Stories
Artists: Thomas Hart Benton & Diego Rivera
Studio: Group Murals: Drawing and/or collage
Artist: Faith Ringgold
- Studio: Story Quilts: Watercolor
Artist: Jean Shin
- Studio: Mini Sculptures from Found Objects
Unit 4: Stories Reflection
During unit 3 we focused on the big idea of stories. I think stories are a way to share your niche in society. Pink (2006) states that stories provide "context enriched by emotion [and] a deeper understanding of how we fit in and why that matters" (p. 115). This statement shows how stories connect with relationships and identity, and how each of these studios shares a story about our own lives. This first studio we learned about the artist Thomas Hart Benton and Diego Rivera. I focused my editorial cartoon about puns in the classroom. I depicted six different students all sitting at a desk, restlessly looking at the movie screen. I wanted the viewer to see the picture from the prospective of the teacher, so it looks like the viewer is sitting at the desk. As you read the daily news letter it is sarcastically pointing out that some teachers are lazy and do not do what it takes for students to engage in learning. I felt that this piece was very important because it is my goal to be a teacher that makes a difference, and this is just a little reminder to keep me going.
The second studio we focused on the artist Faith Ringgold. In my studio I created a quilt to tell a snippet of a story in my life. I chose the story of when I first rode my horse in an arena. I have always ridden for fun, but this time it felt like I knew I belonged in the arena. I chose yellow as my background color because it is my favorite and I wanted to install into my viewers that riding is my favorite thing to do. In my picture I really focused on the barrels and the barrel trail. This piece was a great way for me to share what I love to do and also it gives the viewer a little bit of background on my personal life.
The third studio we focused on the artist Jean Shin. This studio was my favorite out of the three because my partner and I made something, with deep meaning, out of nothing. Our task was to bring in two found objects. My partner brought in the coke cans, and I brought in the tacks. For the viewer to really understand our piece they have to think conceptually. We chose to represent red block with the coke cans. The tacks in the cans represent all of the struggles elementary education majors have to go through, like, homework, projects, and tests. We chose a brightly colored pathway leading up to our future teacher names, thus symbolizing us reaching our goal of becoming teachers.
This unit showed us the valuable lesson that stories give a way to share your identity and your relationships. The emotions behind the stories can really give an insight on a person. As Bang(2000) says “It is these 'emotions attached to remembered experiences' that seem largely to determine our present responses" (p. 73). This statement encompasses all of our studios, they all were hugely determined by emotion, and the expression of emotion just shows what is important to you. As Pink(2005) says "Stories capture the context, capture the emotions.... Stories are important cognitive events, for the encapsulate, into compact package, information, knowledge, context and emotion" (p. 103). I think this unit would be very important to implement in my own classroom because it will give you as a teacher context about your students which will in turn help you better get to know them.
References:
Bang, M. (2000). Picture This: How pictures work. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books LLC.
Pink, D. H. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
The second studio we focused on the artist Faith Ringgold. In my studio I created a quilt to tell a snippet of a story in my life. I chose the story of when I first rode my horse in an arena. I have always ridden for fun, but this time it felt like I knew I belonged in the arena. I chose yellow as my background color because it is my favorite and I wanted to install into my viewers that riding is my favorite thing to do. In my picture I really focused on the barrels and the barrel trail. This piece was a great way for me to share what I love to do and also it gives the viewer a little bit of background on my personal life.
The third studio we focused on the artist Jean Shin. This studio was my favorite out of the three because my partner and I made something, with deep meaning, out of nothing. Our task was to bring in two found objects. My partner brought in the coke cans, and I brought in the tacks. For the viewer to really understand our piece they have to think conceptually. We chose to represent red block with the coke cans. The tacks in the cans represent all of the struggles elementary education majors have to go through, like, homework, projects, and tests. We chose a brightly colored pathway leading up to our future teacher names, thus symbolizing us reaching our goal of becoming teachers.
This unit showed us the valuable lesson that stories give a way to share your identity and your relationships. The emotions behind the stories can really give an insight on a person. As Bang(2000) says “It is these 'emotions attached to remembered experiences' that seem largely to determine our present responses" (p. 73). This statement encompasses all of our studios, they all were hugely determined by emotion, and the expression of emotion just shows what is important to you. As Pink(2005) says "Stories capture the context, capture the emotions.... Stories are important cognitive events, for the encapsulate, into compact package, information, knowledge, context and emotion" (p. 103). I think this unit would be very important to implement in my own classroom because it will give you as a teacher context about your students which will in turn help you better get to know them.
References:
Bang, M. (2000). Picture This: How pictures work. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books LLC.
Pink, D. H. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.