WHEN THE TEACHER GETS BETTER, HER STUDENTS DO TOO
Susan Feldman Jansen
B.A. Ed., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1979
PROJECT
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
EDUCATION
(Curriculum and Instruction)
at
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
SPRING
2010
WHEN THE TEACHER GETS BETTER, HER STUDENTS DO TOO
A Thesis
by
Susan Feldman Jansen
Approved by:
, Committee Chair
Lorie Hammond, Ph.D.
Date
ii
Student: Susan Feldman Jansen
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the
University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library
and credit is to be awarded for the project.
, Associate Chair
Rita Johnson, Ed.D.
Date
Department of Teacher Education
iii
Abstract
of
WHEN THE TEACHER GETS BETTER, HER STUDENTS DO TOO
by
Susan Feldman Jansen
This project is a Culminating Experience for a Master of Arts in Education:
Curriculum and Instruction with an Elective Emphasis on Arts in Education. It follows
pathway I: the artist as educator developing knowledge and skills in a particular area
of the arts with a disposition toward applying the acquired expertise to arts education.
This project is one in which the educator will improve her own skills as an artist in
order to become a better art teacher. Her goal is to become a catalyst for improvement
in her students’ artwork. The specific areas that the teacher will be working on are
those of formal art training that she has not previously had. They include improving
the ability to paint and draw in a more realistic way in the areas of perspective,
proportion and chiaroscuro. The teacher will show through narrative and traditional
research that there is a correlation between the teacher’s expertise and the students’
iv
performance in the visual arts. This teacher will show through improvement in her
own artwork that formal training is essential for improvement.
, Committee Chair
Lorie Hammond, Ph. D.
Date
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge my husband Dean for all of his love and support.
I would like to acknowledge Saki, my cat for sitting on my lap during the two
years that it took for me to complete all of the writing on this project.
I would like to acknowledge my three professors: Lorie Hammond, Crystal
Olson, and Karen Benson. Without their guidance, the journey would have been more
difficult and not as much fun.
I would like to acknowledge my fellow classmates Lorna Lindstrom and Dania
Lukey who were my support throughout this process
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................... vi
List of Figures.............................................................................................................. ix
Chapter
1. ARTIST AS EDUCATOR ..................................................................................... 1
The Importance of This Project ........................................................................ 1
The Context of the Project ................................................................................ 2
The Procedure ................................................................................................... 3
Questions That Will Guide the Research ......................................................... 5
Documentation of Work ................................................................................... 6
Application Toward Teaching .......................................................................... 7
How Will the Work Inform Others? ................................................................. 8
Definition of Terms .......................................................................................... 8
Limitations ........................................................................................................ 8
2. THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE ARTS IN EDUCATION ................. 9
Theory and Practice of the Arts in Education ................................................ 11
Henri Matisse.................................................................................................. 21
A Better Draftsman Makes a Better Art Teacher ........................................... 27
Synthesis of the Literary Review ................................................................... 32
vii
3. NARRATIVE RESEARCH INTO THE ARTIST’S JOURNEY ........................ 34
Family Influences/Growing up in Michigan .................................................. 35
My Adult Life ................................................................................................. 39
California Years: Teacher and Mother ........................................................... 43
Origins of This Project ................................................................................... 50
The Project: My Paintings .............................................................................. 52
The Puppets .................................................................................................... 53
My Favorite Artist: Henri Matisse ................................................................. 57
The Figure Drawing Class .............................................................................. 59
My Friend the Artist, Donna Blum ................................................................. 63
The Samborski Challenge............................................................................... 64
Summation ...................................................................................................... 69
4. REFLECTIONS ON THE PROJECT .................................................................. 70
Reflection on the Art ...................................................................................... 70
The Writing .................................................................................................... 72
Future Plans for my Artwork .......................................................................... 72
My Future Teaching Art ................................................................................. 73
Summation ...................................................................................................... 73
References .................................................................................................................. 74
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
1.
Students’ Matisse Art Project ......................................................................... 10
2.
Henri Matisse With Cat on Lap ...................................................................... 26
3.
Sam Gruda’s Japanese Painting...................................................................... 40
4.
Coochie-coo Poster ......................................................................................... 42
5.
Samborski “Dogs are Smarter” ...................................................................... 45
6.
La Fames De Ma Maison ............................................................................... 46
7.
Color Carnival ................................................................................................ 46
8.
Cheetah Morphing Into Manatee .................................................................... 46
9.
Shattered ......................................................................................................... 47
10.
Brown-turquoise Graphic ............................................................................... 48
11.
Sushi Festival (paintings at Miyagi) ............................................................... 48
12.
The Enchanted Jungle..................................................................................... 49
13.
Retro Cats ....................................................................................................... 50
14.
Happy Birthday Barbie ................................................................................... 53
15.
Pop Art Barbie x 9 .......................................................................................... 53
16.
Saki, from Retro Cats ..................................................................................... 54
17.
Saki Profile Painting ....................................................................................... 54
18.
Saki Hand Puppet ........................................................................................... 54
19.
Dusty Llama, Side View................................................................................. 55
ix
20.
Dusty Llama, Front View ............................................................................... 55
21.
Mari Kloeppel, White Stallion ....................................................................... 57
22.
Dusty Llama, Photograph ............................................................................... 57
23.
Matisse Style, Blue Harmony ......................................................................... 58
24.
Matisse Style, Painting-Collage ..................................................................... 59
25.
Self Portrait, Pencil Drawing .......................................................................... 60
26.
Self Portrait, Pastels........................................................................................ 61
27.
Henri Matisse, Nude on a Sofa ....................................................................... 62
28.
