft ideas: What are you focusing on in your description? Point of view and perspective of your description:

Desserts

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Practice reading aloud and decide who or how many are reading:

The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
The Play’s the Thing: Improv’s Role in Art
Secondary Visual Art & Drama Lesson By Rachel Stratford and Kellie Rowland OBJECTIVES UTAH STATE CORE STANDARDS Standard 1 MAKING: Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles. Objective A: Explore a variety of art media, techniques, and processes. Objective B: Create works of art that show the use of the art elements and principles. Standard 3 EXPRESSING: Students will create meaning in art Objective A: Create content in works of art. Standard 4 CONTEXTUALIZING: Students will find meaning in works of art through settings and other modes of learning. Objective B: Synthesize art with other educational subjects. INTRODUCTION Play and creativity are inseparable.  John Cleese said, “If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.”  In this lesson, you will learn interesting and fun ways of showing students some ways to play through Improv activities that allow the students to relax and have fun, thus allowing them to open up and be more creative.  Most of these games and even the art-making project give the students little or no time to prepare for the task at hand.  Instead, the students are asked to tap into creativity and skills acquired throughout the semester.  This lesson is meant to be the culminating activity at the end of a semester, to test how much students have learned. As Eric Hoffer said, “We are more ready to try the untried when what we do is inconsequential.”  Giving students less time to prepare lowers the expectations they have and therefore, allows the students to enjoy themselves more and, in turn, be more creative. We also suggest giving points for participation for the activities.  These activities can also be used before any project to get creative juices flowing. IMPROV vs. IMPROVISATION: What’s the difference between Improv and improvisation? While the act of improvisation produces or makes something from whatever is available, Improv is the term for improvisational comedy theater. Whose Line Is It, Anyway?, ComedySportz, and Laugh Out Loud are examples of Improv. Actors/ comedians are guided by a series of loosely structured games that rely heavily on audience input. See WORDS TO KNOW for additional definitions. 89

WORDS TO KNOW: Improvisation “Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one’s immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or new ways to act. This invention cycle occurs most effectively when the practitioner has a thorough intuitive and technical understanding of the necessary skills and concerns within the improvised domain. Improvisation can be thought of as an “on the spot” or “off the cuff” spontaneous activity…Techniques of improvisation are widely trained in the entertainment arts; for example, music, theatre and dance. To “extemporize” or “ad lib” is basically the same as improvising. ” – Wikipedia

Improv “In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously. Improvisers typically use audience suggestions to contribute to the content and direction of the performance as they create dialogue, setting, and plot extemporaneously. Many actors, who work with scripts in stage, film or television, use improvisation in their rehearsal process. “Improv” techniques are often taught in standard acting classes. Some of the basic skills improvisation teaches actors are to listen and to be aware of the other players, to have clarity in communication, and the confidence to find choices instinctively and spontaneously. Knowing how to improvise off the script helps actors find life-like choices in rehearsal and to then keep the quality of discovery in the present moment in their performance, as well.” – Wikipedia (Improv Theater) ARTIST:

Improv Everywhere “Improv Everywhere is a New York City-based prank collective that causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places…Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missions involving tens of thousands of undercover agents.” – ImprovEverywhere.com

On a recent “mission,” Improv Everywhere created a gallery opening in a subway station. They created gallery cards and put them next to things like graffiti, pipes, etc. They had a coat check, a bar, and over 50 participants come dressed up to create the feel of a real gallery opening. This group is a good example of participation and performance art, and keeping play alive in daily life. Show the link (see LINKS) to students. Discussion ideas: Does this count as art? Collaborative art? Performance art? Is this just a flash mob? Can flash mobs be art? How are they improvising? If you were a part of this group, what would you have done at the gallery opening? If you were a passerby, how would you have reacted? ACTIVITIES (To allow more student participation at once and to reduce the stress of performing in front of a large group, the class can be divided into 3-5 smaller groups for these games.) 90

Alphabet Players act a scene with each sentence starting with successive letters of the alphabet. Variation: 90 Second Alphabet - as above but with a time limit.

And Then… All but one player sits in a circle around the last player who sits in the middle (think Duck, Duck, Goose). The outside ring of players give the middle player a task, which she performs, and then asks, “What happens next…?” Any player may shout out additional tasks until the group has written a coherent story. The player in the middle can ONLY do what she is told.

Artist, Model, Clay This is a three-player game. Each player is assigned the role of artist, model or clay. Clay makes a pose, standing behind Model (both facing Artist). Artist must move Model into the same pose as Clay. Players switch roles in successive games, making poses harder as the game progresses. Backwards scene Players, in groups of two, act out a scene starting with a last line and working backwards to the beginning. Foreign Film Dub 2 players act a film in the given language, with the others translating.

Interview A player interviews a fictional/historical character in the style of a given magazine/TV show

Quick Change Two players act a scene but when a third shouts “Change” they must alter the line they have just said. Scenes Cut From a Movie The players invent scenes that never made it into audience-suggested movies.

Sound Effects (i) One player acts out a scene whilst another provides the sound effects. Variation: Two players act whilst audience members provide the effects. Sound Effects (ii) The players act out a scene and have to incorporate sound effects, which are played in. Sports Commentators/Sportscasters Two players act out an activity in slow motion, while the other two commentate.

Stand, sit, lie (down)/bend At all times in a scene, one player must be standing, one sitting, one lying down/bending

Story(teller) One player narrates a story with the others acting it out. The audience gives a title and moral. 91

Tag The audience chooses initial positions of 2 players. They start a scene based on those positions, when

another player shouts “freeze,” they swap places and start a new scene from the current positions. Theme(d) Restaurant Two players visit a restaurant with a chosen theme, with the others as waiter and host.

Two Characters Two players act out a given scene (going shopping on Black Friday, rehearsing for the school musical, etc.) as two characters (e.g. Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock, Harry Potter and Voldemort, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, etc.) Add other players as needed. Video Players Three players act scenes from a chosen movie, another fast forwards, rewinds, etc.

Weird Newscasters A news anchor has a co-anchor, sports/finance reporter and weather/traffic reporter with strange quirks (assign the quirks or pull them from a hat) What Are You Trying To Say? Two players converse, but keep reading insults into everything the other says.

Whose Line Two players act out a scene, incorporating audience-suggested lines on pieces of paper given to them. PROJECT: This project is best used at the end of a unit or semester, after students have learned various techniques, elements and principles and mediums. This can be a final project to “test” how much students have learned and foster creativity and play in the artmaking process. Students should not worry too much about the final piece, because they will be passing their project on before it is finished. Emphasize the Improv concept of working quickly with what you’re given and focusing on process rather than product. Students will create collaborative art using the fundamental Improv concept of “And Then...”; players must create a scene together by adding to ongoing dialogue. This project is similar to the idea of Exquisite Corpse, where one person starts a piece of art, and the art is passed around and added onto until it returns to the original artist. Each day, the artwork is passed around the class and modified. Each student must practice letting go of an original creation to allow something unexpected to happen. We chose to do 3 rotations, but you may choose any number of rotations that fits your needs. Day One: Tell each student to choose a medium that will work well on watercolor paper. Play a song and tell students to create a piece of work inspired by the song. Tell them they will only have that class period to work on the artwork and will be passing it off to someone else the following day. Collect projects at the end of the day, even if they’re unfinished. Students will pick a new medium and piece to work on each day to create a mixed media final piece. Day Two: Pass out projects, but not to their original owner (you can give each piece to the next person on the class roster, to the person next in the seating chart, etc.) Pass out note cards with an ELEMENT (space, color, line, etc.) on it. The second artist must add onto the original project using the word they received. The second artist may choose a different medium than the one chosen the previous day. 92

Day Three: Pass out projects again, this time to a third artist. The third artist can pick a third medium. Pass out note cards with a PRINCIPLE (rhythym, balance, unity, etc.) on it. The third artist must add onto the modified project using the word they received. FOLLOW-UP: Once students complete their pieces, display the projects and have students guess which note card each student was meant to portray. Have a critique and talk about the 3 individual note cards, and then the piece as a whole. Ask students how they felt about chance determining what they did with their project, instead of being able to pick on their own. Have a discussion about working with what you are given (a fundamental concept of Improv). How else can you Improv in art? ADAPTATIONS: 1. Students will stretch their creativity by playing a modified version of an Improv acting game. Write three sets of note cards. The first set will have a variety of mediums on each card (colored pencil, watercolor, oil pastels, etc.). The second set will have a variety of art styles and techniques (abstract, still-life, surrealism, etc.). The second set lists elements and principles of art (line, color, balance, rhythm, etc.). Have students discreetly select one note card from each set. Students must create an original art work that uses the medium, style/technique and element/principle from the three note cards they picked. Each piece of art is meant to be unique. 2. This is a shorter version of the original project. Shorten the And Then... project to one class period. Students must start a work of art in ten minutes, then pass it on to the second artist for ten minutes using a specific element, then the third artist has ten minutes to finish the piece using a specific principle. The original artist must create ANOTHER piece of art based on the And Then... project. You can choose how long the final project takes (a day, a week...) LINKS: Improv Everywhere Subway Gallery Opening: http://improveverywhere.com/2009/03/18/subwayart-gallery-opening/ 20 Life Lessons You Can Learn From Improv: http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/20-life-lessons-you-can-learn-from-improv/ Student Art Games: http://www.ehow.com/info_7853745_student-art-games.html http://www.ehow.com/info_7853745_student-art-games.html#ixzz1fJlILii6

