Journal Entry #21

Blog 21: What has this experience of working collaboratively added to your understanding of what one learns through art?

The theatre is a very collaborative and artistic place to work. Everyone needs to collaborate in the theatre or else the production falls apart. Because of my experience in theatre, I’m already aware that art is a very collaborative process. I liked that we were all able to teach each other through this project. I enjoyed the process of creating art with peers.

I gave a lot of thought throughout this project to the place the learner occupies in the classroom. I tried to think of what this would be like if we were working in a classroom. With this project, I learned that to maximize the potential for learning to occur, you need to be very organized (as an instructor). The more time children can spend creating their art, the better the art will be. If they spend their class time working out details of the project, they won’t get as much time to explore the potential of their artwork.

This project helped me revitalize my notions of art as a collaborative process. I was reminded not to have drawing (or painting) anxiety. Although I still think there is therapeutic value in spending time with your artwork, your thoughts, and nothing else, this exercise was very fun and added to my understanding of art as a collaborative process.