Self Portrait, Matisse, Nude on a Sofa ........................................................... 63
29.
Waves and Sun ............................................................................................... 64
30.
The Levi Window, Mark Chagall ................................................................... 65
31.
Saki’s Photograph at his Bar Mitzvah ............................................................ 65
32.
Photograph, the Wailing Wall, Jerusalem ...................................................... 65
33.
The Collage of “Saki’s Bar Mitzvah, the Painting” ....................................... 66
34.
The Painting, “Saki’s Bar Mitzvah” ............................................................... 67
35.
Samborski Painting, Mondrian-Van Gogh ..................................................... 68
36.
The Intriguing Eye .......................................................................................... 68
37.
Mondrian’s View, Painting ............................................................................ 68
x
1
Chapter 1
ARTIST AS EDUCATOR
This educator chose to pursue Emphasis 1: The Artist as an Educator. The
reason that she chose this pathway was because she enrolled in the Arts Cohort
specifically to get formal training. The educator wanted to become a better artist and
painter. Art has always been her passion, and until recently she did not have the
confidence to pursue it as her teaching career. Several years ago, she taught summer
school art, and loved it. Since 2008, the educator has been teaching middle school art
during the regular school year. She learned by teaching both summer school and two
periods of art, that she can teach it well. The educator, would however, like to become
a great art teacher. For that to occur, the educator needed to procure more formal
training for improvement of her skills as both an artist, and as an art teacher. The
educator enrolled in the Arts Education Masters program to improve her skills both as
an artist and painter. She believed that improving those skills has made her a more
accomplished, professional, and a more skilled art teacher. The educator also gained
more contacts in the art community, which is valuable to her students and her school.
The Importance of This Project
The goals that this educator achieved during the composition of her Master’s
Project are shared by many other artists. The educator was inspired by the work of
several artists, the study of which guided her work. Henri Matisse the famous French
Fauve artist was one that she researched during the process of her Master’s Project
Matisse is known for simple shapes and beautiful colors in his artwork. In reading
2
about him, the educator learned that he went back to art school as an adult to study
perspective, proportion and chiaroscuro (the use of highlight and shadow to make
objects looks more dimensional). Those are the same skills that this educator improved
upon in her own work, which improved her ability to teach drawing and painting to
her students. The project that the educator chose is important to her because it
enhanced her skill level as an artist, and thus enabled her to teach art in more complex
ways to her students. With the addition of the educator’s newly acquired skills, she is
able to see the improvement in the quality of her student’s artwork. She hopes that her
students will develop a lifelong love and appreciation for art.
The Context of the Project
The educator worked with several master artists and teachers with expertise in
the areas of her focus (improving her drawing and other formal art skills). One of the
mentor artists that assisted her in this quest for improvement was Dan Samborski with
whom she had taken several drawing and painting classes in the past. His skills in the
areas of perspective, proportion and chiaroscuro are among the best that she had seen
in a contemporary painter. He also is a master of composition, and his artwork has
bright and beautiful palates of color. The educator owns one of his paintings, “Dogs
are Smarter.” Guests in her home are always amazed by the quality of this painting,
and her family enjoys the privilege of seeing it every day. The educator’s love of his
paintings, along with the ability of Dan Samborski to teach drawing and painting
classes influenced her choice in selecting him to be one of her mentors. Samborski
worked with the educator during the summer of 2009 on two different paintings.
3
The Procedure
Another mentor that the educator wanted to work with was Mari Kloeppel. The
educator met her at the Crocker Art Museum during the opening of her show. Her
paintings filled the drawing room at the Crocker Art Museum. She spoke about them,
and about how she became an artist. The paintings are of animals: horses, birds, dogs,
rabbits and other animals. They are extremely realistic, with dark backgrounds, and
have the feel of Renaissance paintings. Her realistic artistry was so magnificent that
the educator could not take her eyes off of the paintings. Mari’s brush strokes created
perfect strands in the painting of the horse’s tail. The image was so life like that the
paintings look like photographs. The educator complimented her on the power and
beauty of her work, while speaking with the artist for several minutes. The educator
told Mari that she was a middle school art teacher, in a Masters program at California
State University, Sacramento (CSUS). The educator asked the artist if she taught any
painting classes. Mari said that she did not, but for the educator she would make an
exception. The educator hoped to work with Mari on an animal painting. The educator
planned to visit Mari at her home in Carmel, California. What she hoped to learn from
the artist’s tutelage was how to paint animals in a very realistic way. Mari’s ability to
paint with perfect proportion and perspective amazed the educator; her ability to use
chiaroscuro in her paintings is on a par with the great Renaissance masters.
The educator also worked with Richard Bay in Puppetry in the spring of 2009
and Mike Riegel in a figure drawing class during the fall of 2009. The educator
thought that these were enjoyable and beneficial classes. Richard explained to the
4
educator how to make every detail of the puppets, step by step. The puppets that he
made were amazing, beautiful and complex. Richard also taught the educator how to
manipulate the puppets on stage, create puppet shows with character development,
dialogue, lighting, and sets. The first thing that Richard had the educator create for his
class was a painting of a face that was meaningful to her. She painted a portrait of
“Barbie, circa 1959". That year was Barbie’s 50th birthday. This educator has been a
Barbie fan since she was a child. She likes the original Barbie best. The Barbie portrait
that the educator painted was so well liked by family and friends that she decided to
use it for her number one piece in her Master Project. The painting is an acrylic on
canvas, 18"x18". The educator took a photograph of the painting, and worked with it
on Photoshop, to make nine different images of the Barbie in an “Andy Warhol” style
print. The educator made several puppets in Richard Bay’s puppet class. She made a
llama mouth puppet, a cat hand puppet, shadow puppets, and a drawer-pull-puppet.