Improvisation in Life and in the Arts: http://www.thepauper.com/artrepreneur/content/self_help/daily_artist.asp

The Importance of Creativity: http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/20-life-lessons-you-can-learn-from-improv/ 93

Improv Games:

http://improvencyclopedia.org/games//Artist_Model_Clay.html

http://improvencyclopedia.org/games//And_Then.html http://improvencyclopedia.org/games//Swedish_Sculptors.html The Office: Michael’s Improv http://youtu.be/uY6zTFnNS-A

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crnphoto/3365772731/in/set-72157615595452906 asking permission

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Stories from the Abenaki Nation
A Third Grade Blended Social Studies/Drama Lesson By Teresa Dayley Love, BYU Dept. of Theatre and Media Arts [email protected] OBJECTIVES Students will experience Abenaki (a Northeastern native people) stories through the oral storytelling tradition, choral reading, playmaking and process drama conventions. The students will identify how elements within two Abenaki stories, serve as expressions of the culture (specifically language, religion, customs) of that people. Students will demonstrate their dramatic abilities to use sensory recall, and develop creative voice, visual and movement expression as appropriate to the story. Students will develop an understanding of how story is used in the Abenaki culture. This will be demonstrated by students’ active and thoughtful participation in class discussion as well as the scenes students create.

This lesson is easily adaptable to older than third grade. For example, 4th and 5th grade study native peoples.   The lesson also works across grades with language arts standards because of the storytelling elements.  

Abenaki Couple, an 18th-century watercolor by an unknown artist.
Courtesy of the City of Montreal Records Management & Archives, Montreal, Canada Public domain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Abenakis.jpg

STATE CORE OBJECTIVES Social Studies Third Grade Standard II: Students will understand cultural factors that shape a community. Objective 1: Evaluate key factors that determine how a community develops. Indicators: a. Identify the elements of culture (e.g. language, religion, customs, artistic expression, systems of exchange). 95

Drama (from 3rd Grade Rainbow Teaching Chart) Use cultural tales with choral readings, reader’s theatre, narrative mimes, etc. to apply and practice: sensory recall, visualization, expressive voice, expressive movement

b. Describe how stories, folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture.

(Background for teachers: The teacher will learn to tell two short Abenaki stories: Glooskap and Wasis, the Baby, and Azban, the Racoon. Teachers should also be familiar with the idea of storytelling being central to Abenaki culture, and indeed many North American Native cultures. See “Sources” at the end of this document for links to the stories, as well as a script for the Choral Reading. Student Prior Knowledge: · Students should be aware that many indigenous peoples lived in North America before the arrival of European settlers, and that the Abenaki people lived in the areas of what is now the northeast US and Canada. Students should have generalized knowledge of what life for native peoples at that time might include, such as hunting, fishing, basket making, homebuilding, family roles, tribal councils, etc. as well some geographical aspects of the northeast. · It is preferable, but not necessary, students have had some Abenaki wigwam with birch bark experience with Drama as described in the K-2 Drama Student covering Learning Maps) public domain MATERIALS Butcher Paper and crayons and markers Time frame: One hour to an hour and a half. Can be divided into two half hour sessions, or even three sessions, if desired. Can use any of the Native American images from the CD as an introduction Activity 1. Teachers and Students participate in the theatre game “Emotional Orchestra.” As Facilitator, teacher puts special emphasis on helping students heighten their initial creative choice, and also respond to the directions of the conductor appropriately. Point out how bodily expression became naturally added as vocal expression was heightened and or decreased.

Use process drama techniques with grade level curriculum, classroom situations, and community events to deepen understanding.

2. Teacher gathers students to the classroom storytelling rug. Teacher recalls to the students’ minds the facts the students already know about the Abenaki people. Teacher then asks students to close their eyes and imagine themselves to be one of the Abenaki, all those years ago, sitting in a gathering, perhaps around a campfire, or maybe by the ocean, or perhaps in a wigwam, as a community storyteller (a Nudatlogit) prepares to tell the story of Glooskap and Wasis. Have them not only visualize themselves in that role, but also to “hear, see and feel” the environment around them. “What sound do you hear? What is the temperature of the air? Is it light or dark outside? Show by the way you are sitting if you are on sand, or a grass mat, or a blanket. When you know who and where you are 96

in this environment, you may open your eyes, and I will tell you the story of Glooskap and Wasis..the Baby!”

3. The teacher tells the story. At the end of the story the teacher tells the students she will clap three times, and then they will “be back in the classroom, as our regular selves.” Teacher and students discuss the story. Possible discussion questions: What is this story about? What is it really about? Why would a teller relate this story? Why would people listen? As answers come up such as to entertain, to teach, or to warn one another, etc. the teacher shares her knowledge of how important storytelling is in this culture (which, she remembers to inform the children, still exists today in modern times.) 3. The teacher leads a choral reading of Glooskap and Wasis, the Baby using the script. She helps students decide how to use their voices to show the intention of the words chosen to tell the story. Creative choices are discussed and tried out before the classroom performance.

4. The teacher leads a post performance discussion asking if the students have anything to add about what the story is about, or why it would be told long ago, now that they have participated as storytellers themselves. Possible questions to begin this discussion might include: “What did you learn playing Glooskap? Or the baby, Wasis? Or one of the women? What do you know now you didn’t know before?” She then asks students to identify things they know about being an Abenaki in ancient times. A list is generated, and written on the board under topic titles of Language, Religion and Customs. A mark is placed by those things that children say they learned just from hearing the story. (If the session is to be divided, this is a good place to do so. Remember to do a warm up before starting the next section if a significant period of time has passed between the two sessions. ) 5. Teacher invites the children to the storytelling rug again. This time she says that she will clap three times and they will be back in time, as the Abenaki person they were before, ready to hear another story. This time the teacher tells the story of Azban, the Racoon. 6. At the end of the story, after clapping again to bring the students “back,” the teacher invites the children to act out the story. She assigns parts, including those in the role of audience member. (Note: It is important to realize that inanimate objects,

Drawing by Thailan When 97

trees, rocks, etc, as certainly the waterfall are all parts worthy of acting out.) Any clear space in the classroom can be the “stage.”

7. Teacher then narrates the story, pausing to leave “spaces” for the student actors to perform action, speak dialogue, etc. After the first playing, she can lead discussion as to how successful they were at making the story come alive through their creative choices, especially of body, voice, and mind (imagination). Suggestions can be made, repeated playing can take place or new students actors may take over. The teacher can leave out the narration and let the actors carry on the plot events by themselves. Or, a student, or pair of students may narrate while classmates act.

8. Discussion is held. “Why would this story be important to tell? What is it about (plot)? What is it really about (issues)? Who would need to hear this?” If this has not come up before, the teacher introduces the fact that the Abenaki people did not strike their children as punishment, but would often use stories for discipline. In other words, if you got into trouble, they would tell you a story that was supposed to teach you what to do to be a good member of the community, or warn you about consequences that could happen to you if you kept up your bad behavior. Also, children told other children stories. 9. Students are then divided into groups of three or four. They are told to come up with a situation in which somebody might need to be told the story of Azban and his adventure with the waterfall. The last line of their scene should be “Oooooo! You need to hear the story about Azban!” Have them repeat this line several times so they know it well.

10. If students are new to such dramatic work, the teacher can help the whole group come up with a list of situations dealing with pride, recklessness, not doing your chores, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time, etc. Then students can choose one situation to enact. It doesn’t matter if two groups choose the same situation because it will likely be acted out differently “Scenes should be very short, but we should be able to tell by the way you use you body and voice what is going on and why the story should be told to at least one member of the group.” 11. Students perform scenes for one another. Teacher facilitates discussion regarding students’ successes at expressing their ideas through their creative choices as evidenced through their expressive bodies and voices.

