Week 9: Finishing Van Gogh Projects + The Boat

Hello everyone! This week the students wrapped up projects at both locations and I learned a ton about the social prospects of visual art, so let’s discuss.

At BASIS, once the students finished their Van Gogh pieces, they did a gallery walkthrough where they left compliments on each other’s pieces. The students seemed overjoyed to read about what their peers thought they did well. The gallery walkthroughs always seem to provide a boost in self-confidence. After the walkthrough, they circled up and shouted out each other verbally- talking about what techniques they admired from their peers and so on. In the past, they used words like he copied me or he stole but today they used he inspired me or I asked how he did it and got permission. Through the year making art in a social setting has slowly helped the students learn about boundaries and respecting other people’s creative ideas. This is amazing to see.

At RHAP they went to the boat for the final time to draw the skyline. The tween students were talking about how school ending made them feel. Many remarked that they couldn’t wait for RHAP to start up again next year so they could see each other and paint. A younger student was excited to draw over the summer and draw skylines like the one they made. From observation, it appears that a big part of the emotional regulation art provides is giving students a space to socialize and interact with each other. Students are actively processing how they feel by talking to their peers while making art. Additionally, their sketches were a practice of perspective, looking at the bigger picture before adding in the details. This was a great way to practice those skills for life as well, the art process provided a practice of good habits.

More survey results are flooding in and I’m excited to finish my final deliverable. Next week is my last week on site so stay tuned for my reports on the final classes!