Managing the Art Room: Revisiting the Sketchbook, Part Two: Making Art to Learn

Incorporating sketchbooks into the art room supports meaningful opportunities for students to document their thoughts, ideas, and inspirations through self-directed learning.

In the May 2023 issue of SchoolArts, I described how I incorporated sketchbooks into art assignments to foster student engagement through contemporary artist research. I knew I wanted to continue having my students explore contemporary art in their sketchbooks, but I also wanted to consider how I could support them with opportunities to further expand upon their work.

Importance of Sketchbooks
Sketchbooks are an important part of the art room because they support artistic development, growth, and depth of learning and empower students to document their process and how they come up with ideas. Students can also use their sketchbooks to record information and observations, explore different media, refine their skills, and experiment as part of the creative process. Moreover, the use of sketchbooks can motivate students to explore real-world themes and issues through making connections with contemporary art.

Artists of Today
Contemporary artists frequently explore personal, social, and political issues and develop innovative approaches to art-making. Contemporary artists also represent a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, including women and artists of color, which makes them relatable to students and their interests. Giving students the chance to explore the works of contemporary artists helps them develop skills in critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. These 21st century skills are frequently evident in the work of contemporary artists due to their interactive and unconventional approaches to art-making.

Putting It into Practice
In my previous article, I discussed how I facilitated biweekly sketchbook assignments that required students to research contemporary artists of their choice. Now I wanted to challenge students to translate their self-driven artist research outside of their sketchbooks by considering the following questions: What does the exploration of contemporary art look like in practice? How can students’ previous learning inspire original works of art? To facilitate this process, I asked students to select an artist from one of their previous sketchbook pages to use as inspiration for creating a new work of art using the media of their choice.

I also discussed with students the importance of artistic integrity and how they need to take responsibility for the creation and artistic execution of their own ideas. In other words, they had to avoid copying existing works of art or reproducing an artwork in the exact style of an artist. I put these restrictions in place to challenge students to expand upon their prior learning to generate something visually new, tied to their own interests.

Closing Thoughts
Students translated inspiration from their sketchbooks into finished works of art by experimenting with different media and composition arrangements. They were highly motivated during the art-making process, and each student created something unique.
Implementing assignments that oster the creative process with the frequent use of sketchbooks empowers students to become invested in their own learning through self-led decision-making. Furthermore, integrating the work of contemporary artists into the art room supports students in exploring a variety of contemporary art contexts and sparks engagement in the art-making process.