ASSESSMENT: Keep students in their performing groups. Give each group a large piece of butcher paper and crayons or markers, for Role on the Wall activity. Teacher instructs the students to trace around the body of one of the students in the group. Then they are to use that form, and label it “Nudatlogit, the Abenaki Storyteller.” They are to write within the form all the things they have learned about storytelling in the Abenaki culture. The teacher may remind them by asking questions such as “Why did the Abenaki tell stories long ago? What were the stories about? When did they tell stories? Do they still tell stories? Who told the stories? Who listened? What new Abenaki words do you know from these stories? What do you now know about Abenaki religious beliefs?” If they have time students can draw outside the form any images they liked from any of the stories they heard or scenes they participated in or watched as they’ve been learning about Abenaki storytelling. Teacher should post the students’ work, and use what they have done to assess whether learning outcomes have been met. Teacher marks on Class Spiral Learning Map Drama learning outcomes that were accomplished in this lesson. Students may also mark their milestone on their own Student Spiral Learning Maps. 98

SOURCES http://www.abenakination.org/stories.html http://www.abenakination.org/stories.html, http:// www.abenakination.org/azban.html http://www.abenakination.org/azban.html and http://pyramidmesa.netfirms.com/algonquin1.html · Teacher should be able to facilitate the warm-up theatre game Emotional Orchestra. For one version, see: http://plays.about.com/od/actvities/qt/orchestra.htm · Teacher should have a basic working knowledge of how to direct a choral reading. There are many resources describing choral reading on line but this is a very good one: http://education. byu.edu/arts/documents/LisaBeanChoralReading.pdf Third grade Drama Rainbow Teaching Chart http://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/FineArt/Core_Curriculum/Elementary/documents/FY08-09_ Rainbow_Charts/Dance/Dance%20Teaching%20Map_Third.pdf

3-6th Grade Drama Class Spiral Learning Map 3-6th Grade Student Spiral Learning Map http://www.schools.utah.gov/curr/FineArt/Core_Curriculum/Elementary/FY08-09_Learning_Maps/ Drama/Drama_3-6_Combo.pdf Glooskap and Wasis script by Teresa Dayley Love (See the following:) Glooskap and Wasis, the Baby. A Choral Reading, based on the Abenaki Tale by Teresa Dayley Love

The parts can be divided any way you’d like. This is only one suggestion: Group 1: Boys Group 2: Girls Group 3: Boys and Girls It is important to color the words by varying pacing, pitch, tone and volume. Express the emotions dramatically! And remember, this is a funny story!(Well, maybe not to Glooskap!) Speeches can be divided within the group, so that some lines can be solos, or two or three voices, or however you’d like. Sound effects and rhythms can certainly be added. Give students as much creative leeway as they can handle and as will serve the story. All We are the Abenaki

Group 1 We tell to teach and teach to tell. Group 2 Our children learn, Group 3 99

Group 1 Here is a story about someone who bragged too much about himself. Group 2 Glooskap!

Learn very well!

Group 2 Glooskap, the First Man, the Creator of Men, the Maker of All Things. The Mighty Glooskap! Group 1 I am Glooskap. You see those mountains over there? I made them. I have battled sorcerers and won! I have fought goblins and fiends and won! I have tamed the wind, captured summer, vanquished winter! I am the most clever and the most strong! I have conquered all and none have conquered me! Group 2 Yet!

Group 3 Who-skap?

Group 1 You haven’t heard of my glorious adventures? Group 2 The battles against sea serpents and giants? The battles against Darkness and Magic? Glooskap, your strength is legendary, your courage ferocious! It’s all very impressive. Group 1 No one shall conquer Glooskap! Group 2 Except Wasis!

Group 2 You have not been conquered!...YET!

Group 1 What did you say?

Group 2 Wasis! Wasis is the very mighty creature who will conquer Glooskap. 100

Group 1 Huh? What did you say?

Group 1 Wasis! But Wasis is a baby! Group 3 A baby!

Group 2 I say a baby will conquer the mighty Glooskap! Group 1 That’s laughable! Group 2 We shall see.

Group 1 (Sweetly) Come here Wasis...Come here Wasis. Group 3 (Makes baby noises that mean “No!”)

Group 1 Never fear, I have an idea. Babies like babies, and babies like animals. I shall turn myself into a baby bird. (Makes bird noises.) Come here Wasis! Little, sweet Wasis, come to me! Group 2 (Begins to laugh, in derision.)

Group1 (More firmly.) Wasis, come here!...Why you little--Don’t you know who I am? Group 2 Guess not!

Group 1 (Threateningly) You don’t want to get me angry. Come here Wasis! Group 3 (Bursts into loud wails.) Group 1 Now what?

Group 2 Well, you’re the mighty Glooskap! Group 1 101

I know! I call forth all my magical powers. I’ll spin terrible spells! I’ll dance to raise the dead! (Sound effects that make us think that Glooskap has done all the things he just said he would!) What do you think of that, Wasis? Group 3 (Completely unafraid “Wasis” bursts out laughing.) Group 1 I give up!

Group 2 So every time you hear babies say Group 3 GOO,GOO!

Group 3 (Pointing at Glooskap) GOO,GOO!

All Remember the time a baby conquered-Group 1 Even the mighty All Glooskap!

Group 1 We tell to teach and teach to tell. Group 2 Our children learn, Group 3 Learn very well!

All We are the Abenaki.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
The Anonymous Art Project
Secondary Arts Lesson (w/ elementary version) By Louise Nickelson OBJECTIVES Students will learn about and discuss the anonymous book sculptures left in arts-related venues in Scotland. Students will analyse why the sculptures have been effective at drawing attention to and support for the targeted organizations. Students will choose, plan, and carry out an anonymous art project in support of a chosen organization. Students will evaluate the projects success in drawing attention to the organization. UTAH STATE CORE (these will vary depending on the students’ choice of projects, but a visual arts project would hit all four of the core standards.) Background Information: From March – November of 2011, 10 book sculptures have appeared in public libraries and other places related to arts in Scotland. These sculptures have been left anonymously, the first, a twisted tree, made from poems, with the following note:

“It started with your name @byleaveswelive and became a tree.… … We know that a library is so much more than a building full of books… a book is so much more than pages full of words.… This is for you in support of libraries, books, words, ideas….. a gesture (poetic maybe?)”

The description of the sculpture in the announcement said” Gorgeously crafted, it came with a gold-leafed eggshell broken in two, each half filled with little strips of paper with phrases on them. When reassembled properly, the strips became a poem about birds, “A Trace of Wings” by Edwin Morgan. In July, the Scottish Storytelling found a paper dragon sitting on a windowsill. The note on the dragon sculpture said, “A gift in support of libraries, books, works, ideas... Once upon a time there was a book and in the book was a nest and in the nest was an egg and in the egg was a dragon and in the dragon was a story...” These whimsical, beautifully crafted sculptures have effectively drawn public attention to the art & 103

literature-related venues where they were found. Although it’s too soon to know whether the added attention will result in any long-term benefit, locals and visitors have flocked to the institutions lucky enough to have a sculpture bestowed on them. You can read the complete story and see all of the images here: ThisCentralStation.com.  MATERIALS Used books Scissors Glue Paint Or whatever fits the projects your students choose, which could be a written piece of some kind, an artwork, a dance, a drama, an art happening or performance art.

Dragon Book Sculpture, Anonymous Photograph by Chris Scott, www.chisdonia.com Used by permission of the photographer

LESSON Tell your students about the sculptures and show them the images. Discuss what makes the sculptures effective attention-grabbers, such as the fact they were placed anonymously, and that some of them are puns. Read a couple of the notes left with the sculptures. Challenge the students to think of ways they could use any of the arts in support of a local art-related organization that they are interested in. You may want to offer students the chance to make this a collaborative project, if they want. Give the students a timetable or deadline.

Have students fill out the planning form and submit it to you for approval and any appropriate help or direction they may need. Do allow students the flexibility of changing the project as they create it. ASSESSMENT Because the projects may vary considerably, students will need to develop a rubric that relates to their specific project. You can use the rubric included or one you use in class to help guide the students as they develop their own rubrics.

