Creativity is Social

One major Aha! moment during class was the idea that art as a social act. The context in which you create art, the people you interact with, and your surroundings are all sources of inspiration. By extension this means art cannot exist in isolation. My previous belief of art is an artists enraptured in their studio, working endlessly to create their masterpiece. Within the classroom, my experience of visual art is the expectation that each student needs to keep their eyes on their own work, and copying someone is considered bad.

Something that pushed my thinking was the final activity in class - the mandalas. My previous experience with mandalas were with the adult colouring books, which I use when I want to be solitary. This was completely different with a large circle for our whole group of eight. Our process began with deciding how to divide the circle. Two ideas were presented - rings or pizza style. We compromised to create a dart board design. Next, was the the words that represent our teaching philosophy. We went around and contributed a word. To keep in mind of the elements of art we agreed that the inner ring was to be cooler colours, while the outer ring were warmer rings. Once we had a plan, we commenced! We were able to build on each others ideas and create a mandala that was unique to our group. As McArdle (2002) stated, students need to be active participants who take risks, explore and create, and in this activity we were able to do so. This is supported by Freedman (2010) who wrote,“We consider individual production, we must acknowledge benefits of a classroom learning community in which students interact, help, and push each other to improve their work” (p. 13). There was sharing of ideas, and experiences while making the art - dismantling the ideas that art is an isolating experience.

From this activity I learned the significance of making art a social activity. As supported by the Ontario curriculum, the Arts is a time when students “learn that they are part of a living and changing culture.” (p. 3). Part of that culture is found with their peers, and the previous experiences and ideas they bring into the classroom. “Everyone views the world through various lenses, and our views of the world and our life experiences inform our understanding of works in the arts. Students need to be taught that the arts are not created in a vacuum; they reflect the personal, social, and historical context of the artists. This is true for works created by professional artists and by the students in the classroom.” (p. 27). As students progress through elementary school, their sources of inspiration will come from media and peers that surround them. This can be from the videos they watch online, peer creation inside and outside the classroom, and graphic novels and animations, as shown by Freedman (2010).

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Freedman, K. (2010.) Rethinking creativity: A definition to support contemporary practice. Art Education, 63(2), 8-15.

McArdle, F. (2002). “Visual Arts” in The Arts, Young Children and Learning

Ontario Ministry of Education (2009). Curriculum Guidelines: The Arts. www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/arts18b09curr.pdf

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