Introductions

Hi, my name is Zoe and I am very excited about studying Arts because art was one of my favorite subjects at school. I still enjoy drawing and painting and I have included an old self portrait as part of my introduction.

Zoe

Hi Zoe, my name is Leah and I am studying M-Teach Primary. 

I have been lucky enough to travel extensively and I am hoping this experience will enhance my Art teaching abilities, through incorporating a range of cultures. 

I currently work as a Teacher Assistant, where I work with children with Autism. These children need to be encouraged to complete work, however are usually very creative. They are confident in drawing pictures, using media arts and painting. Art can also be a calming and sensory activity for these types of students. I am looking forward to teaching Art as I know the enjoyment it brings students. The arts can reach students who lack interest in other learning areas and enables them to express their own ideas.  I feel Art in all forms can complement cross-curriculum learning.

Traditional art from Vietnam and Cambodia.

Leah

Your work sounds interesting. Have you heard of Stephen Wiltshire, he is a British Artist with Autism. He draws very accurately because he counts everything.
 

Since my last post I have thought of my best arts experience. It would have to be making a fish puppet in prep as a response to a play I had seen. I was fascinated by how the different types of paper interacted with the light as the puppet moved.

Zoe

 That sounds like a great art activity and it could be incorporated into older grades as well. I was never very good at Art even though I loved, so it was difficult to think of my best Art experience. My experience happened in grade 7. We were given a task drawing a picture which incorporated something from the kitchen, the bathroom and the garden. The drawing I did had a sponge which was the trampoline, the Colgate man from the toothpaste adds and finally a garden fork which he was using as a weight to lift. Even though the picture wasn’t fantastic the teacher could finally see my creativity.

Leah