Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Midterm Generative Topic Refined...
When I am finally in front of a classroom, my goal is to spread the therapeutic value of art to each student. I myself have practiced art therapy for years and know that connecting my body and energy with my work is productive not only for school but for my own individual development. So...I made the glass/wood piece to show how breathing through muscles can ease tension in the body. If I were to incorporate this as a generative topic in the classroom I would say: create a physical image of tension in your body. This could be translated as a self-portrait, and would work best with high school students, who are constantly struggling with self representation.
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connecting your body and energy with your work is a great theme for a class. Many projects/assignments can be planned from that.
ReplyDeleteFor example have them choose colors to represent their moods.
Blind fold them, and allow their movement of hands represent their emotional state
etc.....
I too am interested in art therapy. I think its a interesting, and new way to approach disabilities. It is also very creative, because I feel like art can mend you on the inside, even if you yourself are not an artist. Anyone is able to express themselves through creation, whether it is painting, sculpture, photography, etc.
ReplyDeleteAlso, its great that you can apply this idea to the classroom and have high-school students use it as a form of self expression. Its not easy to say 'I have a problem,' You can instead express this without using words, and rather by making art.
Tension and discomfort is definitely not a stranger to the average high school student. Constantly being put under academic and peer pressure is something that is a sometimes unavoidable everyday experience in the lives of kids today.
ReplyDeleteGiving them the chance to vent through their own means of expression can be a great way of healing and having others listen when kids don't always have someone to lean on. I can see you having a classroom as a home away from home; really having it be a therapeutic get away where the students are free from the paranoia of being judged and scrutinized. I would love to do this type of assignment as a high school student.
Learning to understand what is really going on with your body and translating it into a visual form is a difficult thing to do, but once you learn how to do it the results are amazing. If you could teach students how to visually display their inner emotions and feelings you could get to some really successful work.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like thinking like this could change a lot of kids lives for the better. i think high school and middles school kids in particular could benefit from being taught a way to connect their inner struggles with the rest of the world
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea for a generative topic. I agree with what everyone has said so far; the healing properties of art can take you to amazing places.
ReplyDeleteI feel like a project like this could be crossed nicely with a health class, particularly when they are focusing on nutrition and body health. A project like this could help students become engaged in their health class and learn to look at art as more than what they have seen it as before.
Art can be practiced like a religion or a daily routine, especially if you think about it as a kind of therapy. This kind of project can also help students find an outlet for their stress as well as being a tool to help them discover what causes it and think about ways to manage it.
I think this project should be done with all age groups because we can all use a closer look at ourselves to help ourselves begin healing.
i would love to talk to you about art therapy. we are trying to get a bunch of people who are interested in art therapy and start a major! ill talk to you this week about it!
ReplyDeleteart therapy is a great way to express feelings without words. its very useful for many people. there is nothing more satisfying than creating something with your own hands. im glad you did this project. its very therapeutic . very inspiring!