Leading and serving in the classroom exploded my heart and soul, for the adventures were many, the needs revealed too, and the magic of humanity present in the midst of all the making too much to harden me at all. Inclusively, it made me softer - more human. My experiences as both an art teacher/yearbook adviser have only helped me grow as a person, artist, and creator - forever grateful I’ll be!
A sketchbook was given to each student artist, where they were taught to begin cultivating a daily practice of sketching, developing ideas, and taking notes. Middle school is a huge transitional time where students are also gaining organization skills, so showing them the value of keeping all their developing artwork in one notebook was of great importance. I absolutely loved flipping through the students’ sketchbooks: this is usually where their best, silly, and true selves showed up as comical cartoons, illustrated song lyrics, and more. Breaking out in some form of chuckle never failed.
Our first unit focused on elaborating the difference between observational and imaginative drawing. In their previous art classes within elementary campuses, students learned to draw objects as they referred to them in their brain, and this mostly meant that the product ended up looking similar to a clip art image to be found online. Students were taught to deconstruct still life objects into basic shapes first so that they could begin to understand how to really observe form and space. We also enjoyed some play time by creating quick gesture drawings of a very popular anime. They loved it!
At this development stage, students’ brains are beginning to be able to see small differences in detail, and this means that their ability to perceive the element of value also comes to life. We created paper curls of our own so that we could sketch and then add different shades of value through observation. Most of the students struggled at first, for having to draw a form placed right in front of them was still new to them (foreshortening also an obstacle). Creating contrast between dark and light values also proved to be challenging, but once completed, growth and magic had been made.
We then began introducing using color as an element within our compositions. Color theory was presented in a way that would be relatable for students: sneakers. Then, once we understood a bit more about it’s application and psychology of it, we began to create projects involving both value, color, and even some drawn texture. This scaffolding for future projects turned out to be essential.
The mediums of oil and chalk pastels were introduced and students sure had an opinion on them! They shared that the difficulty and unforgiving nature of applying it onto the canvas (or paper) was frustrating to them. Eventually, a lot of student’s abilities and newly gained skills began to shine through the floral still life pieces created, as seen here above. I am forever grateful for their trust in me!
To continue on the journey of “trusting the process” and seeing where an unpredictable medium will take us, students began their painting unit by diving into watercolor painting. Students first learned how to feel comfortable with the medium by creating a color wheel, then they practiced applying the water-paint ratio with skill builders. Thanks to the nature of this unit being close to the Thanksgiving holiday, students created gradient pieces sharing gratitude for their life’s blessings, as well as thankfulness for their family’s dinner table sharing dishes.
Students had fun moving into acrylic and tempera paint, as they are most familiar with this type of painting medium. They love the permanence of it, as well as strong opacity, but not particularly the smell of older tempera (they sure let me know that one). With these projects, student enjoyment is so high, that I have learned that freedom in choice for their pieces is best. The variety is awesome.
Like mentioned earlier, our painting unit is usually in the fall, which means that this perfectly tied into the Fall Fest I found myself participating in for three years. In this above example, I was able to lead a quick follow along painting session and help raise funds for our campus. Most participants were complete beginners, were so honed in, and left proud of themselves. I am proud of them too!
Some spooky little creatures (and spooky big messes) were made with these condiment dispensers and acrylic paint. The objective of this lesson was for the kids to have tons of fun and get to experience joy and play through random paint allocation. I absolutely enjoyed watching them create, create, and create so many of these, and be surprised each time they unveiled a new one.
In 2022, our Spanish and Art class students collaborated to create a campus altar for Dia de Muertos. They were taught how to create their very own “papel picado” and cempazuchil flowers created out of tissue paper as well. It seemed that learning these skills was a big hit, as tissue paper was in high demand in both our classes. During a campus wide presentation were Dia de Muertos symbolism and significance was elaborated in both Spanish and English languages, all staff and students were invited to bring a photo and item of their passed loved ones. Spanish class students also created a “calavera” poem, which is a traditional Mexican custom, to display. Salt, candles (light), the three layers of heights, and more requirements for the altar were included. What a way to honor the dead!
I’m going to be real with you and tell you that, yes, my love for printmaking was reflected in my curriculum. Truthfully though, a great majority of the students loved it. We worked with an easy cut linoleum but the process of etching still had them fully involved. It is a satisfying experience to carve out your design, and to focus on it being adequate enough for you to take the leap to test print.
The delight on the student’s faces when they revealed their first print is incomparable. One of the best parts about this is you can lay down ink and do print again, then again, and again!
Some of my kiddos that had been having trouble with the concept of school really honed in with this medium. Art and learning ends up being an emotional endeavor, and I’m so thankful it can be therapeutic too. That, and the level of wonder it creates, helps engage kids using a different type of intelligence (creativity), providing a different route for them to express, succeed, and be themselves.
The diversity of subjects that students end up choosing to work on really make me laugh. From shoes, to anime, to memes, sports and even nostalgic middle school age symbols like the “S” in the image at the top right here, always tickle me with delight. I do know I am truly honored to get to be welcomed into their brain through their artwork. I hope you enjoy these glimpses of their brilliant minds!
To ring in the new year after a holiday break, we studied the symbols seen in the celebration of the Lunar New Year. We observed how lanterns are created, as well as the significance of the red and yellow used. Students also learned about the importance of the dragon in Chinese culture, and created paper masks with their desired attributes for the new year written on them. Good reflection!