A gift in support of libraries, books, works, ideas... Once upon a time there was a book and in the book was a nest and in the nest was an egg and in the egg was a dragon and in the dragon was a story... “It’s important that a story is not too long ……does not become tedious ……. ‘You need to know when to end a story,’ she thought. Often a good story ends where it begins. This would mean a return to the Poetry Library. The very place where she had left the first of the ten. 104

Back to those who had loved that little tree, and so encouraged her to try again …….and again. Some had wondered who it was, leaving these small strange objects. Some even thought it was a ‘he’! ……. As if! Others looked among Book Artists, rather good ones actually……. But they would never find her there. For though she does make things, this was the first time she had dissected books and had used them simply be- cause they seemed fitting…. Most however chose not to know….. which was the point really. The gift, the place to sit, to look, to wonder, to dream….. of the impossible maybe……. A tiny gesture in support of the special places….. So, here, she will end this story, in a special place … A Poetry Library ….. where they are well used to ‘anon.’   But before exiting …a few mentions. There could be more, because we have all colluded to make this work……. Just a few though. - the twitter community who in some strange way gave rise to the idea in the first place -@chrisdonia who gave the story a place, a shape and some great pictures - and not least @Beathhigh whose books and reputation have been shame-lessly utilised in the making of a mystery …….. …… But hold on. Someone’s left behind a pair of gloves and a cap……….? Cheers Edinburgh It’s been fun! X

Planning Sheet for The Anonymous Art Project Name(s) Description of basic idea Materials needed

Organization being targeted Attach sketches or a more detailed description of your project (if visual, needs at least 4 sketches) Teacher approval

Elementary Version

Give the students enough information/explanation about the book sculptures so they understand what happened. Show them the images and discuss what is effective about them. Have the class choose an organization or place they want to support such as the school or city library, a children’s 105

theater, or a local park. Brainstorm ways your class could anonymously do a project that would show the students’ support for the organization or place. Some possible projects are listed below: Draw something in response to a favorite book, and deliver the drawings anonymously to a library. Instead of drawing, have the students write something about why libraries are important, ways libraries can help the students, things they would like to see done at the library, or what the students particularly like about the library. Students could raise money and donate it anonymously to an organization. Students could create posters for specific organizations or places.

Have the students choose a favorite song and record them singing it. Post it on youtube, send it to a local radio station, or get the principal to let it be played on the intercom. Include a statement of support with the recorded song.

Some projects would be less anonymous then others, but try to keep the focus on what the students want to support and not on them.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Playful Patterns
Upper Elementary–Secondary Visual Arts Lesson By Robyn Card OBJECTIVES After completing the lesson, students will be able to define pattern, accurately identify the main types of pattern, and complete an art project that effectively uses pattern. MATERIALS Artwork images on the CD: Jeanne L. Clarke, Entertaining Favorite Ladies II Jacqui B. Larson, Cottage Industry Gregory Abbott, Sacred Cows of Art History

Background Information for the Teacher: Pattern, as defined in the standard dictionary, is a noun 1. a person or thing worthy of imitation 2. a model or plan used in making things 3. a design 4. a regular way of acting or doing 5. a predictable route, movement etc. Pattern is a main principle of the fine arts; it is created when the same element is repeated 3 or more consecutive times to create a repetition or rhythm of that element.   There are patterns continually repeated in nature like the meandering of water, the spiral or helix in vines or whirlpools, branching patterns in trees and in our human circulatory system. There are patterns all over the place whether in nature or manmade. Patterns are found in mathematics, the sciences, literature, physical fitness, drama, dance, music, and the list goes on. When you really stop to think about where patterns can be found, it›s amazing!!  A lesson just on patterns on any Detail from Entertaining Favorite Ladies II given subject could be adapted to just about any by Jeanne L. Clarke discipline with a multitude of media.   Pattern in visual art can be REGULAR, such as a plaid fabric, knit sweater or tile floor. There are RADIAL patterns like in citrus fruit, an ear of corn, a flower or Mandela. IRREGULAR or RANDOM patterns are where elements are repeated but not in a particular planned order. Pattern helps to create movement and balance in a work of art and helps to give it unity. 107

 What follows are suggestion for using the Principle of PATTERN in your classroom:   1. First off, make sure the students know what pattern is and then what the different types of patterns are, as defined above. Brainstorm and see how many things with pattern the class can come up with. Put them in the different types and make a game to see how many the students can come up with. Record them all on paper or screen. Take a look around the classroom for visuals of the patterns named. Go outside and take a look, ask questions such as, the following: “Is this a pattern? What makes this a pattern? Is it manmade or natural?” This is a good beginning for a lesson on drawing texture or a texture or pattern collage. Use the worksheet on the next page and have students describe and draw textures they find. Have the students use some of those textures to create patterns out of their names.

2. Have students make their own stamps with matt board and craft foam. Students should cut simple shapes from craft foam and glue them onto 2” square pieces of matt board or cardboard. Take a 4” length of masking tape and press the ends against the back of the matt board, pinching the center together to make a handle for the stamp.  You can also have students draw into small squares of foam insulation to make stamps.

I tell my students it’s not so much what the stamp looks like as how you use it. You can draw into the stamp or between it, or play with different possibilities. Make your own decorative paper for handmade books, gift-wrap, origami sculpture, collage, and handmade boxes. See examples, below.  

3. The Dutch artist, M.C. Escher, was a master at pattern and tessellations, you can see his web site at http://www.mcescher.com/Gallery/gallery.htm. There are many books on Escher and the Nebo District has a video on him. There are a number of good books and visuals about him and his work. You can also do Kaleidocycles, which are tessellations that can become a 3-d toy. Escher wanted his tessellations to become 3-d, and this is the way he came up with to do just that.   4. Use letter stamps or stencils to create animals or scenes. Repeat the stamp over and over and it creates pattern. It will create value also as you overlap the stamps. Create patterns for decorated 108

TEXTURE
Find interesting surfaces and make a visual copy of the textures. Name Period Describe Surface Draw Texture Describe Surface Draw Texture

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paper just by repeating a word or words over and over, do them in the different pattern types, such as starting in the center and working outward.   5. Draw animals with basic shapes, then fill those shapes in with different patterns that the class has come up with in a brainstorming session. Use ink pens to do the drawing and add color with colored pencil where it enhances the work. This assignment, of course, can be done with people, plants, or other subject matter.

  6. There is a new trend out there called “ZENTANGLE.” There are now at least 8 books on it on Amazon. Yes, I own 7 of them. They have taken the art of pattern making to a new height and copyrighted at least the name and some patterns. Manmade patterns have been around since man first started making them. Anyway, if you’ll Google Zentangle, you›ll get a lot of stuff and I›m sure that youtube will have something on it. It’s a lot of fun and there are innumerable activities and lessons you can do with it. Be careful–it can become addicting if you like to doodle like I do. You don’t have to buy expensive “Micron” pens to do it, start with what you have and go from there. I particularly like the book “Totally Tangled” by Sandy Steen Bartholomew, and yes, I got it on Amazon.   7. Play with possibilities, get a mind set to draw or write about all the patterns that you see around you in a given day. Look for them on packaging, clothing, etc. I’ve bought containers and asked for empty containers just because of the patterns on them.  ENJOY AND EXPLORE THE WORLD OF PATTERN, AND I PROMISE YOU’LL HAVE MORE PROJECTS THAN YOU CAN EVER USE.  That’s when you call me, Robyn Card, and say “I want to share.” 110

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Another way to play with names:

112

The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Creativity from a Corpse
Visual Art Lesson for 7th-9th grades, easily adaptable to any grade level by Amanda Toler Students will be able to: -Discuss various practices of the Surrealist art movement -Explore numerous activities used to expand creative thinking. -Create a collaborative artwork. -Critique symbols of the subconscious UTAH STATE CORE Making — Standard I: Objective 1. Explore a variety of art media, techniques, and processes. Perceiving — Standard 2: Objective 1. Critique works of art, Objective 2. Evaluate works of art. Expressing — Standard 3: Objective 1. Create content in works of art. Contextualizing — Standard 4: Objective 1. Align works of art according to history, geography, and personal experience. MATERIALS -Images by various surrealist artists, both original and contemporary surrealists. Examples: Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, Greg Simkins, Nicoletta Ceccoli -Pencils, colored pencils

Sources for images: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/Artists-by-Art-Movement/surrealism http://www.nicolettaceccoli.com/portfolio.php This website has a lot of images, but you can find larger ones by putting her name in a google image search and then specifying large images. The same is true for Greg Simkins. LESSON ART HISTORY Discuss the Surrealist art movement: -Orginated in the early 1920s as a reaction to Dadaism and began with a new mode of literary expression called automatic writing. This was to release the unbridled imagination of subconscious. -Surrealists believed that free and ordinary thought was important and should be shown in its full expanse. Open thinking, the subconscious, and dreams were analyzed. -Surrealism began just with writers in poetry and free writing. Many surrealists believed that painting and drawing would inhibit free expression, but various artists, such as Max Ernst, Joan Miro, Andre Masson, and Man Ray decided to explore some of the techniques in painting. 113

