Illustratoricious

As life is wont to do, I have been pretty busy, and not keeping up with my own posting on our class blog. I shouldn't give you folks such a hard time. It's difficult to make time and be able to write something substantial on a blog every week! But some of you have been keeping up marvelously and I'm really enjoying your posts and the other bits and pieces of your lives as art educators that you've been sharing.

I very much enjoyed class this week again, and really was impressed with the variety of approaches you all took towards Project #3. I especially appreciated the variety of media that we got to see in your personal images, and the fact that so many of you took it as a chance to stretch your artistic legs out and make something!

Additionally our discussion was once again spirited and very enjoyable. You all have experiences at very different schools and to hear your perspectives on computers in the classroom was informative for me (and hopefully for you all as well). As we move ahead into other topics/issues, hopefully some of these early discussions will connect and provide a broader picture of technology in the arts and education. Please continue the discussions! Use the comments section or even our class message board on the portal. The conversation is only as strong as you make it.

Finally, on to Illustrator! I want to thank Meredith for taking on the daunting task of doing the workshop, and hopefully some of you all will take advantage of her additional workshop offer this week. I thought she did a great job and deserves a hearty round of virtual applause. If you all do have any questions, please feel free to contact either myself or Meredith.

Thanks folks, and I look forward to seeing all of you at the Children's Museum this thursday evening!

Digital Photobets and more...

Three weeks past and so far I've really enjoyed getting to know the class and seeing everyone's projects. The Digital Photobets were all creative (even the staged ones!) and I thought the abstract compositions really created some unique images. I hope the class enjoyed getting out and about, and exploring the city while also gaining some new perspectives on their surroundings. I particularly liked how individuals would relate stories of stopping and taking photos when they had finally spotted that single letter which had evaded capture in the digital image realm.

I also hope everyone enjoyed the visit to the Hyde Park Art Center. I will once again mention that if any of you have ideas for shows, projects, workshops, etc. that you're interested in putting together, let me know! Serving as an incubator for artists and teaching artists is one of our goals as an institution and I'd be happy to support you all not just in class, but outside of it at the Art Center. I also appreciate the feedback on our website. It's helpful to hear the outside perspective and look at changes we can make.

The conversation about the 21st Century skills paper was also spirited and insightful. Articles we read in class will not always reflect 'best practices' or follow in the philosophy of SAIC's Art Education department. It's important to know that there is research out there that contradicts, confuses, or even scares us as arts educators. Take the knowledge and use it to inform your own practice and philosophy.

Hope everyone's enjoyed class so far. Can't wait to see the personal symbols in next week's class!

Fascinating First Week

Some very interesting posts and fun introductions to the class. I enjoyed reading all of your blogs and look forward to many more entertaining and educational entries. If you haven't posted your critique yet, please do. Otherwise, please also feel free to explore the formatting, picture and video loading, and other features of your new (or in some cases pre-existing) blog.

See you all in class tomorrow night!