My interest in art curriculum was sparked long before I knew I would be teaching. College interests and studies put me in touch with early art education theory in Germany as it was perceived at institutions like the Bauhaus. Places where art training challenged students and allowed them access to a wide variety of art media in newly created foundation courses. After completion of the foundation course, students would have the opportunity to focus on their selected area of concentration.

Today my Art program seeks to build student confidence, familiarity, and skill in working with a variety of materials across many disciplines. A cognitive developmental theory where a problem centered curriculum places at its core thinking - forms of problem finding and problem solving. While planning my students’ experiences I focus on what they should learn from participating in my program. Final outcomes will always be somewhat unpredictable because of the nature of each child’s uniqueness and creative direction.

Nearly one third of my program is spent drawing and painting. Students are challenged to work from life and from their imaginations. While learning a working art dialog they use design principles to make their artwork more visually compelling and meaningful. The remainder of the curriculum is spent in the areas of collage, paper maché, weaving, sewing, sculpture, printmaking, and ceramics. Experience in a particular discipline is revisited multiple times within the year, strengthening each student's understanding in that area. Students also learn about art in a historical and cultural context, as it is relevant to their studio work.

I view school art as a training ground for visual perception, a place where exercises help better prepare students for their personal art making. Time is limited and the students’ perception should be affected by each and every lesson. Visual perception starts when they are born and continues throughout life; it is an important part of the thought process. I believe that teaching the basic foundations of art within a structured system helps students see more. Art is a system and the curriculum should be too.

student work

art education

Elementary

Junior High

High School