My new tactic this year was to have a practice day. I invested some of my budget in enough modeling clay for a whole class. My plan for the rest of the year is to have a practice day before making the real clay project for whichever grades it seems necessary. The modeling clay can be reused for this since it will never dry out (supposedly).
So day one of coil pots was making one step-by-step with the modeling clay. I tried to check on each student to catch the ones who were having trouble at the start. We practiced rolling nice even coils, putting them in the proper place on the base, blending the ends of the coils together. And in the end, we squished it all up! Sometimes art is just the act of creating.
Day two I warned them the real clay was different and there might be some different instructions so they had to listen well. I walked them through the coil pot again step-by-step and let them finish it up on their own. While they did that I made sure to stop at each table and check each student's work. Most did not need much help since they had done it once before, those that did I could concentrate more on.
Their coil pots are a hundred times better this year. Almost all look like a pot, and most are well constructed and less uneven. Even the patterns they added look better.
I think some of their success was because of some changes I made in how I taught the steps, and because I made a bigger effort to check everyone's progress early on. But I feel those are small things compared to practicing ahead of time. When they made the real pot it wasn't their first time, it was something familiar to them and I could see they were more confident about it.
Also, they love clay and they don't get to use it very often. A one day coil pot just isn't enough. The practice day allowed an additional day of working with clay without having to worry about wasting clay or storing it.
It's often hard to find the time in elementary art to do a practice piece first, or to make some planning sketches. But whenever I've taken the time to have them do it their final art is usually higher craftsmanship, more creative, and better thought out. I'd like to try to fit it in more often. What do you guys think? Do you usually have students practice something first? Do you have any ideas for quick practice?
That is reflective practice at its best! With high school students, I find that "practice makes perfect" for almost every project. I'm guessing that it would be the same with other grade levels as well. Whether a practice sketch, practice cutting glass, practive sculpting....the project always come out better. Think about your practice as an artist, if you jump right into a painting or any work of art, you probably do a thumbnail sketch, color planning or somekind of planning process. I know it is more materials and time, but in the end the art making process makes for better results.
ReplyDeleteTo shorten practice time, you could just do a 10 minute warm up activity, or spread out the practice over a couple of different sessions. Set a timer for the students.