Polish up!

I have so many ideas for artmaking that I get so excited about, that I have a hard time not pushing students onto the next big idea! So, currently I’m polishing up on my patience and it has been quite rewarding. Instead of brushing over each element of art with one art lesson, I’ve extended it to at least two lessons and such beautiful gems and geodes are the treasures that were worth the detour. When I introduced the gem and geode lesson to 5th grade, it became apparent that it was such a great way to introduce contour line and the significance of a contour line in making art and overall hand-eye coordination. And when you find such a diamond in the rough, you can’t help but show it off. So, I’ve decided to carry the lesson over to many other grade levels and it did not disappoint. 

Another way we are polishing up in the art room is by reminding ourselves that perfection is impossible. In the middle school printmaking lesson inspired by Spanish tiles, we have learned that printmaking cannot produce identical prints. It doesn’t matter how carefully we try to duplicate every step taken before, each print will differ in the slightest ways or significant ways. With this realization came a fair amount of relief as well as frustration. The perfectionist in all of us can be a force to be reckoned with, but it is good to realize that in most things we attempt in life all we can do is polish up on how we do what we do.