-One writing exercise where one writer would begin a story or poem and then the next would continue where the former ended without seeing all of what had been written previously was adapted and used as a collaborative painting technique to open creativity. This was called the “Exquisite Corpse.” -The Exquisite Corpse was a body that was created with multiple artists. Each artist would get a section of the body like the head, torso/arms, hips, or legs, and they would know where the artists would start and end their sections and that was it, they could not know what the others would actually draw. In the end each artist could draw a realistic body part or a more figurative or metaphoric section like the head looking abstract or like a tree. Once the body sections were finished they were reassembled and a very interesting corpse would be created. Someone that no one artist would have come up with on their own. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/surr/hd_surr.htm STUDIO PRODUCTION Students will be creating an Exquisite Corpse in groups of 3-4. There are many variations of this project still stemming from the roots of its conception. Here are a few examples:

-Students separate into groups of 3-4 and decide on a body section they will draw or create. Each student must decide where their body section will begin and end on their paper so that it will flow into the next person’s image. They do not need to know what they will be drawing in advance, just where to begin and end the image. They can either draw their section literally or figuratively. Once each student is done, the group puts their drawings together to make an “Exquisite Corpse.” Discuss how this type of activity can evoke creative thought. -Once variation of this activity is similar to how the surrealist writers would write something then show just the last sentence and the next writer would add on. Students will receive a piece of paper and divide it into three or four sections by folding the paper. On day one, the first student will start drawing whatever comes to mind making sure that some marks touch the bottom of that particular section of paper. The next day the paper will be passed on to another peer, with just a small part of the previous drawing showing, or the whole image can show either way. The next student adds on whatever comes to mind and the same thing is repeated for one or two more days.

-Another variation is to give each student a piece of paper, and they can draw whatever they would like on the first day. Make sure they understand they should be drawing whatever comes to mind, there shouldn’t be too much thought put into it. After one day of drawing, the papers are collected and then redistributed on the following day to a new student, who will then add whatever comes to mind. In this variation the students are able to see everything that has been drawn, and they can draw on top or add or alter images. They are interpreting the image however they want to. This can be done 3-4 times as well. -Same type of exercise can be done with sculpture. CRITICISM

Each student will be given one of the artworks created and must go through a basic criticism model and critique the artwork after it has received images and meaning from different artists. Students should critique by: Describing: What do they see? How does it look? Who? What? When? Where? 114

Analyze: How? What elements and principles are found in the image? Does it seem balanced, unified? Even though multiple people created the artwork? Interpret: What could the artwork mean? Have students pick a few symbols drawn and write a meaning for them. Judgment: Is the artwork successful? Is the artwork more creative when done collaboratively? AESTHETICS Discuss thoughts on artistic creation. What makes an artwork creative? Does is matter who creates the artwork or is it the finished product that matters? Is an artwork more creative if it comes from free thinking or the subconscious or if it comes from hours of thought and organization? REFLECTION Have students reflect on creativity and everything they learned through the lesson. Questions they may answer while writing their reflection: -Who are the surrealists? -Who are some of the surrealist artists? -Does the Exquisite Corpse activity really help build creativity? -What did I like about this project and what did I not like? -How could I use a similar technique when I’m creating artworks on my own?

ASSESSMENT -All discussion should be graded with participation points. -Because the artwork is a collaborative piece each student should sign the back of the artwork on the day they are given it and participation points are given. -Reflections can be graded like an essay. EXTENSION After completing the exquisite corpse lesson, students should be less tied to traditional ideas of what an artwork of a person should look like. Remind the students about the experience by showing a few of the examples from the Exquisite Corpse Lesson. Then provide the students with magazines, scissors, paste, and paper for backing (cardstock is great, but regular paper will also work). The students are to create a human figure from items they cut from magazines. Challenge the students to use the openness they developed in the Exquisite Corpse lesson and couple that with what they know about the elements and principles of design. See examples here and on the following page.

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Instead of using a background cut from a magazine, have the students draw, color, or paint a background/environment for their being.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Chance Controlling Fate
Visual Art Lesson for 7th-9th grades, easily adaptable to any grade level By Amanda Toler

OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to: -Discuss the question of whether art is better as a result of chance or controlled thought. -Solve the problem of designing an illustration for text given to them by another party. -Create an artwork completely based on the ideas of chance. -Analyze whether an artwork is more interesting when created by chance or by well-thought out ideas. STATE CORE Making — Standard I: Objective 1. Explore a variety of art media, techniques, and processes. Perceiving — Standard 2: Objective 1. Critique works of art, Objective 2. Evaluate works of art. Expressing — Standard 3: Objective 1. Create content in works of art. Contextualizing — Standard 4: Objective 1. Align works of art according to history, geography, and personal experience. MATERIALS -2-3 children’s picture books with the words covered up -paper -pens, pencils, markers, paint (materials for illustration) -dice -various spray paint or food coloring colors -magazines, newspapers -glue -Fortune cookies

ACTIVITY As a class discuss the definition of chance or fate. Discuss the fact that sometimes things are unpredictable and just happen without being planned or organized. Chance can also be referred to as leaving space open for unpredictable opportunities like when we ask for someone to give us a chance, we ask them to leave open an opportunity to perhaps suspend judgment to see what outcomes are possible. Review the process the class usually goes through to create an art project. Typically, the class will be introduced to a new concept or art medium they will soon explore. Often, the teacher will present information about a specific artist and his or her artworks, or the teacher will introduce an idea or feeling that the students may see as the problem they need to solve through artistic communication. Most artists’ ideas for artworks result from brainstorming, creating thumbnail sketches, researching, and revising before the final product is made. Other artists, like Jean Arp, use untraditional methods of creation where they allow chance to play a larger role in the creation of their artworks; accidents may occur that completely alter the direction of the artwork. Explain that for this unit or lesson the 117

students will be exploring the benefits of creating art through controlled thought and through chance (just allowing something to happen without preplanning). ILLUSTRATION Students will first explore creating an artwork using controlled thought or brainstorming. Focus on exploring the art of illustration for this part of the lesson. Show students an illustration from any children’s book with the text covered up and have them write text for the illustration. After sharing various interpretations from the class, read the actual text from the book and explore whether some students were close to the same text or story line. Were the illustrations enough to tell the story without the text?

Students will then explore illustration from the other direction. Give each student a fortune cookie to open and then have the students read their fortune. Explain that each student will be illustrating the fortune in their cookie however they think best. They can illustrate it literally or humorously or take a different spin on what is being said. They can use whatever materials they feel fits their fortune. After all illustrations are done, have the students walk around and see the artworks. The fortunes can be pasted to the image like a page in a book with text or the fortunes can be held separately and, as a class, the students can try and match up the fortune with the illustration.

ARTWORK BY CHANCE Next, students will explore creating an artwork solely done by chance. Discuss the Dada art movement: “Dadaism” (1916-1924) -A protest against the barbarism of WWI and what Dadaists thought was oppressive intellectual rigidity in art and society. -Artwork showed deliberate irrationality and rejected traditional standards of art -Not art but anti-art -Whatever art was suppose to be, Dada tried to be the opposite; so if there was suppose to be meaning Dada tried to get rid of all meaning. -Basis of Dada is nonsense. Some say that the name for Dada came by opening the dictionary randomly and sticking a knife somewhere and Dada was the word found. Main Representatives Hans Arp Marcel Duchamp Francis Picabia Hugo Ball Max Ernst Raoul Hausmann Man Ray John Heartfield Marcel Janco Kurt Schwitters Sophie Taeuber-Arp

http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/C20th/dadaism.htm 118

Show students Jean Arp (Hans Arp) Collage with Squares Arranged According to the Laws of Chance. Discuss that Arp tore up squares randomly and then dropped them above the paper and then pasted them wherever they landed. His artwork was completely created by chance. Discuss whether that artwork is still aesthetically pleasing or not. Can an artwork created by chance be as important, valuable, or enjoyable as one that required planning and thought? (http://ccfuncrafts.edublogs. org/2011/08/21/hans-arp-collage-with-squares/) 2 versions (http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/300/16/1850.extract)

Students will then create an artwork based completely on the laws of chance. For three days the students will rotate between nine different stations to create their next work of art. They will remain at each station for 10 minutes. Between each station the student must randomly roll a dice to find out what is the next station they will go to. They may repeat two stations twice.

Station 1– Have students close their eyes and flip through a magazine, stop randomly and point and cut out whatever they point at. They will take what they cut out and hold it above the artwork, drop it, and paste the item wherever it lands. Station 2 – Have students draw a slip of paper with the name of a color and a shape from a bag. The student must use that color on a paintbrush and close their eyes and touch the paper, open their eyes and draw the shape they drew from the bag. Station 3 – Have students draw a lid of a spray paint can from a bag and spray two squirts from the bottle in a trash can full of water. Dip the artwork in the water and let the spray paint adhere to whatever part of the picture it does.

Station 4 – The students will roll a die to find out how many pieces of paper they will draw, and then they must reach into a bag and pull out that many pieces of construction paper of whatever color they get and drop them on their paper and glue them where they fall.