The cat hand puppet was painted with both an air brush and a regular paint brush. This
method taught the educator to paint and create art in three dimensions. Two paintings
of the cat puppet were finished before she made the hand puppet “Saki,” they are also
included in her thesis as part of piece number two. The paintings are a front view and
a profile of the Saki puppet. The Llama puppet inspired the educator to use this animal
in her painting that was mentored by Mari Kloeppel. The educator will be able to
teach many of the things that she learned in Richard Bay’s class to her own students,
and they will enjoy it immensely.
5
In the figure drawing class that the educator took in the fall of 2009, Mike
Riegel taught the educator to draw from live human models. The class was six hours a
week. The educator learned that to improve most art skills, an artist must practice on a
regular basis to make the movement second nature. Contour drawing was the skill that
Riegel emphasized to the educator. He taught her that the more she practiced that skill,
the better she would get as an artist. He told her it was just like a basketball player
shooting free throws or a musician practicing scales. The educator created three “self
portraits” for her final in the figure drawing class: a pencil drawing of her face, a
pastel drawing from the waist up, and nude painting in the style of Henri Matisse, the
educator’s favorite artist.
The educator also painted two other non-figurative paintings in the style of
Matisse. Donna Blum, a friend of the educator also mentored her for a painting in her
“three dimensional” style.
Questions That Will Guide the Research
How does art education contribute to a positive disposition for student
learning? This educator discovered while reading such educational philosophers as
John Dewey (1934) and Elliot Eisner (1998), that art education teaches students many
ways to solve problems in artwork and life therefore, improving their success in
school and disposition for learning. How did improving the educator’s ability as an
artist improve her students’ ability, interest, and appreciation in their own
development as artists? Through narrative journaling this educator showed the
improvement in both her work and that of her students. She found that formal art
6
training was beneficial for all. How did this educator’s Masters Project and
improvement of herself as an artist, make her a catalyst for change in the art culture of
her school? Having read books by and about the artist Henri Matisse, the educator
gained insight into why Matisse went back to school for formal training in art as an
adult. The research showed how the formal training improved his artwork and
confidence as an artist. After reading the Masters Thesis of Dan Samborski, the
teacher gained insight into his philosophy and process.
The educator’s research goals were to learn as much as she could from artists
that she admires and respects. She incorporated the information into her own artwork.
She focused on the areas of her artwork which she did improve upon. They were:
drawing, proportion, perspective, and chiaroscuro. Those were the techniques that she
focused on when she did her research, and worked with her mentors.
Documentation of Work
The research that this educator did with her mentor artists: Dan Samborski and
Mari Kloeppel, and Donna Blum and her art teachers at CSUS – Richard Bay and
Mike Riegel – was mostly narrative in nature. She interviewed all of them on their
ideas and theories about art. Mari Kloeppel had a book that the teacher bought at the
Crocker Art Museum when she met that artist. The educator was able to use the book
as a very helpful tool, since she was not able to meet with Kloeppel in person. The
educator read the Masters Thesis of Dan Samborski during the summer of 2009. It is
located in the Library at CSUS. The educator did this while he is mentoring her on her
paintings. The bulk of the educator’s research was done on Henri Matisse. She printed
7
out many articles about him from the internet, and read several books that were written
either about him or by him. The educator read them during the summer, and fall of
2009. She also created three pieces of artwork in Matisse’s style: One figurative
painting and two that are more abstract. Later in his life Henri Matisse only did
collage because he could not hold a paintbrush so he did his artwork “painting with
scissors”. One of the educator’s paintings reflects this process. The educator kept a
journal of how each of her paintings was created. She included all interviews, dialogs,
and her own personnel thoughts about the art. She also took notes from all of the
materials that she read for her project. In that way she was able to organize all of the
information that she has gathered for chapters three and four of her thesis.
Application Toward Teaching
The project that the educator chose was important to her because it enhanced
her skills as an artist. It enabled her to teach art in more complex ways to her students.
The educator saw that her improvement as an artist and teacher has improved the
quality of her student’s artwork. She is confident that her students will develop a
lifelong love, and appreciation for art. The educator has created an enthusiastic art
community at California Middle School, as well as in the Sacramento City Unified
School District, where the educator’s student’s artwork was prominently displayed in
the Serna Center (the school district office of the Sacramento City Unified School
District).
8
How Will the Work Inform Others?
The educator has changed the way art is taught and presented at California
Middle School. Since she began the Arts Cohort, student art is displayed all over her
school, and district. She created an “art walk” for families to see their students work
on back to school night, and at the student’s gallery shows twice a year. By the
completion of this Masters Thesis the teacher will have sponsored four student gallery
shows at California Middle School. Since she has completed her research, paintings,
and Master’s Thesis she is able to contribute an improved quality of teaching for her
students, her school, and community. Several mural and mosaic projects are already in
the planning stages which upon completion will further beautify the campus of her
school. The educator has also been selected to jury student artwork for the California
State Fair in the spring of 2010.
Definition of Terms
There will be special vocabulary and terms of art that directly relate to painting
in a realistic way. Kinesthesia, perspective, proportion and Chiaroscuro will be
defined in detail when warranted throughout the writing.
Limitations
The only limitations that had to be overcome were time constraints due to the
educator’s full time teaching schedule and family obligations.
9
Chapter 2
THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE ARTS IN EDUCATION
In her literary review this educator chose to write on three different topics in
arts education to show through her research how arts education is beneficial for all
students to enhance their disposition and desire for learning. In the first section, the
educator will outline theoretical reasons for Arts Education by well know, and highly
respected educational philosophers: John Dewey (1934), Donald Arnstine (1967),
Elliott Eisner (1998), Howard Gardner (1989) and others who argue why art education
improves student’s disposition for learning. In the second section, the educator wrote
about how during her research of the great Master Henri Matisse she was influenced
and inspired by him. By researching and teaching his style of art to her students, she
discovered the joy that Matisse’s style of art brought to both her students and herself.
