Managing the Art Room: Risky Business

The average amount of time spent looking at a work of art in a museum is 28.6 seconds—that’s from a study done at the Art Institute of Chicago. What chance do our young students have of grabbing a viewer’s attention and achieving visual communication in the span of a few breaths?

One thing we can do is to help push students out of what is expected, teach in broader thematic strokes, and with less teacher-driven expectations. Sometimes all it takes to stand out is to push 2D artwork out into a 3D space, or draw on something unexpected. Keeping the focus on communicating a message instead of making a set project also helps to open minds.

Where It All Started
I had a conversation with a beginning art student that stuck with me. We were drawing facial features when she shared with me that she was getting more out of the process of the exercise and saw symbolism and meaning where I didnʼt. I was sad I had missed the opportunity to go deeper with the lesson but grateful the student had gotten there on her own. I vowed to ask big questions and take more risks in my curriculum, keeping a solid foundation while allowing room for personal growth, putting less emphasis on questions like “How do I mix my skin tones” and more on exploring issues such as, “Why are self-portraits important?”

A Collaborative Class Culture
There are several things art educators can do to encourage risk-taking. It’s important to establish a collaborative culture in class. Every lesson should include lively brainstorming sessions—an environment where ideas are in constant flow that allows for discussion and time to generate multiple versions and ideas.

Students should develop the habit of creating several thumbnail sketches before beginning. It takes up studio time, but the results are worth it. Another way to create interesting work is by using altered journals or deconstructive processes.

Encourage students to choose and play with materials and methods; this helps create an authentic art practice and encourages risk-taking. Use a rubric that includes originality and artistic behavior so that students see the process as a valued part of their grade.

Challenges
In a risk-taking open-ended environment, there are a lot of things going on at once: One student might be using a hot-glue gun, one student might need a stack of family photos scanned, and another might need to raid the recycling bin. This might create a headache for some teachers. Instead of passing out oil pastels to everyone, the teacher needs to provide each student with individual assistance and instruction. It can be exhausting, but it’s the best kind of exhausted state—one where every creative synapse is firing.

On a practical note, have a system for recycled materials or delegate that organization to an art honor society student who needs service hours. Collect and sort everything at the end of class to maintain order to a potentially chaotic environment.

Benefits
Students truly stand out from the herd when they invent their own methods and choose their own materials. New skills are learned and shared with peers. Problem-solving sets the bar higher, and eventually this creates a culture of originality.

Taking risks encourages students to go deeper. Instead of a lesson to make a self-portrait, ask students to show a hidden side or an internal portrait. Any teacher who has been teaching for more than a decade might need a boost themselves. Teaching “tried and true” successful lessons year after year can be tempting, but students can tell if you are bored, and their work will suffer. I’ve also noticed that students who take risks get rewards—they are more likely to win art contests and scholarships.

Risk-taking doesn’t need to cost anything. I always get scrap wood from the theater teacher, leftover house paint from staff, old toys from students’ siblings, frames from thrift stores, discarded books from the library, and more. One of the most important things you can do for students is to encourage them take risks and to ask Why? What if? How else can it be done?