During the morning lecture, we were introduced to the work of the pupils in Room 13. Room 13 was described as a “social enterprise model of art education embedded in a number of primary’s and one or two secondary schools in Scotland” (Adams et al, 2008, p.11). Through this, pupils have the opportunity to work closely with artists through discussions of improvements to their own work. Artists are able to inspire children, which enhances their confidence in art. Room 13 is an ideal space for this, as there are few rules. Children are allowed to draw/paint on floors, they are not limited to A4 paper and they have support from specialists. This can reassure children that there are no mistakes in art, allowing them to express themselves more.

As a teacher, it is imperative that we do not criticise expressive arts harshly in school, as it can have a detrimental impact on children’s confidence and may impact on their future involvement in the arts. Through independent creations, we can better understand the stories that children are trying to tell through expressive art.

During this class, we were introduced to the work of Avril Paton. We were shown a piece of her artwork, entitled “Windows in the West”, which depicted a large building in a winter setting.

We were able to look at the history behind this painting through a small video detailing the processes the artist went through when creating this piece.

Picking a section of our choice from the painting, we were able to create our own individual prints. We did this by using the small polystyrene pieces that were provided and using a ball point pen, we created lines to depict what we seen in our section of the painting. While outlining our designs, we were told that we could not undo any marks that we made, therefore there were no mistakes. I feel that this is important to teach children, as many of them assume that if it is not an exact copy, then their work is “wrong”. However, their “mistakes” can create unique pieces of artwork, therefore mistakes should be embraced, not criticised. As a teacher, I feel that this is an important lesson to teach children, as it may impact negatively on their confidence in expressive arts if they are worrying that they are doing tasks wrong.

Once we had our outline, we moved on by using a board covered in ink to print the outlines onto coloured card. This card was folded in half to make Christmas cards.

Having a choice of materials was beneficial as a student, as it allowed for more creativity and uniqueness. This would be an easy, fun activity to implement into the classroom as it can be observed easily by the teacher, and allows pupils to use different materials and processes.

After the lecture in the morning where we were introduced to Isobel Laird from South Lanarkshire Council, we were then given an arts lesson in which she instructed us to create a washing line, a background and a wall. We started with the washing line. We were told to draw a washing line with clothes on it without lifting our pen off of the paper, which Isobel demonstrated to the whole class. We were all given the same size of white paper in which to draw this washing line, which we were to complete using watercolour paints supplied by Isobel. After the completion of the first task, we were then informed that we would now be making a background.

We did this by using the watercolour paints again, but this time we were to simply choose any colours and cover the piece of A4 white paper completely so that no white was left. While that was drying, we started our last task. As a group we were given a picture of some type of brick work, e.g. a wall or a building. We were instructed to concentrate on the contrasting colours and shapes of the bricks which we would be replicating.

I used a variety of shades and shapes to create my wall, as did my peers. Although we all had the same materials, we all produced slightly different pieces of art. I think it would be more beneficial if we were given more freedom of creativity, therefore stepping away from the uniformity of art in the classroom.

As teachers, we should always strive to have a tolerance for ambiguity. It is important that we do not force children to produce the exact same outcome as their peers within the arts, as it can impact on their confidence if they feel like they have not done as well as their peers. We should also accept their mistakes and allow them the opportunity to learn from them.

One technique that the teacher implemented was “Reading the Picture”. This involved talking to the class as a whole and informing them about a certain piece of artwork. In this case, it was coastal scene. The teacher explained what the picture entailed in detail, and we were left to use our own imagination to create similar yet original paintings. During this session, we were not using “traditional” paint brushes. We were invited to use the materials presented to us in the form of things tied to sticks. For example, my “paintbrush” consisted of a long piece of string that was wound into a spherical shape on the end of a stick. I also utilised the end of the stick to achieve more precise lines in my painting. This enabled us to exercise our imagination and learn how to paint in a different style. I started my painting with an A3 sheet of light blue paper which I then proceeded to paint the background onto, e.g. the waves and the sky/clouds. Once that task was completed, I portrayed the boats and scenery.

We were introduced to different aspects of art through the work of Primary pupils. Some of the artwork consisted of interpretative drawings, scribbling and landscape design. This showed a variety of abilities and creative processes that the pupils worked through from the curriculum. We were then instructed to discuss what we thought about the stages of artwork, and how they linked to the age group. we were introduced to different aspects within art using the work of Primary pupils.

One piece of art that stood out to me was from a middle primary pupil who drew a rabbit.

I was particularly drawn to this piece of work, as the contrast between the paper and the drawing was really eye catching. This was a good example of still life drawing.  The way that they used the materials given to them to create the lifelike fur and texture on the rabbit was impressive to me, as it showed they had a good grasp on texture and dimensions. The use of materials was effective in this particular piece, and it showed that the pupils had an element of freedom and creativity within the classroom. The work was created with the use of black sugar paper, with a brightly coloured pink border. This enhanced the attention grabbing aspect of the drawing. Limiting the materials available to children can highly impact on their creative work. They might not be able to produce a piece of work that’s as effective if they are limited to only white A4 paper, for example. Giving children a choice increases their originality and resourcefulness, therefore impacting on the work that they can produce. As a teacher, it is important to have a tolerance for ambiguity, therefore hindering uniformity and enabling children to express their creative processes.

Another piece of artwork that stood out for me was a piece by an upper primary pupil who created a striking portrayal of a house.

I think that this piece would have been created over maybe 5 or 6 art lessons in school, as it is an intense piece and it looks like the child has put a lot of effort and time into producing it. This is proven in the palpable detail of each individual brick. Again, this piece was made on black card, which made the painting stand out more to me. I also liked the contrasting colours, like the use of green for the bricks and windows. The distinction between the shades of grey and blue colours and the bold green makes this piece very detailed and deep. This combination of things gives the painting a slightly ominous ambiance, and intrigues the viewer.

This would be an ideal lesson for a themed writing lesson or perhaps a drama lesson in future. As a teacher, I would start the themed learning off with maybe an art lesson such as the one above, and then proceed to talk about the house, e.g. what might have happened to it to make it look like that, or who lives there etc. Next, I would instruct the class to make a plan for their writing story, and they could use their own artwork and imagination to create detailed story lines which could later be used as a drama lesson.