The children were inspired by the bright and beautiful colors that Matisse used as well
as his whimsical designs. They were able to create excellent work in his style. This
brought the students a great sense of pride. As docents in their student art show, the
educator’s students were able to speak extensively about Matisse while showing the
artwork that they created (see Figure 1).
10
Figure 1. Students’ Matisse Art Project.
In the third section of this literary review, “A Better Draftsman Makes a Better
Art Teacher” The educator described what she learned from her figure drawing class
at CSUS, given by professor Michael Riegel about the importance of perfecting
drawing skills to become a better artist. As an art educator, and an artist herself, the
educator found this information very valuable. She learned through her research that
practicing drawing from life on a daily basis improves not only the artist’s drawing
skills, but also her kinesthesia. Kinesthesia is the ability of the eye and the hand to
work together, so that the movement becomes second nature. An artist who improves
that skill will be greatly improving all of her art skills. By encouraging her students to
practicing drawing what they see, the educator has seen great improvement in her
student’s art, in their confidence, and in their desire to produce even more artwork.
11
Theory and Practice of the Arts in Education
In this the first section of this literary review, the author will outline theoretical
and practical reasons why art should be taught in the public schools. Since art provides
students with hands on, esthetic experiences, it meets the criteria which several
educational philosophers pose for good education. John Dewey (1934), who was the
greatest of American pragmatist philosophers, described “art as experience,” and
stated that having an experience is the ultimate source of knowledge. Donald Arnstine
(1967), who was an Educational Philosopher, and devotee of John Dewey, wrote that
the ultimate form of learning is by doing. Both philosophers wrote that the strongest
experience that a student can have is one that is constructed upon their prior life
knowledge, with an emotional component for such enduring learning to occur. Both
wrote that these experiences need to have an esthetic quality, which is emotional, and
that esthetic experiences can be improved by adding the arts to the curriculum to
enhance the enjoyment and learning in the public schools. Both Dewey and Arnstine
agreed that an active learning experience is the essential way for students to acquire
both the knowledge and confidence to become self-motivated, life-long learners, who
can think and solve problems for themselves.
The final comment is that when excitement about subject matter goes deep, it
stirs up a store of attitudes and meanings derived from prior experience. As
they are aroused into activity they become conscious thoughts and emotions,
emotionalized images. To be set on fire by a thought or scene is to be inspired.
What is kindled must either burn itself out, turning to ashes, or must press it-
12
self out in material that changes the latter from crude metal into a refined
product. (Dewey, p. 68)
What Dewey means by this excitement about subject matter going deep, is that
students are having esthetic learning experiences that are permanently making a
positive impact on their lives. Lessons in the arts provide these kinds of learning
experiences for students and help them become independent thinkers and problem
solvers.
The disposition for learning through the arts begins at a very early age.
Students naturally depend on the arts to construct meaning of the world around them
(Eisner, 1998, p. 89). In the schools, however, the arts are valued in the early
childhood classroom, but are not as treasured in schools beyond that point (Eisner,
1998, p. 90). Even when the arts are taught in middle, and high school, they are taught
as subjects that stand alone as opposed to an integrated part of the whole school
curriculum. Gullatt (2007) goes further to say:
Most adults regard the arts as expressive forms; however, the arts as tools for
discovery should not be underestimated. Through the arts, students are able to
journey through the aesthetic world to discover new information. This form of
learning allows students the opportunity to expand their imagination and
creativity while gaining new information. (p. 21)
This educator believes that art education should be taught and encouraged by all
teachers to all students in kindergarten through 12th grade. It should be consistently
taught across the curriculum to enhance the creative thought process for all students.
13
According to Dewey (1934) and Arnstine (1967), visual art education should
be taught by teachers who have enthusiasm for their students, and expertise in what
they are teaching. Teachers of art education that inspire and excite students so that
they are disposed to learning are the ideal kind of teachers; those teachers inspire selfconfidence and a love for learning in their students. Arnstine wrote about teachers as
selectors who should choose the curriculum to best serve their students.
A teacher competent to select curriculum content has not, then simply acquired
certain kinds of knowledge or skills. Instead, he has acquired a disposition: one
to employ the curriculum in the service or the kind of learning he hopes to
promote. (p. 370)
Art education is both active and predisposed for student success and
enjoyment. Bressler (in Stout, 1995) noted that roots of integration of the arts into the
curriculum could be traced back as far as John Dewey (1934) with his views on
progressive education. According to John Dewey “Teachers need to develop particular
dispositions also, including a disposition to teach.” Teachers “…must have a tendency
to see content in its role as an aesthetic cue, as a prod to curiosity, or as a cue to
awareness of a problem and to see it as supplying the material for the pursuit of the
initiating situations” (p. 370).
Elliot Eisner (1998), an educational philosopher from Stanford University, who
had similar educational philosophies to Dewey (1934) and Arnstine (1967), believed
that the arts should make a difference both in school environments of students as well
as in their environments beyond school. Eisner wrote that students would be better
14
served having a diverse curriculum. Adding art and art activities that promote
creativity and utilize more of their senses would give a greater academic outcome for
many students than just teaching to the test. “Life’s problems almost always have
more than one solution, and they typically require judgment and trade-off” (Eisner, p.
