Process-Based Portraits

Process is a challenging concept for students. They live in a time and place where they can have answers and results at the sound of their voice or the touch of a button. Creative endeavors, however, take time and processing. My students have never been more distracted and less focused than in this new post-pandemic world, so how do we as art educators slow our students down and teach the discipline of critical thinking, ideation, and the power of process?

Starting the Year with Process
I thought about this question last fall as we started the school year with our first unit, which is traditionally a time for students to get to know one another and learn art-room procedures. My colleague Kaylee Hawley and her art students joined us because our school was under construction and art electives were combined into one large group of students for the year.

Instead of starting with a quick project that I could hang up for Back-to-School Night, I ventured into the journey of process with students, culminating in an original self-portrait.

An Exercise in Identity
We started with two days of simple digital collages. Students gathered images of things that brought them joy, then presented them to the class. This gave me the opportunity to learn more about each student and proved to be a great reference a few weeks later when they were uncertain what to include in their drawings.

Self-Portrait Explorations
We did a bit of art history digging because I wanted students to understand where selfies came from and grasp the historical context of self-portraiture. We took two days and divided into small table groups of three to four students. Each group was given a stack of self-portrait art cards to curate into different rooms in fictional galleries. Students loved this, and it allowed them to be exposed to self-portraits from all over the world and many art movements. Each group then shared their self-portrait show.

Following the curated activity, students were asked to think through and illustrate some of the many roles they take on every day (student, athlete, son, daughter, dog owner, etc.). This served as a powerful thought exercise on identity, and provoked some interesting discussions amongst students.

The next day, we dove into the British National Portrait Gallery’s explanation of how to create a self-portrait. We combined this with five or six class periods of drawing faces in workshop-style sessions.

Process-Based Portraits
After all these pieces were in place, students were asked to start thumbnails for their final project. They used what they had learned to create original self-portrait works on grey-toned paper using colored pencils.

It was a simple project, but the buildup and emphasis on process allowed students to become more engaged with the work, resulting in more meaningful and improved works of art than in previous years. I had a few students ask, “When are we getting to the project?” For the most part, however, they were interested in what we were doing each day and understood that the focus was on the process rather than the product.

Slowing Down
I found that to get my students to slow down enough to produce the thoughtful pieces I was after, I needed to slow myself down. As an educator, I am tasked with pacing guides and standards and constant school events. Sometimes, I get caught up in all that and not in providing the space within my art class for processing and creative adventures stemming from student inquiries.

So, I ask my fellow art teachers: Where do you feel you’re pushing your students too fast in your curriculum? Are there ways that you could simplify conceptually what you’re after and really dig into the creative process with your students? Can you restructure how you plan and pace your year so your students can learn in a way that honors the process of creation?

I want my students to engage with process and to enjoy the different aspects of the creative process. In my own art room, things will be shifting in this direction.