Station 5 – Students will pick a piece of soft pastel from a bucket and put their paper behind them and hands behind them and proceed at drawing whatever they would like behind their back.

Station 6 – Students will close their eyes and walk toward the bookcase, and whatever book they touch first they must pick up. When they have a book, the students will close their eyes and flip through the book, randomly stop on a page, and point. If they point at a picture, they will draw it on the same location on their artwork as they saw it on the book page. If they point to a word, they will write the word on their artwork. Station 7 – Students will roll a die or draw from a hat a body part (chin, palm, fingers, toes, elbow, knees, etc.) and a color. Students then have to use that body part to paint whatever color they draw the symbol of that they draw out of a hat.

REFLECTION Students will exchange their chance picture with their neighbor, and the neighbor must write a quick interpretation of the piece pretending that they do not know it was created by the laws of chance. 119

Students will get both of the artworks they have created through this unit. Placing these side by side, students will compare and contrast and reflect on what they have learned throughout this unit. Questions they may ask: -Do I think both my illustration and chance picture are both art? Why or why not? -Do both artworks mean something? -What meaning can I find in my illustration? -What meaning can I find in my chance picture? -Do I think a good work of art should have meaning? Or can it stand alone? -Did my peers come up with an interesting interpretation of my chance piece? -Does the artwork have to have been created with meaning for others to find meaning in it? -How does the artist(s) we studied relate to the artworks I created? -Is an artwork better if created through a creative process or if it just happens by chance?

ASSESSMENT -All students who participate in the discussions will be awarded participation points. -The fortune cookie illustration and artwork done by chance should be graded with a rubric using the four criteria of Creativity, Craftsmanship, Fulfillment of the Assignment, and Use of Class Time. The chance assignment won’t use creativity as a criteria, so adjust the points accordingly.
Criteria Creativity: (10 pts) Did they brainstorm? Were the thumbnail sketches of wellthought out possibilities for solving the problem given? Craftsmanship: (10 pts) Was time taken to make the artwork well-crafted? Fulfillment of Assignment: (20 pts) Were all requirements fulfilled? Did student do the minimum or push beyond the basic requirements? Use of Class time: (10 pts) Was class time used wisely or was the student asked to get on task multiple times? Were peers encouraged or discouraged by the student? Was time wasted? Total Possible Points: 50 Points/ Comments

Total Earned:

VARIATION For youngest students, you can use a simplified version of the chance approach by having the students cut or tear colored paper into squares or other shapes and drop the shapes onto a large piece of paper. Students will glue the shapes where they fell.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Let’s Play! Student Designed Games!
Visual Arts & Creativity Lesson for Secondary by Carrie Wilson ARTWORKS & ARTISTS Winslow, Homer Snap the Whip (on CD) Smith Gary, Youthful Games (on CD) Zoe Keramea, Buttons, Ribbons, and Thread, 2005 (website listed below, she uses games in her artwork)

Websites: http://www.hayneedle.com/ sale/theladdergame.cfm (Cool board game that uses complementary colors and really fills the complete boards Winslow, Homer Snap the Whip with radiant shapes and color.) public domain http://www.kyrene.org/pto/cielo/fourth-grade.htm http://www.papertoys.com/ (Paper toys and building is a great site to printout paper dolls and buildings, so the students can see how to make figures stand or how to make a building. Plus these are just fun for the students to do.) http://www.zoekeramea.com/main/limited-editions OBJECTIVE Students will be able to create a game using limited materials and a creative spirit. UTAH STATE CORE LINKS Standard 4 — Contextualizing: Students will look at what the children had to do before the massproduced games of today, and will create a game of their own. MATERIALS Regular classroom materials: scissors, glue, colored pencils, crayons, and ruler Paper to write the rules on Pencil or Pen

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Paper or Plastic Bag to hold the different materials for the game Odds and ends, which could include the following items: Have fun and see what you have. A surface to create the game on – a larger piece of paper, cardboard or a cereal box (cereal boxes are cool because you can create two layers to the game with cut aways, or you can make a space for all the parts to go into.) Colored bits of paper (old scrapbooking paper, craft paper, or construction paper) Paper clips Rubber bands Tape (wrap it around a popsicle stick or craft stick) Feathers Craft sticks I like to use recycled materials: small old boxes, milk cartons, cereal boxes, plastic bag twist ties, egg cartons. (Send an email out to the other teachers and usually, people will bring stuff in.) I call it “trash into treasures.” You will need 1 bag of assorted items for each group

ACTIVITY Introduction: The paintings by Winslow Homer, Snap the Whip, and Gary Smith’s Youthful Games represent a time in America art history when people were closer to their environment. Children of the first pioneers to conquer the American west had to create games through collaborating with their peers and through their own creativity. They did not have a local large box store where they could buy games that are massed produced. These children had to make do with what they had available to them in their environment. Play could evolve in many directions or forms and games like snap the whip or hide and seek required no extra devices. Using their own creativity to create games and toys encouraged them to be creative and to cooperate with each other.

Steps: This is a great team building and collaborative project. Plus it is a bunch of fun! 1. Brainstorming activity: Hold up an object like a spoon and have the students in their small groups or on their own write down 25 to 50 possibilities for the spoon other then eating. For example, it could be a pool for an ant or you could build a house with many spoons. This is a fun brainstorming activity and any object will work. 2. Have the students get into groups. I like groups of four. One student will be a scribe to write the rules or steps of the game down. (Other roles for the students can be materials’ manager, illustrator, monitor, or group reporter)

3. Have the students talk about their favorite games and why they like them. Have them brainstorm or list the good parts from each of the games. Talk about how a title or name for the game can tell the main idea of the game. I give them a reference list to work off later. Talk a little about themes or goals for games and have the students brainstorm on that concept. 4. Show some images of games we all know, like checkers or Candy Land. Talk about the goal of those games, beyond just the goal to win—more like strategies. These ideas will help later when the students are deciding on the rules to their games. Read them the rules to checkers. http:// boardgames.about.com/cs/checkersdraughts/ht/play_checkers.htm Talk to them about keeping rules simple, because they tend to over complicate their ideas. 122

5. Now give them the bag of fun…. They have to use all parts in the bag, and they can also use the bag. This is really an evolutionary process. 6. What they need to do is brainstorm the overall theme or idea for the game. Have the groups write down the title and the basic rule structure, which may change while the teams work. They need to figure out the look of the board by thinking about the overall pattern and then how to fill the space.

7. Have the student groups play the game themselves, and then have the different teams go around to other teams’ games and try to play their games. Allow the students time to give feedback, especially about what worked, what didn’t, what was clear and what wasn’t. This feedback will show the students what needs re-working. ASSESSMENT Check List: (five points each- 5 pts for Yes, 4 for Almost, 3 for Sort Of, 2 for Okay, 1 for Not Really, 0 for No) ____: Did you use everything in the bag? ____: Did you create a title or name for your game? Name ___________ ____: Did you create rules for the game with your team? ____: Did you create overall pattern or use the complete surface of your game board? ____: Did other teams play your game with success? ____/ 25 points What was your favorite part of the game making experience? (Two sentences)

What would you keep the same and what would you do differently next time? (Two sentences) VARIATIONS Do the same thing for a sub lesson, but have the students create a monster or sculpture from the supplies. They can write a story based on their creation. See more examples on the following page. 123

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Fostering Creativity Though Choice-Based Artist Process, Artist Behavior, and Art Centers
Secondary Visual Arts Class Structure By Carrie Wilson OBJECTIVES Students will learn how to develop their own artistic behavior through the use of well planned-out studio time and by making choices in their artwork. UTAH VISUAL ARTS STATE CORE Standard 1 (Making): Students will assemble and create works of art by experiencing a variety of art media and by learning the art elements and principles. MATERIALS Student Sketchbook (Simple bookbinding or center/side staple, see sketchbook lesson) Drawing Center Material (teacher created, but listed in lesson) Idea Wall or Artist books for inspiration

Books or Resources: Engaging Learners Through Artmaking: Choice-Based Art Education in the Classroom, by Katherine M. Douglas and Diane B. Jaquith The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and What We Can Do About It, by Tony Wagner The Dot, by Imma S. and James H. Black The Dot and The Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics, By Norton Juster Beautiful Oops! By Barney Saltzberg Art 21, PBS Video Series Craft in America, PBS Video Series Web Resources for information: http://teachingforartisticbehavior.org/ (great information on centers and ideas) Background Information for the teacher When I observed an art class as an undergraduate, the teacher I watched followed a simple process of instruction. The teacher would introduce the process or medium using Discipline Based Art Education or DBAE methods. The students would then learn about an artist who used the style or medium of the project and might learn a little about the history of that style as well as how the artist used the Principles and Elements of Art, usually though a PowerPoint presentation. Then the teacher would demonstrate the medium to the class in the way that teacher wanted the students to use the materials and would show work of other students, which were good examples of the finished product. The 125

students would then work with the material to produce a piece they thought the teacher would like and complete a written evaluation of the project. Usually, this process would take two weeks or less from start to finish.