28). Eisner also wrote that the solving a problem can be achieved in many diverse
ways. Art teaches students that there are numerous correct solutions, while
mathematics, spelling, and reading usually teach students to follow the rules and come
up with the one right answer.
This educator contends that art education makes for better problem solvers and
therefore better students and contributors to our society then and education without art
education. Eisner (1998) wrote that;
Not all problems have single, correct answers. One of the important lessons the
arts teach is that solutions to problems can take many forms. This lesson from
the arts would not be so important were it not for the fact that so much of what
is taught in school teaches just the opposite lesson. Almost all of the basic
skills taught in the primary grades teach children that there is only one correct
answer to any question and only one correct solution to any problem. Spelling,
arithmetic, writing and even reading are pervaded by conventions and rules
that, in effect, teach children to be good rule followers. (p. 82)
Art also gives students a more realistic view of the world. “Because living and
functioning in the world is a complex activity, students should be encouraged to
participate in the process from multiple perspectives” (Eisner, 1998, p. 82).
15
The arts can enable students to comprehend that there are many ways of
problem solving. If one perspective does not meet a particular need for
comprehension, students realize that they can approach the comprehension
problem from another direction utilizing the arts. (Damasio, 2003, in Gullatt,
2008, pp. 27-30)
Painting and drawing are different from mathematics and spelling. In the latter
subjects there is one correct answer to the problem, “solve for X”. When painting a
picture, the next step or solution can be done in a plethora of ways. If one method does
not work, the student can keep functioning by trial and error. Eventually if the student
perseveres he will discover the correct solution to the problem that he was working on.
The finished painting, or piece of art, will be a great source of pride to him. The
student will have learned that working through a problem to solution greatly improves
her self confidence. Sometimes in life there is just one correct answer, but usually
there is not. It is very important for children to learn various ways to solve problems.
Many students in our schools today, especially those with learning disabilities,
attention deficient disorder, or delinquency problems are not succeeding in the current
system. When they are taught the one answer to each problem approach they frustrate
easily. Many get depressed, lose confidence, and fail, or drop out of school entirely.
This educator believes that art is an important mechanism for imparting multiple ways
to solve problems. Art education also teaches students that if they work long and hard
on a problem, while truly engaged in reaching the solution, that they can and will
attain it. Gullatt (2007) also contends:
16
Students are not merely receivers of the given information; they should be
encouraged to construct meaning for themselves. The arts provide students
with the tools for the construction of knowledge. The arts encourage students
to apply their arts-related intelligences to perceive and organize new
information into concepts that are used to construct meaning for them. (p. 24)
This educator agrees with Eisner (1998) who also wrote:
Art education should refine the student’s awareness of the aesthetic qualities in
art and life; and enable students to understand that there is a connection
between the content and the form that the arts display and the culture and time
in which the work was created. Finally, I wish to identify a particularly
important outcome for arts education. This pertains to dispositions that are
difficult to assess, let alone measure, but they are dispositions that appear to be
cultivated through programs that engage students in the process of artistic
creation. I speak of dispositional outcomes such as the following: A
willingness to imagine possibilities that are not now, but which might become;
a desire to explore ambiguity, to be willing to forestall premature closure in
pursuing resolutions; and the ability to recognize and accept the multiple
perspectives and resolutions that work in the arts celebrate. (pp. 14-15)
P. Bruce Uhrmacher (2001), who is a Professor of Education at The University of
Denver, and trained under Elliot Eisner at Stanford University, said that Elliot Eisner
has striven not merely to infuse education with art, ‘but to make art central to the
mission of schools” (p. 150). He quotes from Eisner (1998).
17
The arts inform as well as stimulate, they challenge as well as satisfy. Their
location is not limited to galleries, concert halls and theatres. Their home can
be found wherever humans chose to have attentive and vita intercourse with
life itself. This is perhaps, the largest lesson that the arts in education can
teach, the lesson that life itself can be led as a work of art. In so doing the
maker himself or herself is remade. This remaking, this re-creation is at the
heart of the process of education. (Eisner, 1998, p. 56)
The importance of adding art education into the curriculum is imperative to the
success of our public schools. The positive impact upon our diverse student population
cannot be denied. We are failing our students if we do not aim to improve their
disposition for learning, especially for those who need it the most. Since not all
parents and guardians in our society have the financial capacity, or disposition, to
teach art to their children the full responsibility for teaching art education falls upon
the schools. Eisner believed that the educational community could learn a lot from art
education to improve their student’s disposition and desire to learn. Eisner (2004)
went on to say that;
Artistry, therefore, can serve as a regulative ideal for education, a vision that
adumbrates what really matters in schools. To conceive of students as artists
who do their art in science, in the arts, or the humanities, is, after all, both a
daunting and profound aspiration. It may be that by shifting the paradigm of
education reform and teaching from one modeled after the clocklike character
of the assembly line into one that is closer to the studio or innovative science
18
laboratory might provide us with a vision that better suits the capacities and the
futures of the students we teach. It is in this sense, I believe, that the field of
education has much to learn from the arts about the practice of education. It is
time to embrace a new model for improving our schools. (p. 4, para. 2)
Howard Gardner (1989) a professor at Harvard University, and author of the
Theory of Multiple Intelligences, believed that children learn differently from each
other. Different frames of mind result in children that learn in a variety of ways. Some
students are visual learners, some auditory learners, some kinesthetic learners. The
cookie cutter approach does not work for most students. Gardner believed that art
education is beneficial for all students because it allows for learning in an assortment
of ways. Art engages most students by embracing the many ways that students can and
will access information and improves the students overall disposition for learning.
