Earth's careful gardeners: uncovering, connecting and creating meaning.

Earth's careful gardeners: uncovering, connecting and creating meaning. As art educators, we engage students in the process of uncovering,connecting, and creating meaning across disciplinary boundaries. Thefollowing pre-K through fifth-grade unit's objective was forstudents to discuss, plan, and create works of art that represent theimportance of taking an ecological approach to life and living. It began with artist Joseph Norman's work, Dangerous Gardens.Each class participated in a discussion of Norman's art and theimportance of being careful with our Earth, through recycling, reducingwaste and understanding the importance of plant growth to theircommunity environment. UNCOVERING MEANING As elementary-school students studied JosephNorman's Dangerous Gardens lithographs, they uncovered visual cluesto decipher Same as decrypt. meaning. They learned that Norman grew up in a cityneighborhood on the south side of Chicago. His childhood home and schoolwere surrounded by concrete, sidewalks and streets, with very few grassyareas or gardens. The only place young Norman and his friends could playwas in vacant lots, which were often filled with dangerous trash, oldrefrigerators and uncontrollable weeds. These were frightening placesfor Norman when he was a little boy. Using information from books about Norman and his work, studentslearned that Norman created this artwork to remind people that neglectcan make for a very dangerous and scary place for all of us to live.Discussion about Norman's Dangerous Gardens connected issues ofecology and stewardship with purposes of art. What can we do to preventDangerous Gardens in our community? CONNECTING MEANING In many places around our schools, we see signssaying "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." What does reduce mean? Howcan we reduce our trash? What's in our classroom trashcan? Is thereanything we've thrown away that could be used again? How many papertowels could be saved if we only used one when we dried our hands?Shouldn't we use both the front and back of our papers, take careof our pencils, and think about the trash we so easily toss away eachday? Further science connections were made through meaningful links tosafety, plant growth and soil nutrients through the recognition of plantforms in the art, as well as through an exploration of the words"dangerous gardens." CREATING MEANING In addition to uncovering and connecting meaningto other disciplines and realms of experience, students took ameaningful approach to their own art-making. Pre-K students created seedpacket designs following a discussion of the ways some plants andflowers grow from seeds, observation of seeds, sprouts and plants andvarious seed packets and the formulation of their own imaginary plant.They practiced holding their markers, making different kinds of lines,and using different symbols, shapes, and colors in their drawings. In addition, they had to think personally and meaningfully as theywere challenged not simply to make a seed packet for an existing plantbut to create a plant that somehow was meaningful to them. One studentcreated a seed packet for a "remember to brush your teeth"plant. Another 4-year-old wanted a plant that would feed her dog. Whilestill another young student created a seed packet by drawing arepresentation of her family with a "new-baby-brother plant"growing between them. The kindergarten students created collage representations of safegarden tools using geometric shapes This is a list of geometric shapes. Generally composed of straight line segmentspolygon concave polygon constructible polygon and colors, and explained why safetools are important both in and outside the garden. They discussed thelines and shapes that Norman used in his drawing and compared theseshapes to signs they see every day as they walk around their school.Using found objects and shaped sponges as stamps, they also createdgarden gloves that demonstrated their understanding of safety, color,line and texture. For teachers, the process of creating meaning often takes us toways of thinking and knowing that we may have previously considered tooadvanced for our students. First-graders, for example, created"ephemeral Temporary. Fleeting. Transitory. " clay sculptures of garden animals as a way tounderstand the importance of process rather than product. They learnedabout working in clay--pinching and pulling and scoring. But, perhapsmore importantly, they explored the idea that art and meaning can befleeting or ephemeral. Second-graders created mixed-media drawings of the roots, stems,leaves and flowers of an imaginary "art plant," using warm andcool colors to represent processes of plant growth. They used symbols torepresent the ways that specific parts of their plant would function.For example, as the roots of a plant bring in nutrients, they were askedhow art is nourished nour��ish?tr.v. nour��ished, nour��ish��ing, nour��ish��es1. To provide with food or other substances necessary for