So when I started my teaching practice, like a good student, I followed the model that I had witnessed. However, I have always changed what I have done from semester to semester because I get bored with doing the same projects. Although DBAE is a great method for creating an organized class, and I will still use some of the basic structure in my instruction, I wanted something new and challenging. I recently came across a book called Engaging Learners Through Artmaking: Choice-Based Art Education in the Classroom, by Katherine Douglas and Diane Jaquith, published in 2009, through a random Google search about students and fostering creativity. I started to look into Choice-Based Art Education and ordered the book. It was more geared to elementary, although I teach secondary, but I liked the idea that the students generate the motivation and idea process for their artworks. There are a lot of websites that support these ideas. These ideas made sense to me because I was always trying to get my students to think more like an artist and less like a machine that generates a product for the teacher to grade. Our students have to be ready for a world market, where it is more important to be creative then to punch numbers. So I used some of the ideas from the book, some from web pages from other teachers, and some of my own practice in the classroom. I am giving a basic structure to the class with the use of centers, and this lesson explains what a class period would look like and offers suggestions on supplies for one center, the drawing center. This approach does take some time to set up, good classroom management skills, and a teacher who is willing to have fun! What does the classroom look like?

You can have as many or as few centers as you want and can work with any medium. In my ceramics class, we just have a clay center and a glaze (or finish) center. In my art class, I have a drawing center, painting center (advanced class – printmaking), and mixed media (collage, 3-D, bookbinding).

The centers: I have gathered a variety of materials, information cards (menus) about the media, sign-in sheets, historical information, and biographies of artists that can guide or inspire the young artist. I have them on a table that I have covered with paper that has outlines of the supplies, which are numbered, so I can keep track of the supplies at a glance. This makes it easier to order and maintain supplies. In the Drawing Center: Menu Card (Informational Card that tells how to use a supply, and clean-up, as well as some artist information.) As well as the supplies, which are listed later. What does the class period look like? I am teaching on a block schedule.

It takes some time to set up the environment of a choice-based classroom. I spend two weeks on the centers and procedures, like how to cleanup. After that explanation, I follow the structure below. I introduce each center one at a time. I use the demo time to give some beginning projects or small projects to get them used to the process of using the center. I call the small projects “mini projects” or “skill building” projects. 126

Warm-up: 10 mins. (Independent practice) students get started in their sketchbooks, which they have made. The warm-up is a response to an art question, or an art drawing challenge, or a drawing that they copy. If the drawing is a copied drawing from another artist, the students draw using direct observation and then use their own creative talents to draw that image in a different environment. For the direct observational drawings, I like to organize the images by the alphabet or numbers as a guide to start; and yes it is cheesy, like A is for ant. This approach is great for students who are absent because they can just pull the “A” warm-up or the numbered warm-up that they missed. So the students draw the ant in their sketchbooks from the copy on their desk, but then they have to draw a creative environment for the ant, like making it a space ant or a soccer ant, etc. Kids love this assignment because it gives them license to create but structure to start. In addition, I try to find or draw warm-ups myself that break down the drawing to the basic shapes. Teacher Demonstration: 15 mins: It kills me to keep the demonstration to 15 minutes, but I time myself and when the timer goes off I stop, or try too. I talk about a center procedure, materials, artist, or anything that drives me. I like to use cool previewed clips on artists, like from Art 21 and Craft in America. They can be found at www.pbs.org/art21/ and http://www.craftinamerica.org/ Studio Time: The Most Important Part! 5 mins: Planning time: In their sketchbooks, students create a plan of attack for the day. They decide what center they want to use, an idea for the medium or process they want to use, etc. The Plan of Attack should state the medium, size, concept or big idea, and maybe a title. Just Go for It! Studio Time: 35mins: If the student is lost, I tell them to try a new medium or look through the artist books. Students can work together or independently. Let go and see what happens—this was hard for me. Students need to sign-in to a center in the first 10 minutes, and be working. I am always on my feet moving around the room, or sometimes, I work on my own artwork, you just have to get a feel for the class. They do love it when I paint. Cleanup: 10 mins. I check the center and everyone who worked at that center is responsible for the cleanup. If is not cleaned-up, then they clean it right away or the station is closed, and the class gets no studio time next class period. (It will happen once a semester, and I just do a book assignment or follow the teacher assignment next class period.) Learning Log: Students are to reflecting on their studio time. They have to write in full sentences. (I have a page in their sketchbooks talking about sentence structure, like using a noun and a verb as well as adding descriptive adjectives for kicks. Their sketchbooks: Each page is set up like a day in class. They have a space for the date and warm-up. Another space is for the Teacher Demo notes or ideas, and the Plan of Attack for studio time with the medium, size, concept and title. The Learning Log is a space to write about the studio or class experience—type or write it out. I also put in all of the essential information about basic art concepts, assessment pages for the big studio projects, and some blank pages for fun. 127

Drawing center material and supplies:

Ideas for Artists: Springville Museum has great posters for the classroom. I use this one by Robert Barrett with my students as a good example of realism and use of charcoal. (Both artworks mentioned here are on the CD.)

The drawing below, by Carlos Robert T. Barrett, Camille, Seated (2002) SMA Andreson is a good example of conté crayon and perspective drawing. I like that it is full of overlap and detail. Just look at the windows! Each one has its own character. Carlos J. Andreson, Bois Chappono Poli, Paris (1932) SMA

Other Artists: Super Cool Sidewalk Chalk artist: http://www.julianbeever. net/ Julian Beever is great for perspective drawing and creating illusion in a work of art. He really tricks the eye of the viewer. Students just love that. Tessellations: http://www.mcescher.com/ Kids love to do tessellations and M C Escher has great examples. I add more artists all the time.

Supplies for the drawing center: How I keep up with supplies is that I check them every two to three days, and mark down what needs to be replaced. I order mostly from the district and from Russ at Reuel’s. http://www.reuels.com/reuels/index.html (40 percent off most supplies and they deliver for free!) Someday I will have a check-off list to make ordering easier, but I’m just not that good right now. 128

My students are required to bring a number two pencil every day, so that is not in the center. Drawing pencils: some 4B, 6B, White Erasers, Colored Pencils, Crayons, Paper to cut for templates/ some circle and square templates, Tissues for blending tools (I just fold a tissue like a snowflake to make it into a blending tool.) Still-life materials: odds and ends (I like going to the DI for toys.)

Charcoal kits: Compressed Charcoal, Tissue for blending the ground, Charcoal pencil, Kneaded Eraser, Some drawing pages for fun and lots of how to (Copies of how to draw the face, the body, and various animals) Projects or Assignments: I have two types of projects. One is skill building, where the student is trying out a new medium, style, or concept that I have introduced to the whole class. I have skill building days when the students have one day to complete the task I have given them, like experimenting with watercolor. This introduction ties into using watercolor at the center later and allows students to free up their creativity. I grade solely on completion. They do have a list of things they need to do on the project, but if they complete the listed items, they get full points. The second type is their studio project, which they have five of in the semester (I aim for five, although they usually finish four). They complete a proposal for the project, get it approved by me, and work independently, with guidance. I do set up little deadlines along the way to keep them motivated, or they try to do the whole assignment at the end. The little deadlines are to have their concept written or sketched in their sketchbook, the proposal written, to check off the proposal with the teacher, have a first review, and second review with a critic, write an artist statement/ personal assessment, and a final review with display of their work. ASSESSMENT Skill based project: Check-list Example: Creating value using compressed charcoal as a ground.

