Jessica Provow

Ronald B., inspiration: school nurse assistant.

Students wrap up their eighth grade year with one final art project—one that students and staff members always look forward to. It generates studentsʼ interest and drive, even though they only have a few weeks left in the school year. This assignment is called the TeacherInspired Artwork, and itʼs an opportunity for students to create an artwork for a teacher or staff member who inspired them during their middle school career.

From bus drivers to core teachers, electives, and guidance counselors, students choose someone who impacted their school life during their sixth-, seventh-, or eighth-grade year. Students could choose someone who teaches their favorite subject, someone who made them enjoy their least favorite subject, someone who has been emotionally supportive of them, someone who has made them feel happy and safe in their classroom, or even someone who simply always had a smile and a friendly greeting for them.

Discussing Symbolism and Developing Questions
To introduce this project, we discuss symbolism through images and color and how this can be helpful when designing a work of art with a well rounded individual as the subject.

Students then develop a Q&A and interview their chosen teacher. The questions range from educational, personal, and even humorous and silly ones such as, “If you were an ice cream flavor, which would you be?” The range of questions gives students a full view and understanding of their subject as a person, as someone who is not just a teacher or staff person who lives, sleeps, and eats at school, but someone with a full life and interests. Students use all this knowledge to formulate design ideas for their final artworks.

Sketchbook Planning
Students choose a two-dimensional technique to demonstrate during their sketchbook planning process and develop symbols associated with their individual. At this point in the curriculum, students have learned a variety of two-dimensional techniques, explored a range of media, developed an understanding of color, and mastered compositional techniques. This project is very open-ended and gives students a way to showcase what they learned throughout the school year by producing a strong technical and symbolic work of art.

Preview Mode - Subscribe to unlock full content