The Room With A Hue

At the end of class on Wednesday, a 3rd-grade artist said she had something she wanted to show me. I walked over and this is what I saw on the table. Doesn’t seem like much at first glance, right? She explained that she had been thinking about our 5-minute demo that day, where we talked about Dav Pilkey as an artist who engages and persists in his life and work. I shared a short video where he talked about his ADHD and dyslexia, and how he felt about failure. She told me, “I really liked his message about sticking with it and not giving up because I have friends who have the same disabilities. So I’m making this for them.” She explained that the paper on the left, a printmaking experiment, she wanted to turn into a sunset. She also said that she wanted to add the quote, “You got this. Do not give up.” (seen on the bottom). On the right, she showed me how she was envisioning her piece’s base by adding different bands of color with different materials (shown by the checks). She said a fe

This past weekend was our district’s art show. The care and dedication put into each piece were incredible. And I could feel the pride emanating from my artists as they saw their work on display. Just as I reflect on what makes a quality art student, I think often about what makes a quality art show. There is so much that goes into a child’s care art: highlighting the end product alone just doesn’t do the work justice. This year, the art show was structured as a learning experience for the community as well as a showcase of student achievement. (There was a poster about “Process over Product” as well, but in my mad rush to document everything I forgot to take a picture.) It’s my hope/dream that art shows everywhere will someday become primarily opportunities to showcase kids’ artistic processes rather than just celebrations of end products. I’ve seen a recent movement in that direction, especially from TAB art programs, and that makes me so grateful for the work we do. My mind is alrea