Check off if completed: Five points each ____ I created an overall ground using the compressed charcoal. ____ I used templates to create shapes in the compressed charcoal. ____ I used tissues or a blending tool to take some charcoal away to create the look of light. ____ I used a kneaded eraser to create a sense of light in my drawing. ____ I sprayed my drawing to keep the work from smudging. ____/ 25 points Studio Project: Get checked off by the teacher: ____: Concept sketches in my sketchbook (5 points) ____: Completed proposal form (10 pts) ____: Check off proposal (5 pts) ____: First review with the teacher (5 pts) ____: Second review with fellow student critic (10 pts) ____: Completion of the artist statement (25 pts) ____: Completion of the personal assessment (20 pts) ____: Final review with display of work (20 pts) ____/ 100 pts 129

Name: W a r m u p N u m b e r

Period: P Center l a n A t t a c k o f

Date:

Idea

Teacher Demo:

Learning Log

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Task Party
6-12 grades Visual Arts lesson by Jethro Gillespie What is TASK? “TASK is an improvisational event with a simple structure and very few rules…

TASK’s open-ended, participatory structure creates almost unlimited opportunities for a group of people to interact with one another and their environment. TASKs’ flow and momentum depend on the tasks written and interpreted by its participants. In theory, anything becomes possible. The continuous conception and interpretation of tasks is both chaotic and purpose driven. It is a complex, ever shifting environment of people who connect with one another through what is around them. It is also a platform for people to express and test their own ideas in an environment without failure and success (TASK always is what it is) or any other preconceptions of what can or should be done with an idea or a material. People’s tasks become absorbed into other people’s tasks, objects generated from one task are recycled into someone else’s task without issues of ownership or permanence.” -Oliver Herring OBJECTIVE Students will be able to improvise multiple, creative, and divergent solutions to problems, or tasks, as they interact together and improvise within certain given constraints. STATE CORE OBJECTIVES Students are able to make meaning through the exploration of different materials, media, and processes (see USOE standards in all secondary classes under Making, Perceiving, Expressing, and Contextualizing) 131

A designated space, a box (for the tasks), slips of paper to write tasks, pencils, markers, crayons, colored papers, tape, post-it notes, any kind of paints, feathers, fabric, leather, foil, pens, etc.

ACTIVITY Set out an empty box and a pile of small slips of paper. Also set out any other materials that the participants may use. Instruct the participants that the rules are as follows: 1. First, everyone should write down a task, put it in the box, and then take a different task from the box. 2. Next, they must complete the new task they received by using any available materials. 3. Repeat! Each participant should always replace his or her own written task by taking a new one from the box.

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ASSESSMENT The focus on this project is on process, not product. The interaction between participants ought to be enjoyed and celebrated as they engage with this activity. Depending on your space and situation, you may want to invite your students to participate in a discussion after your TASK party is over to unpack, explore, and revisit what happened. A class discussion could give your students an opportunity to share their thoughts, ideas and insights related to their individual experiences with the activity. SOURCES Web: http://oliverherringtask.wordpress.com Video: Art21 Season Three (Oliver Herring clips) Book: Oliver Herring: Task (coming in October, 2011)

4. No one should do a task that they have written themselves.

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The Art of Play: Fostering Creativity & Innovation
Interdisciplinary Work

Creating Interdisciplinary Curriculum for the Secondary Level by Flossie Chua, Jessica Hamlin, Joe Fusaro, & James Rees

For the past year I’ve been setting up opportunities for my students me to collaborate with other classes. The disciplines I have worked with have been dance, English, graphic, video and electronics. Collaboration and interdisciplinary work allows for the dynamic interaction and exchange of learning that extends beyond the traditional art classroom. My interest not only stems from seeing the interesting results, but more importantly because I believe it to be perfect preparation for students entering the 21st century work environment. Here are a few general guiding principles to consider when setting up cross-curricular or interdisciplinary projects.

I. SPECTRUM OF POSSIBILITIES FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM

When planning interdisciplinary curriculum, it is important to consider whether you want to fly solo in your classroom, or whether it is more feasible to work collaboratively with another teacher or expert. One issue you might want to consider is that of opportunity, for example: • • If you are considering working with someone else – Do you have access to another teacher or expert who you can collaborate with? Are there ways that you can ensure that both you and your teacher/ expert partner can find time to discuss and possibly teach the unit together? If you are thinking of teaching the unit alone – Are there resources that you can learn from if you want to teach the unit on your own? Are you ready to invest a good amount of time to learn what you need to teach the unit well?

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Teaching an Interdisciplinary Unit Individually
This approach entails strategically selecting a particular aspect/concept/method/etc. that you think will help students understand the topic better, and then learning it and bringing it into your teaching/unit: 1. 2. 3. on your own through reading core publications (the sources that practitioners in that field might read themselves or find a good college textbook that will inform you about the primary methods and concepts for the discipline) in the field from a colleague who teaches that discipline by consulting an expert who practices in that field (e.g. an historian, an economist, an artist)

The crucial thing to remember is that such strategic interdisciplinary teaching does not require you to learn the new discipline in its entirety; instead, you are thoughtfully selecting and learning specific ideas or methods or ways of thinking in that discipline that will help your students learn the topic under study. When your intention is to use another discipline to illuminate certain ideas at some point in your unit, or to initiate conversations, you are likely to be thinking about implementing an interdisciplinary moment in your unit. In this case, the new discipline is brought in for a specific task or purpose at one or two points in the unit, but is not integrated throughout the unit On the other hand, if you have crafted a big question that cannot be adequately addressed unless a new discipline is brought into your unit, you are likely to be thinking of deep integration. In this instance, the disciplines are integrated explicitly throughout the curriculum, and that integration works towards addressing the big question

Teaching an Interdisciplinary Unit Collaboratively
Collaborations usually require either team teaching, or having experts from another discipline come into the classroom to talk about the topic under study. If your intention is to include an interdisciplinary moment in your unit, one way to go is to invite an expert or teacher from the new discipline into your classroom to provide a different disciplinary perspective. You may choose to either have the expert of teacher conduct a one-time presentation, or come into your classroom multiple times to present concepts, methods or ways of thinking from his/her home discipline. In this kind of minimal collaboration, you do not need to work with the teacher or expert in planning your unit, but you do need to be clear about what aspect of the other discipline you require the expert or other teacher to teach in your class. In deep integration for a collaborative unit, teachers from different disciplines come together to plan, teach and assess the same class for a particular unit of study. The aim of such collaboration is to support students in addressing a complex topic that cannot be adequately studied using one discipline alone. Teachers either teach the class at the same time, or teach the class in separate periods. However, each discipline carefully insures that students develop the necessary disciplinary understandings that build towards answering a big question that demands cross-disciplinary understanding.

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II. SOME IDEAS FOR CURRICULUM INTEGRATION Below are some ideas for how you can use another discipline in your classroom:  1. `Hook’ The primary purpose of this is to provoke student interest and to start conversations about the topic under study. This is usually used to begin the unit, and is useful in evoking initial responses to the topic that can be revised as students explore it further. Examples for the art classroom: • In a unit on the theme of protest in art, art students listen to MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech, and then write in their journals about which ideas particularly resonated with them, and sketch their responses to the ideas. Students can then share the ideas through a bulletin board posting, and discuss how different drawings picture this speech in different ways. In a thematic unit about the role of advertising in shaping values, students look at the work of Barbara Kruger, as well as popular advertisements from major newspapers. Individually, students pair Kruger’s work with advertisements that in some way reflect what she’s commenting on. Each student then makes a “wall label”- about one or two paragraphs- that explain the connection to viewers.

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2. Content/Ideas As content or ideas, a different discipline can provide additional material that will either (1) deepen understanding of the topic by providing more nuanced information or perspectives, or (2) challenge current understanding by bringing in divergent ideas or alternative viewpoints that force students to reconsider their understanding. Example for the art classroom: • In a unit on the symbolic language of art installations, students explore the language of Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet or King Lear, where figurative language is used to bring to life a character (e.g. Romeo’s description of Juliet in their first meeting) or to evoke the power of a scene (e.g. Lear’s tumultuous descent into madness). In a unit on text-based art, students are asked to perform words designed to “look like they mean”.... For example, each student designs a word that looks like it means (how can “icy” look icy, or “bloated” look bloated?) and then trades designs with another student. Pairs film one another performing the words they received...

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3. Technique / Methods Here, methods that are used in different disciplines are foregrounded so that students consider the following questions: How do methods in different disciplines intersect or diverge? Are there strengths in using the methods to address the topic under study? Conversely, are there limitations to each method in addressing the topic?

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Example for the art classroom: In a unit on the artistic process, students watch the Youtube interview with Ishmael Beah who talks about his writing process for his book A Long Way Gone. Students then chart the intersections and divergences between the artistic and writing process, and say whether they see limitations in each process. 4. Assessment A different discipline can be useful in tracking the development of student understanding in the course of the unit, as well as assessing student understanding at the end of the unit.  Example for the art classroom: • As a final assessment for a unit on “Body Image,” students are tasked with writing a persuasive letter to the school principal stating why his/her artwork should be exhibited on the school premises to raise awareness among students about the importance of developing a positive body image.   As an in-progress assessment, students are asked to order the steps taken in their process so far. They then choose a partner and compare similarities and differences to their process so far. After comparing, students use the interactive write-board (or chalkboard) to enter results on a chart for the whole class. The teacher can use this information to identify overlaps in approaches, students that need clarification or additional help, and even possibilities for getting students to vary their approaches to a given assignment.

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