Week 4- Using Stimulus as Inspiration for Creation

In todays lecture, we discussed the painting the Windows in the West and using this as a stimulus as Inspiration for Creation. This allows learners to look at real-life situations and be inspired by the work to go away and create their own.

After studying the painting of the Windows in the West in our visual arts workshop we were given an A5 polestyrine sheet and asked to draw a part of the painting on the sheets ensuring that we covered the whole area. After completing this we used paint rollers to paint the sheet of polystyrene then has to transfer the painting onto a piece of A5 paper to make a print. We completed this another four times using the same colour of paint however with different coloured paper each time to show the different effects the back ground colour can do to the painting. We then had the chance to add any more drawings on our polystyrene sheet and pop out random sections. Finally, we used different coloured paint to go over the sheet of polystyrene and print this different colour of paint onto our original copy for an amazing effect and contrast of colours. The following pictures follow this process:

  

 

 

Using this painting as a stimulus as Inspiration for creation proved that everyones creativity is different. At the end of the process we looked around at each other paintings and realised that every single persons outcome was different. Therefore this shows that everyone looks at things differently and we all see different perspectives. Anna Craft (2007) discusses the idea of ‘possibility thinking’ which means that by giving children a stimulus to work from were are allowing them to think for themselves and create there own piece of work from this. I would definitely use this lesson in my future classroom as I feel that learners are able to express their own thoughts and creativity after examining the painting and processing the different ways in which they can build on their own imagination from this activity. In addition to this, the use of prints allows learners to adapt their work. At the beginning of the task I actually turned over my polystyrene to start again as I was not happy with what I drew in the first place. This was a massive learning curve for me as I realised there and then that nothing can be perfect and art is simply a way of doing. I then turned my piece back over and used what I originally had. However, prints allow children to change or swap colours to improve their work and increase their satisfaction with their work instead of starting from the beginning. Lehrer(2012) speaks about redraft as something that is essential when creating something that you’ve never done before. I agree with this, coming from someone that would constantly change their drawings or rub out their work in art in school.

Today was our first day drama input where we used the story of a dragon as a stimulus as inspiration for Creation. We began the input by discussing our thoughts and our experiences of drama whether it be in school or out-with school. Unfortunately, I did not have much experience of drama at school and therefore, I was a little apprehensive about doing drama and of course teaching it in the future. However, this input has calmed my nerves a lot and has allowed me to see the many benefits of teaching drama at school. Drama allows people to be someone else and gives you the chance to see what life can be like in another persons shoes. I love this idea as learners would be able to feel and see certain views and problems people address in life in another light. As a future educator, I would like to have the ability to teach learners that everyone has a different story to tell and not everyone has the same opinions and I feel that drama is a subject that would teach this. I feel this quote sums up arts learning as a whole but after todays session I now see the huge advantage that drama can bring to learners in school:

“Arts learning can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork. ” (Smith, 2009, n.p)

All four of these factors can be developed in not only a drama lesson but any Arts lesson. Using a stimulus for creation through drama will give learners the ability to think for themselves without a teacher firing long, boring facts at them.

During our drama input today we covered four useful teaching points in drama: teacher in role, freeze frames, improvisation and thought tunnel. We began by taking on the role being villagers who were being traumatised and upset by a dragon that was flying lowly one their village and breathing fire, destroying many of their homes. One tip for teaching drama is to always ensure that the drama is child-friendly. Our lecturer began to explain that this was a social problem between relationships that we needed to fix. Teresa Grainger(2003) believes that drama can not only solve but create social problems and I agree with this. This allows learners to stop and gain an understanding of peoples backgrounds before judging them, for example why the dragon was blowing fire at the villagers. Andrew, began by calling a meeting with the villagers by acting as the mayor using teacher in role. Teacher in role is used when a drama is being introduced and the teacher must act as a character to show the learner the drama.  At the meeting we discussed what we were going to do to save the village and stop the dragon from destroying it. In groups we used freeze frame to come up with a tribal dance to warn off the dragon. A freeze frame is when the group poses in a certain position and one person would step out and discuss what was going on. Unfortunately this technique did not work and another meeting was called. We then found out where the dragon lived and agreed that we should go and talk to the dragon to allow it to give us an explanation. We used another technique, improvisation, to act out us climbing up the mountain over rivers, through long grass to get to its house. When we arrived we used hot seating to question the dragon why she was flying so low and breathing fire on our village. We then discovered that the dragon in fact was not deliberately destroying our homes, it was lonely and loved to fly down and watch the villagers. The dragon explained that it got too excited and breathed fire. Finally, we discussed how we could help the dragon and agreed that we should invite the dragon down into the village and made an agreement with the dragon not to get to excited and breathe fire. Looking at this lesson, children will gain the message that you must not judge a person until you know their whole story and that you can give people help and advice if you just ask. I found this input extremely fun and interesting because I could control what we done to the dragon the lesson was not in control by the teacher. As a teacher, in drama I should always give learners the chance to ask questions and question them into what they think is best. Anna Craft(2007) argues that possible thinking is how creativity is brought out the most in children. This lesson allowed children to value their own message instead of teachers putting information in their heads and getting misunderstandings or confusions.

Thought tunnel is the last technique we used where children can stand in two lines facing each other and the character of the drama must walk down the middle. Each child must either say a word or sentence about their thoughts and feelings towards the character. This was my favourite technique, from a teachers point of view this shows if the learners have understood the message behind the lesson.

Overall, my opinion on drama has completely changed after this lesson and I feel that I now have the ability to teach drama confidently in the future. I also love that drama is a subject that requires learners to work together and share thoughts and feelings with each other (Craft, 2007). I look forward to the next drama input to build my understanding more. When implementing an integrated arts programme, using stimulus’s can be very helpful for children’s learning as it allows them to develop their understanding of the arts and build on their own work.

References 

 

Anna Craft (2007) Creativity and possibility in the Early Years (online) Available at: www.tactyc.org.uk/pdfs/reflection-craft.pdf [Accessed: 8 October 2017]

Smith, F. (2009). Why Arts Education Is Crucial, and Who’s Doing It Best. [Online] Available at: https://www.edutopia.org/arts-music-curriculum-child-development [Accessed 11 Oct. 2017]

Teresa Grainger (2003) Creative teachers and the language arts: Possibilities and potential, Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education. 31:1, 43-47, DOI: 10.1080/03004270385200071

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