October 12 & 19, 2018
The Institute provided three customized professional development workshops for Dallas ISD art educators during the fall semester. Each workshop occurred twice, once on October 12 for secondary art teachers and once on October 19 for elementary art teachers. The workshops included ceramics, printmaking, and project-based learning and were led by graduate students and alumni from UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design.
Project-based Learning: Art, Space, & Environment
During this workshop, Art Education PhD candidate and Teaching Fellow Kate Wurtzel introduced teachers to project-based learning as a way to engage students in actively investigating real world topics and issues through collaborative art making. Teachers tried out the methodology by considering how artists can address over-population and create public or private spaces that are more environmentally friendly and socially conscious. In small groups, they thought critically about their classrooms and the school building and then planned and created visual interventions into the space which were left for the students to enjoy and engage with.
Polyester Plate Lithography Printmaking Workshop
Led by MFA candidate and artist Aunna Escobedo, this workshop introduced teachers to polyester plate or “Smart Plate” lithography, a low-cost, low toxicity form of printmaking. Because no harsh chemicals or complex processes are involved, this process is ideal for K-12 classrooms. Teachers explored the idea of appropriation through discussion and an image building exercise while also considering how this could be used in the art classroom. Appropriating images by tracing and drawing, they then used Smart Plates to print and paint final works.
Ceramics Workshop
The ceramic workshops were taught by Lindsey Bass, a recent MFA graduate and the current Drawing and Painting Technician at CVAD. Elementary teachers learned various clay techniques and projects appropriate for their K-5 classrooms including marbling, slab-making, hand building, use of texture, and slump and hump molds. Using these techniques, teachers made marbled hand bowls, pencil holders, and patterned plates and bowls. Secondary teachers worked with clay slabs and surface design utilizing slips, stamps, and underglazes. They used the slab building and slump and hump techniques with templates to create various styles of bowls and plates.