Katie Lovegren

ART 39596-03

Self-Critique and Learning Application Assignment

When I think about what kind of teacher I was before I took ART 395/396, I was and still am a

teacher that is focused on the social emotional development of my students first and academics second.

I have strong beliefs that when students needs of belonging and care are being met first then academics

can follow more successfully. Art is a wonderful way for students to express themselves and I think since

this class I have learned so much more than just what kinds of projects and activities can be made or

created but to be able to teach my students to appreciate and create with an understanding of the

fundamentals, principles, and elements of art in mind.

The skills that have been developed in me that I plan to use in my future teaching are first planning,

connecting, and developing ideas. So many of our assignments focused thoroughly on how we

connected to our piece. When we did the string art activity, we had to really study what happened on

that paper and ask ourselves how we can connect our experiences to what we are seeing in that piece. I

want my students to learn to dig deeper with their art and find that connection to themselves and the

outside world. I want them to express themselves freely and then be able to also, plan and envision

what they want the outcome to be. In my classroom their will only be analyzation for what they are

trying to achieve and how they can get there. There will be no judgement of right or wrong but how can

they make changes to be more successful to reach their own goals. So many times, I thought, what am I

doing, what am I trying to carry out, and experimentation proved to be just as important to finding out

what was working and what was not.

The most beneficial part of the class for me was the exposure to different supplies and the work

samples. I appreciated that we were not all doing the same thing all the time. I wish I would have spent
more time looking at others art on our TAB days. I tend to only use canvas and acrylic paint when I do

any kind of art now. Occasionally I have painted pots, or wooden bird houses. By stepping out of my

comfort zone I have seen how I can create layers of texture using different mediums. I have also learned

that not all paper works well with watercolors and oil pastels. I have also learned that it is not as easy to

work with watercolors as it is to work with acrylics. I do not have the same control with watercolors.

Knowing what might work best for certain projects can help me to direct my students to the proper

mediums. If I allow my students to choose on their own, which I will, I think it will be important to

review and process why something was more successful and why something was not. Much like when I

was working with oil pastels and watercolors. I knew the oil pastels would resist the watercolor but the

trouble I was having was with the paper. My professor informed me of this and so the next time I try this

technique I will make sure to try a different kind of paper rather than just give up on oil pastels and

watercolors. I can use the knowledge that I learned about mediums to help guide my students as well.

Watercolors has sparked my interest. As I thought painting is painting prior to this class I have learned

that it is not. It is a completely different skill than painting with acrylics and I would very much like to

grow in that skill. I have a sister who paints beautifully with watercolors, and I would like to show her up

someday! I have seen some amazing examples of watercolor paintings in our classroom, online and of

course from my sister. I would very much like to work on the control needed to paint the things I want

to with success in the way I want the images to look. When I tried it, I felt like it was messy. I could see in

other samples that you can create some fantastic whimsical illustrations with watercolors, and I want to

be able to achieve that kind of success. I think when we look inside ourselves and realize that we are all

still learning and that we do not have to be perfect at everything at once we understand what it means

to be a student who is struggling to learn or practice something knew. Being able to empathize with my

students and their learning struggles and successes can help me connect with their emotions that are

tied to their projects. I hope to be a teacher who practices patience and a sense of calm through tense
learning experiences so that my students can feel at ease and experience joy in what they are doing

throughout the process of learning.

For me creating art has always been my happy space. A calmness falls over me whenever I sit down to

create a project. The most challenging task for me was breaking out of what I wanted to do and how I

wanted to do it and work with something foreign under time constraints. Time constraints that were

created by my busy schedule and my own inability to let go of stress. This will be something that I will

work on continuously so that I can grow as a teacher.