With the introduction of a new medium, comes me finding novel ways to build student skills before the main project. Before weaving, the skill builder exercise was a “Knot Camp” where the students learned multiple basic knots (which is such important life knowledge too). Then, they applied their learnings to create pom pom tassels to be keychains for their bags, keys, and more. They were proud!
Students then began making their own weavings. They were prompted to find a way to tell a story through a yarn tapestry weaving, This meant that they had to really be intentional with color choice and experiment with how they wove patterns and shapes into the warp and weft. This was a long project and sure did test their endurance! I so wish I would have photographed the end results.
To continue on the topic of textile art: On the last week of school before summer break, we had some tie dye fun with shirts donated to us by several benefactors (thank you!). The vast majority of the students had never experimented with tie dye before, and they found it so satisfying to unravel their designs after days of drying. Highly recommend this as a way to end the school year!
Students learned about relief sculpture, specifically the art of repousse, in this project unit. They created composition sketches on paper first, then traced it on.to the tinfoil, and carved to create the relief design. To add color, we used permanent markers. Students had the choice of cutting out their design or simply using the negative space to help create framing. Yet again, variety was wonderful.
This was an extremely engaging project, and they were proud of their products. I loved teaching this because it was very culturally relevant for many of the students of Mexican descent (“repujado” is how this art form is referred to in Spanish). They definitely made the connection to previous pieces they had seen. Some of these were gifted to me and I still have them decorating my space!
It was my first time learning how to use a kiln, and therefore, our first time using clay that was not air drying or polymer. Our goal was to create bobble heads, but as always, variety helped nurture student engagement. The prompt of the project was to make ceramic bobble heads, but some of the results were: “skibbiditoilet”, a big rat, charmed Crocs, the classic ceramic pizza, and a trinket dish.
I love working with clay because I get to spend all day with my hands in mud, testing my patience, gently healing cracks on the surface, molding, and expanding my 2D mind. It was a pleasure to teach it!
I credit my colleague, Mrs. Smith, for being a strong foundation of support this past ‘23–’24 school year. She helped me in a number of ways that will be forever understated. She really encouraged me to attend Jr. VASE as a sponsor, and helped fuel the process completely. A pair of my Art II students developed pieces to present to the judges, and I am so proud of how they put themselves out there.
Yearbook class at the middle school level is really stretching, not only for the students’ minds but also for the adviser’s abilities. It was definitely a challenge to have students understand these bigger concepts of consistent branding, journalism style writing, creating a successful photographic composition and how to work on a project for a full school year. Another challenge was also finding a way for students to understand why it is most important to begin a creative process with ideation, brainstorming, and thumbnail sketches. Above, you can see the photos I snapped of them planning their first layout spread through sketching - I was so proud! Kiddos are still used to “making just to make” at this age, which of course, will always have its place in our lives, but when it comes to the realm of design, finding clever solutions can only be fueled by an intentional planning process. They all worked together to create our yearbook’s spread cover design which was hand-drawn by our own Megan!
To prep for our big distribution day and also enjoy a spring Friday on our patio, we held a tie dye party where we dyed our own shirts. Each student enjoyed choosing their colors and design for their personal shirt! Then, I turned my apartment kitchen island into a makeshift screen printing studio. This is a process I meant to teach our students, but with field trips and serving our yearbook clientele during our class period, we were not left with too much time during our class time to screen print together. It was definitely nice to show up on that Monday to surprise the class with their new branded shirts as well as to unbox our yearbooks together. Their faces of relief and pride during the book reveal have “left a mark” within my memory for sure.
Our class voted to choose a design theme that spoke about who they are as a bold, colorful and diverse generation. All previous yearbooks had muted and pastel color choices, so this class really took the risk with this collateral. Some of the students that shined bright during the year long process were just that - courageous, bright, and mad geniuses. Yet again, I must say, I am floored and honored.
To close off our year, our yearbook squad visited Pentagram Design Studio in Austin, TX. They designers present were very kind, hospitable, and definitely were contagious in their passion for editorial design throughout their presentation. It was important to me for the students to see that the skills they began to learn within the school year are relevant in the real world and can actually help make them earn a living in the future, if they so desire. It was also important to me for them to see that when I geeked out about design methods and principles, I wasn’t just speaking crazy talk. After, we stopped by at their favorite fast food spot and then enjoyed a photography scavenger hunt at Laguna Gloria. It was nice to take breath of fresh air and just BE for a little under the sun!
Mrs. Smith, my colleague, led a field trip for the Art III students and I was blessed enough to tag along as a chaperone. It is always wonderful to see students be in awe of pieces, enough to snap a photo of them with their personal phones. It is also humbling to see them interact with art, and make the connections between pieces out in the world and what they learned in the classroom. It was fun!
I have loved being an educator. The people whom serve our children and passionately seek out new ways to invite them to enjoy learning are exemplar. They are true examples of servant leaders and I am thankful to connect with them. In the above photo, you can see me standing with my very own middle school art teacher, Mr. Apodaca! I ran into him at the 2023 TAEA (my first time attending) and I can attest that tears filled my eyes when I saw him. We had to snap a shot of my veteran middle school art teacher and myself as a middle school art teacher standing side by side - how cool! No words can describe all my experiences and growth that have occurred while leading my classrooms. Ultimately, I’m still in the middle of processing it all, so I will keep you updated on more learnings. Thanks for taking a deep dive into our messy, creative, and colorful learning experiences within our class times! If you are one of my students, just know I miss you and forever will be proud!