My practice as an art educator is continually informed and enriched through my ongoing experiences as a teacher, parent and professional artist. My guiding star in this process is determined by knowledge of the value and meaning of the arts. I have seen the magic that can occur when students are engaged in projects which enable them to make meaningful connections. I believe it is important to convey and defend the significance of the arts within secondary curricula. Aesthetic experience can reconcile ourself with the world. Pain, suffering and contradiction are redeemed through aesthetic encounters which comfort us with their truthfulness. Art conveys subtleties beyond language and the consoling power of art to remove arbitrariness from the human condition should never be trivialized. Artmaking can act to recuperate loss; authentic engagement with materials generates purpose, and there is meaning to be found in offering creative acts to others.
Education is inherently good in its own right and its true purpose lies beyond instrumentalized knowledge. Art education in particular is generative to a life well lived through the value and meaning it adds to one’s life. Through my experiences as an art educator, I have witnessed the power of the arts to positively impact student life experience. Art, expression and visual literacy are especially relevant to youth who are undergoing a rapid period of growth and transition in a complex and quickly evolving world. Creative, hands-on experiential learning develops personal agency through independent judgement and open-ended problem solving. In addition to open inquiry, art education supports viewpoint diversity by helping students see themselves in relation to others and to the world from multiple perspectives. The arts are intricately connected to the growth of cognition and the pursuit of meaning. Like truth and goodness, the aesthetic is generative to reconciliation with the world.
Grade 11/12. In this project each student received one found painting from the thrift store to creatively alter as they saw fit. In the example above, the student added two polar bears to transform a still-life painting of flowers.
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