life and growth; feed.2. . They decided to draw images of eyes and ears asroots of their plant, because art results from a close observation oflife. After a discussion of the clay and soil of their community, and theprocess of ceramic firing, third-graders created ceramic pots using slaband pinch techniques, which had fossil-like textures they created withstamps. They compared this to the printing process that the artist usedin his work. The pots were used as containers for the plants thestudents grew from seeds and would become the subject matter fordrawings, where students would practice con tour and proportiontechniques. The fourth-grade students created murals using a grid-drawingtechnique of a still life of recyclable objects, plants and gardentools, followed by the creation of relief sculptures using the recycledmaterials. They practiced observational drawing, paying particularattention to proportion and the perspective technique of overlapping. Fifth-grade students created garden gates and fences for animaginary water feature in their "Earth's CarefulGardeners" exhibition to mimic the ways that fences control land,and dams (gates) control and redirect water. They did this by creatinggroup mural muralPainting applied to and made integral with the surface of a wall or ceiling. Its roots can be found in the universal desire that led prehistoric peoples to create cave paintings—the desire to decorate their surroundings and express their ideas and beliefs. paintings following their design sketches. They practicedpainting techniques, mixing colors, and reviewed primary, secondary andtertiary colors. Through their verbal answers to questions during the discussion ofNorman's Dangerous Gardens, students in a containedspecial-education class demonstrated an understanding that vegetablesgrow in gardens. They created drawings of vegetables (naming thespecific geometric shapes: circle, square, rectangle and triangle) andused them to construct two-dimensional collage faces. They also createdthree-dimensional faces using vegetables and toothpicks. Every student traced their hands on white paper, cut them out andthen drew signs and symbols that explained how they personally can becareful with the Earth. All classes also were involved in informalcriticism activities. They looked at their and each other'scompleted art products and talked about the meaning they conveyed, theways those meanings were conveyed, and how or if their personal ideaswere changed as a result of making and looking at the art. Throughoutthis and the other activities in the unit, students referred toNorman's art for ideas, comparisons, and to reconstruct and rethinktheir original interpretations of the work. This unit of instruction was intricately connected to state andnational standards of learning in both art and science (Life ScienceContent Standards C, D, E and F). It is important to note, however thatthe art teacher did not teach science, but merely assisted the studentsin thinking about science through their study of art. Students wereprovoked to think about the ways their choices and those of the artistreflected the idea of sustainable living Sustainable living might be defined as a lifestyle that could, hypothetically, be sustained without exhausting any natural resources. The term can be applied to individuals or societies. and/or taking care of theEarth. In the school cafeteria, an exhibition of student work was held,featuring their drawings, paintings, writing projects and designs, whichwere attached to large green banners with teacher names and grade levelspainted on recycled newspaper. A large banner and explanation of theunit, with information about the artist, a poster of his DangerousGardens, and the connections between art and science, were displayed atthe entrance to the cafeteria. The entrance also featured the fifth-grade students' muralsand a small water fountain, fenced off by a border made from tracingsand cutouts of all the students' hands, on which they wrotespecific personal plans for becoming a "careful gardener." The event culminated with all the classes taking a slow tour of theexhibit. Student representatives acted as docents in front of each classdisplay, explaining the work and process involved. Text panels with thisinformation hung beside each banner, along with thought-provokingquestions. The visual arts provide an excellent catalyst for exploringinterdisciplinary and personal meaning in students' education. This"Earth's Careful Gardeners" unit of instruction involvedan entire school in uncovering the meaning in one work of art,connecting this meaning to other classes and realms of experience, andresponding by students creating their own meaningful works of art. MATERIALS * White paper * Small envelopes * Banner paper * Seed packets * Tempera tempera(tĕm`pərə), painting method in which finely ground pigment is mixed with a solidifying base such as albumen, fig sap, or thin glue. paint * Paintbrushes paintbrushessee castilleja. * Construction Paper * Scissors * Glue * Markers * Clay * Colored pencils * Fruits and vegetables * Toothpicks TEACHING TIPS 1. Choose works of art that can be readily researched andinterpreted. As you engage in the uncovering process, look for art whosemeanings are relevant to visual art and other disciplinary curricula aswell as contemporary issues that affect students' lives. 