I am lucky to teach classes that are made up of students from ethnically and economically diverse backgrounds. My goal is to create a classroom that becomes a safe space for students to express their ideas and feel successful in art-making, regardless of their ability.
I ask my students to connect with their own identities, experiences, beliefs and desire for change in the world when they plan for the content in a new artwork.
To generate ideas, students create mind-maps, personal timelines and manifestos, write short belief statements, reflect and make lists, and create blackout poetry. My classes are large, so it works best to keep our artwork small.
How could we break tradition and make larger scale artworks to display in public spaces from these beautiful ideas hiding in their sketchbooks?
My Project
Recently my students have been exploring the historical and cultural context of artists' works. Now I want my students to explore their own culture and identity and create their own visual narratives in the form of a handmade banner, large-scale painting, or pennant banner. In building a positive identity for themselves and showcasing it in their work, my goal is for students feel a sense of belonging and pride about who they are.
After exploring artists who portray their identities in unique ways and other artists who use text and language as image, students will plan an artwork that illustrates a memory, belief, dream, or fear to create a personal narrative that draws from life experience.
My students will be proud of their large-scale works because the art will be able to be displayed professionally and easily using the grommet machine and grommets.
I can train my students to use the machine on their own and will use this tool in my classroom for years to come. We will be able to creatively display our artwork in the school hallway, library, cafeteria, art exhibitions, and in local businesses.
My students often work on donated fabric, drop cloths, curtains, and other textiles to make their artwork using image transfers, paint, and other mixed media, but we never know how to display our work. During a recent field trip to an art museum, my students and I saw an incredible painting by a local artist on a piece of canvas with grommets around the edges to hang it to the wall, and we were excited about such a great alternative to traditional canvas bars.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Nadig and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