No one knows precisely how to fashion an education that will yield individuals
who are disciplined, synthesizing creative, respectful and ethical. I have argued
that our survival as a planet may depend on the cultivation of this pentad of
mental dispositions. (Gardner, p. 107)
The disposition for learning comes from either the child’s home environment, or it can
be kindled and developed in school. Andrea Mulder-Slater (2001) agreed with
Gardner when she wrote:
Teaching students about art is a good idea because it has been proven that early
exposure to visual art, music, or drama promotes activity in the brain. Art helps
children understand other subjects much more clearly from math and science,
19
to language arts and geography. Art nurtures inventiveness as it engages
children in a process that aids in the development of self-esteem, self–
discipline, cooperation, and self-motivation. Participating in art activities helps
children to gain the tools necessary for understanding human experience,
adapting to and respecting other’ ways of working and thinking, developing
creative problem-solving skills, and communicating thoughts and ideas in a
variety of ways. (p. 82)
All types of art education are crucial for the success of both special needs
students and those who are at risk for delinquency. Many of those students are already
having a hard time with mathematical and linguistic forms of representation that are
emphasized in our schools. Teaching to the test, takes many students with learning,
attention, and delinquency issues out of electives that would keep them engaged in
school.
For young people at risk of delinquency, school failure, substance abuse, teen
pregnancy and other problems, involvement in the arts can improve academic
performance, reduce school truancy, provide positive outlets and build new skills that
give kids a chance at a better life. Arts programs are an effective intervention strategy
for troubled youth who have failed to respond to more traditional educational and
social service programs. Arts learning experiences can alter the attitudes that young
people have about themselves and toward learning, even among those who have had
serious brushes with the law. A three year study of arts-based delinquency programs in
three different cities showed that at-risk youths participating in the arts programs
20
improved their attitudes, behavior and academic performance, decreased delinquent
behavior, and increased communication skills (Stone, Bikson, Moini, & McArthur,
1999).
It is widely known that at risk young people have an interest in the arts.
Graffiti all over our major cities has become an art form in itself. This graffiti art is
usually the creation of disenfranchised and delinquent youth. If those same students
had a place to create their art and feel engaged and encouraged to develop their art
with in the schools, they would not have to go outside of school, into the streets to
express their creative passion. Former attorney general Janet Reno said much the same
thing. “Young people who are involved in making something beautiful today are less
likely to turn to acts of violence and destruction tomorrow” (Birch, 2002, p. #, para.
#). We all need to support the arts. In doing so, we are telling America’s youth that we
believe in them and value what they can be. Terry Semel, past chairman of Warner
brothers said, “Art is central to a civilized society.” “Kids who create don’t destroy.”
We need the arts in our schools, all children are entitled to have esthetic experiences
which can, and will improve their disposition for learning. Teaching to the test is not
yielding success. The rate of students dropping out of our public schools, especially
those with learning disabilities, delinquency, and other issues continues to rise.
“Purposeful flexibility, rather than rigid adherence to prior plans is more likely to
yield something of value” (Eisner, 1998, p. 84). Along with Eisner, Dewey (1934),
Arnstine (1967), Gardner (1989) and all of the other authors cited in this paper have
great arguments for the importance of inclusion of the arts into the public schools. We
21
need to do a better job with our students to provide them the disposition for, and love
of learning. We also need to impart to them the ability to solve problems both in and
out of the classroom. This educator contends that adding the arts to all public school
curricula would be a great start. “Art is a system invented by nature to enable human
beings to come into full possession of their higher senses. It is a form of wealth in
which all can share and which is dependent not on ownership but on desire and
perception” (Cousins, 2005, p. 3.
Henri Matisse
Having been influenced and inspired by the work of Henri Matisse, this
educator has chosen to research his life and work as the second part of this literary
review. In researching Matisse’s development as an artist she has discovered many
parallels in their lives as artists. This has deepened the connection that the educator
felt with him and has further inspired her growth as an artist. “Matisse was no
precocious talent, no child prodigy like Pablo Picasso. Far more; the development of
his life’s work grew gradually and steadily out of an unparalleled devotion to colour,
space, and the creation of harmony” (Taschen, 1987, p. 7).
Matisse was born on the 31st of December, a Capricorn like the educator, who
was also very hard working and a perfectionist. Matisse was not flowery and
intellectual in his verbal or artistic descriptions. He was very open, direct, and to the
point in his use of color and space. The educator is also direct and to the point in her
artwork, she never tries to be something that she is not. Her work is also uplifting and
happy, not dark or depressing. Matisse said that he wanted his artwork to give people
22
pleasure. He felt that art should be happy and harmonious. “What I dream of is an art
of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter-a
soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides
relaxation from physical fatigue” (Matisse, 2009, p. 1).
A theme that runs through Matisse’s work is that of a happy man, comfortable
with himself, and a loving family man. He always looked at things in a positive way
and hoped others would do the same. “There are always flowers for those who want to
see them” (Matisse, 1919, p. 1). Like Matisse, the educator always has a happy
outlook and a positive perspective. She thought that being a happy person shows up in
her work, which is very bright, colorful, playful and uplifting. She has never created a
piece of artwork that was depressing or dark. She would not have enjoyed the process.
Like Matisse, she was attracted to art that is colorful and uplifting. That is the only
kind of art that she can create. Her goal was to be like Matisse in spirit. His greatest
works were perfected by balancing simple shapes and beautiful colors to make the
viewer feel good all over.
Because Henri Matisse had not become interested in art until he was an adult,
once he decided that he wanted to be a serious artist he found that he had a lot of
catching up to do. He worked very hard studying all of the things that he would need
to know to be a great artist. He studied figure drawing, perspective, and composition.
Those very same elements of art were what the educator was in her master’s program
to learn. Matisse eventually got a classical art education, and then had a very
successful career as an artist, producing work in an evolving and individual style.