2. Curriculum standards are guides for interdisciplinaryconnections. Make sure that visual art and other subjects are exploredauthentically and are grade-and age-appropriate. Working with otherteachers is also an excellent way to be sure that the connections youand your students make between the art and other subjects and realms ofexperience are meaningful, appropriate and accurate (H.H. Jacobs,Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Design and Implementation. Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, or ASCD, is a membership-based nonprofit organization founded in 1943. It has more than 175,000 members in 135 countries, including superintendents, supervisors, principals, teachers, professors of education, and , 1989). 3. Design art-making and other hands-on activities that involvestudents in a direct and personally significant response to the meaningsexplored in the work of art. Make sure the activities are flexibleenough to encourage the students in personal-meaning-making. 4. Include challenging reflective activities such as classroomcritiques (orally and through written exercises) as well as formal andinformal discussions of an exhibition of student work. National Visual Arts Standards of Learning * Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques and Processes * Using Knowledge of Structures and Functions * Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols andIdeas * Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures * Reflecting Upon and Assessing the Characteristics and Merits ofTheir Work and the Work of Others * Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines Associate Professor Pamela G. Taylor is Chair of the Department ofArt Education at Virginia Commonwealth University Formed by a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968, VCU has a medical school that is home to the nation's oldest organ transplant program. in Richmond, Virginia Richmond IPA: [ɹɯʒmɐnɖ]is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. . ABOUT THE ARTIST Born an March 9, 1957, Joseph Norman grew up as a relatively poorchild in a tiny neighborhood that lay between a large public housingproject and a dilapidated industrial area of the south side of Chicago.Norman's natural ability to draw gave him a ticket out of theghetto. Norman received his M.F.A. in drawing from the University ofCincinnati The University of Cincinnati is a coeducational public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ranked as one of America’s top 25 public research universities and in the top 50 of all American research universities,[2] . He also holds an M.A. in art education from the Universityof Illinois University of Illinois may refer to: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (flagship campus) University of Illinois at Chicago University of Illinois at Springfield University of Illinois system It can also refer to: and a B.S. in art education from the University of Arkansasat Pine Bluff HistoryThe University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, was founded in 1873 as the Branch Normal College; it was nominally part of the "normal" (education) department of Arkansas Industrial University, later the University of Arkansas, but was operated separately due to . Norman's art is housed in the permanent collections of theMuseum of Modern Art in New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , the Corcoran Gallery and the NationalMuseum of American Art in Washington D.C., the Pennsylvania Academy ofFine Arts, the Fogg Museum of Art at Harvard University Harvard University,mainly at Cambridge, Mass., including Harvard College, the oldest American college.Harvard CollegeHarvard College, originally for men, was founded in 1636 with a grant from the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. , otherprestigious university galleries such as the Rhode Island School ofDesign Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)One of the most eminent fine arts colleges in the U.S., located in Providence, R.I. It was founded in 1877 but did not offer college-level instruction until 1932. , Brown University and Fisk University Fisk University,at Nashville, Tenn.; coeducational; founded 1865, opened 1866, and chartered 1867. It became a university in 1967. Fisk, long an outstanding African-American school, is open to all qualified students. , and numerous corporate andprivate collections including Harpo Productions (Oprah Winfrey “Oprah” redirects here. For the show, see The Oprah Winfrey Show.Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) is the American multiple-Emmy Award winning host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest-rated talk show in television history. ).--P.G.T.