Art education is broad, very broad. But that’s the beauty of it. I teach classes from 12-16 year olds. Much of this is the practical artroom activity, the painting, the drawing but with a reasonable dose of art and cultural history. Add to this some digitaliztion and pupils working with iPads. And finally, for added complexity my role as a language teacher due to the fact that my lessons are taught in English to classes of Dutch children and you will start to get the picture of what I mean by broad.
The classes I teach to 15-16 year olds go a step further into art and cultural reflection and take in still broader perpectives, film, theatre, visual art, applied art, dance, music, etc. Its a specifically Dutch subject, requiring pupils to not so much produce art forms of their own, but to reflect on and think about those of others. It is a fantastic subject area to teach offering the chance to show how any number of cultural practioners work and how their work has a place and relevance in the world around us.
Below are a collection of my posts that relate particularly to the art and cultural classroom.
A creative workshop 120 fifteen year olds in one day – art and language combined
From reluctant participant to beaming performer….in just three days
Art and student debt – Mart Veldhuis in Dordrecht
The luxury of a project, but the balance has to be right!
Why didn’t I think of this earlier? – The graphic novel, language and creativity combined
Grabbing your opportunities and pushing the profile of the art department
A flying start – migrating into the new school year
Getting twelve year olds to look carefully at Renaissance art and architecture
Art lessons, homophones and Ukrainian homophones
Its a simple idea…..using photopea.com to look at colour and tone
Boys choosing fashion design….as sign of changing times?
What the art teacher did (outside of lesson times)
Are there artists too difficult to use in educational projects?
On learning not to fear the chaos……of a printmaking session
Cooperative and collaborative learning – lessons from the artroom
Finally “Viva la Frida” opens!
Can’t see the trees for the drawings – the start of the school year
“Do you think everyone will actually go for a walk?” – getting the landscape into the classroom
When needs must, Covid creative and educational choices…Minecraft in and out of the classroom
Digital presentation of pupils work, PR possibilities and a future assignment
Story telling, illustration and digital books, language and creativity in the art room
Art, language and typefaces (a design project with a CLIL extension)
What the art teacher did…..apart from just teaching
Art and language project – Merletcollege
The return of an ex-pupil to my (now digital) classroom
Materials problems and online art teaching
Reflections and results from the distant learning art room
Fashion, Digitalization and geometry
Perspective drawing and a crowd pleaser – instructions for painting
Perspective drawing and a crowd pleaser
A film of our times – with a Dickensian echo
Dare to think beyond the familiar – fashion design with teenagers
Using technology to make use of an analogue trick
Street art, but just outside the classroom door
Rineke Dijkstra, Rembrandt, Night Watching and our pupils in the Rijksmuseum
A secret art project…..and a unique opportunity
End of year…..jobs you just don’t get to the rest of the year
The eyes have it, in the history of art and in teenager art
The loneliness (and rewards) of the long distance examiner
Sworn to secrecy in Rembrandt year
Well-being and the arts (part two)
An ex-pupil, art history and medical observation
The teenage photographic challenge
Stealing the physics’ department thunder…and a little art room magic
The photos I couldn’t possibly post….
The power of the crowd (and small technical steps)
Capturing the imagination – a photographic remake
Visages Villages (Faces Places) – a film review….and educational possibilities
Surreal sculpture and the challenge of being creative with language
A tale of two sketchbooks continued…..
Feeling a bit like an artistic magician…..
Showing images of violence to teenagers
Music buying habits of teenagers, copyright and my quietest lessons of the year
Once in a while something special comes along – Cartomania
Digitalization – finding the right fit
Swept along by a film assignment – feel free to use the idea!
Photography, posters and teenagers bedroom walls
A simple exercise in tonal work
Hieronymus Bosch, Chris Berens and Oss
The immigration issue and the role of education
Tonal drawing and a favourite non-Internet resource
Once in a while something special comes along…..
Grabbing the attention…..and making a point
Peter Sansom 