The Artist Mindset

in the Early Grades

 Learning Outcomes

1. Familiarize yourself with the mindset, attitude, and values that

must be developed in young learners to help foster a healthy
attitude toward the practice of art.

2. Reflect on the presence or absence of these artistics values in

your own life as an art and consider how to develop them to the
point that you can encourage their development in others.
 “Nemo dat quod non habet”
(You cannot give what you do
not have)
-Latin Maxim
 Any practicing can tell you that art first begins in the mind, with artistic
skills serving only to create what is already seen in the imagination. The skill of
an artist can, thus, be seen in how faithfully it can translate what he or she
imagines into work of art. If there was nothing held in the imagination —no
finished picture, painting, drawing, or sculpture —even just fleetingly, can the
end product be truly considered “art”?

It is, thus, necessary to identify the habits of mind —the mindset —that art

educators should both possess and seek to develop in their students in the early
grades through the teaching of art: the values, philosophical positions, and the
focus needed for art thrive in Philippine education.
Think
A. Inspired by Daily Experiences and Encounters
Part of the “ artistic sense” is a sensitivity to beauty  —not just in big and grand
spectacles and experiences, but particularly in the everyday things we see and experience
as we go about our lives. This is difficult to explain and likewise teach for a number of
reason:

1. Exposure
The ability to see beauty every day does not appear out of thin air; rather, it often takes
someone else explaining to us how something simple and commonplace can be beautiful, and
in terms that are appropriate for us developmental stages. Students will need to be exposed to
artwork that celebrates the commonplace over the course of several occasions before the
lesson sticks.
 2. Context
-It is almost a cliché to say that beauty is subjective; that is, what is beautiful
depends on the individual. It can also be said that beauty depends on the context. We know
it when we see or hear it, but when something is framed within the right context, it
suddenly appears beautiful. Conversely, when something is placed in the wrong context.
We do not perceive it as beautiful.
3. Age

-Children are naturally drawn to the novel, the unusual, and the exciting. Bigger, bolder,
faster, brighter, louder are a guaranteed formula to gain the interest of children. Action and
movement excite them, whereas the comparatively slow, methodical pace of everyday life
does not. Educators will need to tailor the experiences they have planned for young learners so
that they both communicate the lesson while holding the learners’ interest.

-Man has been inspired by nature since the dawn of the time of man, and the ability to
appreciate beauty in nature appears to be innate.

-Events have also been great source of inspiration for artists.

-An easy overlooked opportunity to teach beauty in the everyday context is in the
simple act of coloring a picture. The picture can be chosen to be exciting, dynamic, full of
movement and action, or simple and quite, with nothing particularly exciting going on.
 B. Constantly Curious

-While curiosity is often cited as a characteristics of scientists, it is also an essential part

of being an artist, albert that while a scientist might be curious as to what is in the design of a
bird’s wing that enables it to fly, an artist might be curious as how to make the wing “look alive”
even when rendered in static, unmoving work of art. Where scientist is curious regarding the
how and why of natural phenomena, an artist should be curious regarding how to make beautiful
things given a set of limitations and parameters.

-Because there will always be limitations and boundaries, artists should also be constantly
looking for ways to integrate art into areas and disciplines where art has not traditionally been
part of. These areas and disciplines will have their own boundaries and limitations, which for the
artists can provide the impetus for artistic innovations not possible anywhere else.
Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)
 C. Open-Minded
-Related to curiosity is “open-mindedness,” which is the willingness to be exposed to new
ideas and to consider them on their own merits. It is the quality of not being “locked down” by
particular set of rules or principles for the sake of tradition, but rather a willingness to wrestle
with ideas and ways of doing things that might be very different from our own.

Some areas where an open mind is an artistic asset are:

1. Lack of resources
2. The idea of perfection
3. Criticism

-The practice of art can be an expensive endeavor.

-Open-mindedness is also an asset when it comes to the idea of “perfection’ in art.

-Lastly, an open mind is necessary for an artist to benefit from criticism. All criticism, valid
or otherwise, involve a measure of pain for one being criticized.
D. Art as Authentic Self- Expression

-Art can be defined as any expression of the inner desire to create beauty. Thus, the desire
to create something that is beautiful is the defining feature of the artist. Since beauty is varied and
multifaceted  —a thunderstorm can be beautiful, just like more pastoral landscape —art can, thus,
be varied and multifaceted.
-To the point is that art is art because the artist wishes to express something.

E. Art as Self- Expression

-Expanding this concept, we see that teaching art is not limited to a simple technique —the
how of art —but must also include teaching it as a means for students to communicate feelings,
experiences, interests, and desire —the why of art. We can see this idea at play in the tension
between “being true to oneself” vis-à-vis “giving the people what they want”

-This translates to the classroom by teaching students to use their art to express
something that they feel, rather than simply feeding off the works of others.
 F. Valuing Authenticity

-Wrapped up in the mind and heart of an artist is a desire for affirmation.

-This nuance can be easily lost to young learners, for whom validation of their artwork can
feel like personal validation. As a result, there might be a strong desire to simply imitate the work
of others for sake of the validation it brings. This is not “authentic self-expression,” rather it is
kind of “feeding off” of the works of there.
-Do note however that is in the nature of learners to learn via imitation, which should be
encourage up to a point.
G. Enjoyment in the Process

-It would be very strange for an artist to not enjoy the process of creating art —after all this
is one of the reasons why he or she is an artist. An artist must enjoy the process, pain and simple
 —or else pursue something other that art.
-Let us be very clear with this: Everyone feels the desire to create beauty, but only an artist
perseveres when the process of creating beauty becomes tedious, frustrating and repetitive for the
sake of producing something beautiful. This is why artist will endure long, lonely hours of
drawing a pattern by hand.
-As an art teacher, you will find learners with a varying degree of patience and grit.
-Make no mistake; sooner or later, the artistic process will became difficult. When it comes
to young learners, the goal should not be attaining mastery of any artistic technique.
Thank you!