23
Matisse is often regarded as the most important French painter of the 20th
century. The leader of the Fauvist movement, Matisse pursued the
expressiveness of colour throughout his career. His subjects were largely
domestic or figurative, and a distinct Mediterranean verve presides in the
treatment (Web Museum, 2002, para. 1)
Matisse was a very calm and methodical man, unlike Pablo Picasso, the other
dominant artist of the 20th Century. Matisse was a born leader and taught and
encouraged other artists. These were other reasons why the educator was drawn to
him. Being an art teacher the educator looked to other art educators to see what
techniques work best in the nurturing of young artists. The educator has found
teaching about Matisse and his style to her students very fun and rewarding.
“Matisse’s art has an astonishing force and lives by innate right in a paradise world
into which Matisse draws all his viewers. He gravitated to the beautiful and produced
some of the most powerful beauty ever painted” (Web Museum, 2002, para. 4).
As a happy family man, Matisse was a great celebrator. His serene and colorful
work was his outlet for any nervous tension, and each beautiful painting was uplifting
like a celebration. This was reflected in his figures as well as in the decorative
backgrounds that he painted. A celebratory feeling also continued in the colors and
shapes of his cutouts later in life when he could no longer paint. His last work was a
religious commission that he created for the nuns at The Chapel of the Dominicans at
Venice, France. He designed everything in the chapel from the stained glass to the
robes that the priest wore. Matisse was happy to create that last work even though he
24
was sick and in a wheel chair. His work made him happy; he believed that the purpose
of his artwork was to give pleasure to others.
The educator believes that Henri Matisse is a wonderful role model to all art
educators as well as art students because he was such a kind and innovative person and
artist. He wasn’t afraid to take chances with his work. He worked very slowly and
methodically. The educator teaches her students to work in that way, slowly and
carefully enjoying the process, not just rushing to finish. The educator’s goal for her
students is for them to derive pleasure from the act of creating the art work as well as
the positive result of having a beautiful piece of art that the student can be proud of,
one that gives the student as well as others that look at it pleasure. Matisse created
artwork to give pleasure and comfort to others. The educator liked that and tries to
teach that to her students. She hopes that Matisse would have approved of her teaching
that way. The educator also has learned through her study of Matisse’s methods how
to be a better artist herself. When the teacher gets better her students do too.
Matisse himself was influenced by many different artists during his training
and throughout his life. Chardin was a painter that he admired as an art student in
Paris. In 1891 Matisse made copies of four of his paintings that were in the Louvre. In
1897 and 1898 Matisse visited the painter John Peter Russell who introduced him to
Vincent Van Gogh and Impressionism. Matisse felt that Russell was the teacher who
explained color theory to him and changed his style of painting. Other artists that had
a great influence on Matisse were post–Impressionists Paul Cezanne, Gauguin and
Paul Signac. He was also influenced by Japanese art, which has also been a strong
25
theme in the artwork of the educator. The bold colors, simple lines and defined shapes
of Japanese art are soothing and pleasurable to look at. They make a great teaching
tool for the educator’s students. The educator can use Matisse’s work when comparing
the similarities of Eastern and Western art.
The educator also was able to teach the drawing techniques of Henri Matisse.
Matisse was able to make simple drawings just using line. Those line drawings are
able to capture the essence of the person, animal or thing that the master has drawn.
Because the technique looks simple, the educator’s students were not afraid to try to
use Matisse’s techniques. They usually ended up with good outcomes in their work
because of the simplicity of the forms.
Drawing the nude was part of the artist’s basic training and was the first hurdle
that he had to cross in the academy and studio. The educator had never taken figure
drawing class prior to this Master’s program. After researching Matisse she enrolled in
a class where she had to draw the nude body from live models. She found it very
difficult a first, unlike Matisse who possessed great talent and patience. The educator’s
professor, Michael Riegel, told the educator that she was not very good and needed to
practice. He also told her to look up the graphic work of several artists including:
Matisse, Daumier, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci and Caravaggio. The artist that
the educator was able to understand and emulate most easily was Henri Matisse. After
buying and perusing the book; “Matisse the Graphic Work”, and with a lot of practice,
the educator did get better. However she wishes that she would have taken figure
26
drawing thirty years ago. The educator will teach some figure drawing to her students,
but because they are so young the figures will not be nudes.
Henri Matisse is a wonderful artist and person. The educator wished that she
lived during the same time period as he did so that she could have met him and been
one of his students or even his friend. Like the educator, he loved cats. The educator
has a favorite picture of the artist stroking a beautiful tabby cat that is very contentedly
sitting on his lap (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Henri Matisse With Cat on Lap.
27
A Better Draftsman Makes a Better Art Teacher
During the course of her research, the educator has discovered that it is very
important for her to improve her drawing skills to become a better artist and art
teacher. She has been taking a figure drawing class from Mike Riegel, a professor at
CSUS who has also reinforced this idea to her. The educator had learned that as she
got better at any art skill that she became a better art teacher and her students got
better as well. Improving her drawing skills seemed to make a great difference in all
areas of her art, so the educator did research to find out why. She began this research
by asking her drawing teacher his opinion on the importance of improving drawing
skills. He said,
To be a better artist one must practice a lot of drawing from real life; still life,
contour, and figure drawing are the best sort of practice. Just like a basketball
player practices shooting free throws, the more he practices the better he gets.
He has to make the act of the free throw second nature so he doesn’t even have
to think about it. For the artist looking at objects and the human form, and
drawing them improves the ability of the artist to see things as they really are.
This must be practiced so much that it becomes second nature to the artist. A
great deal of practice is what improves the artist’s ability to draw and paint.
