Sketch Book Reflections
Welcome to my sketchbook! Here, I will visually reflect on the material from my Art Education course.
Reflection 1:
Holidays and Traditions
Last class, we explored the challenges of celebrating holidays and traditions in a diverse art classroom. The United States is a melting pot of wonderful people who carry their rich cultures and traditions with them. Historically, America was a predominantly Christian country, widely celebrating holidays such as Christmas and Easter. These holidays have been used to create art curricula that are now non-inclusive for many non-Christian students. Many kids may feel isolated and singled out for not celebrating such holidays, which is the opposite of what we want to achieve in our classrooms as educators.
My sketchbook reflection highlights the emotional and social disconnect between students who celebrate Christmas and those who may not. The snow globe represents the safety bubble of following the same traditions. At the same time, one student sits outside, cold and isolated, away from the social safety that comes with conformity to tradition. This is exactly what we want to change. Instead, as art educators, we should use neutral, inclusive seasonal art projects that fit our students' collective experience.
Reflection 2:
Elementary School Visit
I had the privilege of visiting not one but two different art classrooms at Eagle View Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia. The experience was informative and gave me a lot to think about as I move forward in my journey to become an art educator. I left with one very important question I can't answer: “Is elementary school for me”? I am confident that with time and after the other two school visits, I will have some sort of answer, but for now, let's discuss what I experienced.
For this sketchbook entry, I wanted to highlight some of the amazing things I saw in both classrooms, especially Mrs. Smith’s art room. In my opinion, her room was the ideal art room. It had lots of light, color, posters, and top-tier organization. Each crayon color had its own drawer, which really stuck with me. To show what I saw, I used photos I took of Mrs.
Smith’s classroom and a stock photo of crayons, and arranged everything in Photoshop before printing each piece. I then glued everything to my sketchbook page to complete
the composition. On the other side, I was inspired by the "Lines" poster Mrs. Smith had in her classroom, so I decided to draw the various lines with crayon.
Reflection 3:
An Ode to Media
As a kid, I loved art but was never the best at it. I practiced and practiced, but I could never draw anything that met my standards. So until high school, I saw art as something I liked to do, but never something I could be successful at. That changed when I discovered digital art. With digital art, I could combine two of my favorite things: playing on the computer and self-expression.
To create this sketchbook entry, I digitally combined various images in Photoshop. I then printed them out and attached them to my sketchbook. The front page of my sketchbook entry features a hand reaching out of a computer, holding a heart. This represents how digital art has touched my heart and extended the boundaries of what I thought was artistically possible. The glow-in-the-dark stars in the background represent the infinite possibilities that lie beyond a digital screen. The vintage computer reminded me of my childhood family computer, which I was addicted to. On the back, I wrote a phrase I often said as a kid when I hung out with my friends: "wanna play on the computer?"
My Ode to Media:
Oh, media, my media, where do I begin?
One day we were strangers,
and now we are much more than friends.
Your glowing screen captivates my soul
and ignites my spirit,
Didn’t you know?
Oh Media, my media, there is nothing we can not make.
So many pixels and layers; you shake my creativity awake.
With buttons and keys I create something new
Bringing to life what my soul only knew.
Oh media, my media, you let me undo
Remake and rework so the old is brand new
With Adobe and Procreate, a stroke of my pen
I lose track of time and fall for you again.
Reflection 4:
10 Things I am, and 10
Things I am definitely not...
Earlier in the semester, we did an exercise where we wrote 10 things we are, 10 things we are not, and 10 things we might be. We had limited time to think about who we are, at least who we are to ourselves, and I absolutely struggled. Surely I know who I am, and of course I do on a literal level, but what about on a deeper, more intimate level? That's where I got stuck. After we filled out our papers, our task was to bring them to two people who knew us and ask them the same questions, but they filled in the blanks about who they thought we were. After reading their responses, I felt so seen and known, and I couldn’t believe I hadn't fully seen myself before, but now I could through their eyes.
For this sketchbook, I decided to draw my favorite animal to represent me. On the first side, the fox sits in the rain, pondering who they are- very dramatic, I know. But I wanted to represent how easy it is to see the worst parts of yourself first. On the flip side, the rain has stopped, and the sunshine is out. This represents how great it felt to be seen in such a positive light by those around me.
Reflection 5:
Frost Middle School
I had a great time visiting the art classrooms at Frost Middle School. The creative energy everywhere inspired the colorful illustration on the first page. The two teachers we observed were wonderful and gave us lots of great advice. I wrote down two of my favorite quotes from them. I decided to use colored pencils for the teacher quotes because I am currently using them for my 2nd studio exploration. Overall, I had a fun time and wanted that feeling to come through in my sketchbook response.