(personal communications, Mike Riegel, 2009)
Although the educator had never heard of kinesthesia before she began
researching the importance of drawing in improving art skills, it has been written
about for almost 100 years. The fact that almost all of the great artists in Europe since
28
the Renaissance spent so much time practicing their drawing skills like blind contour
drawing, and figure drawing, to get better, is proof that practicing improves the artists
hand eye coordination and subconscious ability to draw. It seems as though most great
artists and draftsmen had a sense of what kinesthesia was and how to improve it even
if they did not know specifically why they were doing it.
The educator having learned about kinesthesia in her research realized that she
had to improve her own, since it is a key component in muscle memory and hand eye
coordination. She was told by her drawing teacher and read in her research that she
needed to practice her contour drawing. She quickly found out the reason why. She
learned that she had to spend much more time practicing blind contour drawing to
improve her skills, so they would come automatically for her. The educator was not
aware of this concept of having to practice drawing just like running, swimming or
any other physical activity. Considering the educator is a Physical Education teacher
as well as an art teacher, she should have made the connection. “Learning by doing is
relevant in all pursuits. “While researching how to be a better artist,” the educator
found that out. Only now are educators beginning to realize the ‘indispensable
usefulness, always and everywhere “of kinesthesia,” the “feeling of movement.”
Kinesthesia is about to come into its own as the primary and essential sense.” (George
Van Ness Dearborn, 1902). This excerpt is from the American Journal of Psychology,
in April 1902.
During the course of the educator’s research she has also found that all of the
great master artists that she admires spent a lot of time perfecting their own drawing
29
skills. Henry Matisse, the artist that the educators choose to research for chapter two
of this literary review was a wonderful and skilled draftsman and master of the graphic
arts. He scheduled time in his studio every day to practice his drawing skills, and
favored figure drawing. He felt that the human form was the most important thing to
draw and paint. Most of his work was spent on this subject. “Drawing the nude formed
part of the artist’s basic training and was the first hurdle that had to be taken in
academics and studios” (Margrit Hahnloser, 1987). After researching Matisse, the
educator found another book on drawing by many of the great masters.
Drawing, like so many of the skills, is a matter of being able to think of several
things at once. Since, the subconscious mind must take care of a good deal
when we draw. So the process of learning to draw demands that we acquaint
the subconscious mind with a certain amount of material, so that the
subconscious can largely take over the control of our hand. (Hale, 1964)
The author of this book also went further to say:
I am inclined to think that no artist can be called an accomplished craftsman
until all matters of technique are so well learned that they are part of his
subconscious equipment. I know it is very difficult for an artist to express
himself adequately unless this has been done. (Hale, 1964)
After reading the book Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters, by Robert
Beverly Hale (1964), the educator was sure that she was taking the right path in her
quest of improving her artistic skills for her Masters program. She knew that she had
to keep practicing her drawing skills, specifically blind contour, proportion,
30
perspective and mastering the human form to become a better artist. According to
Robert Beverly Hale, practicing basic art techniques gives the artist the ability for his
mind to take over his hand without him having to think about it, so that the work
becomes second nature to him. Also, after reading Hale’s book, the educator
discovered that there has been a vigorous revival of the classical drawing tradition that
Hale cherished. Jacob Collins wrote that in the book’s Forward. The educator was not
aware that there had been a movement away from drawing, but Hale wrote in his book
that the only way to study with a great master draftsman is to study reproductions of
the great masters of the past. He has put many of these reproductions in his book. He
believed that there were no great master draftsmen alive today. According to Hale, if
you take an art class today, your instructor can do little more than help you solve your
technical problems. The rest is up to you. Hale inferred that by looking at pictures
drawn by the great masters of the past, and copying them, that art students can find
many brilliant solutions to drawing problems that they cannot get in a modern art
classroom.
In keeping with the beliefs of Robert Beverly Hale (1964), the educator’s
current drawing instructor told her that the best way to learn to become a better artist
is to look at the work of the Great Masters and try to copy them. According to Hale
and other readings by the educator, the consistent drawing practices of the Great
Masters were central to their success “You must realize that there is no royal road to
drawing. It is practice, practice all the way. Try drawing a perfect circle. Draw a few
thousand and they will get perceptibly better” (Hale, p. 15).
31
The educator doubted if Robert Beverly Hale understood the concept of
kinesthesia when he wrote his book on drawing in 1964. She also knew that Leonardo
Da Vinci, Peter Paul Rubens, Michelangelo, and Matisse did not know about
kinesthesia. The educator understood that they all had a sixth sense about creating
great art. They knew that the more that they practiced drawing; the better they got as
artists.
Another reason the Renaissance masters were so great at drawing and painting
the human figure is that they deeply studied artistic anatomy. They dissected human
cadavers and animals and painstakingly learned about the bones and muscular
structures of the body. They spent many hours drawing the bones, and muscles of the
human body and that of animals. According to Hale (1964), in order to be a truly great
artist you must learn to draw the body from the inside out. Hale encouraged his
students to buy human skeletons from a medical supply house so they could learn to
draw the full skeleton just like the masters did. He then encouraged his students to
memorize the exact origin and insertion of the muscles. He recommended Gray’s
Anatomy to them. It is the book that is used in medical school for physician’s training.
The text has accurate pictures of muscular anatomy, the organs and other parts of the
body. Hale added that when using an evolutionary approach to drawing the human
figure, artists should learn the artistic anatomy of animals. Hale said that if man had
descended from them then it was important to know how to draw them.
When the educator discussed Hale’s (1964) philosophy of drawing with her
current art teacher Michael Riegel, he said “classical drawing is a good way to learn to
32
get better, but it was extremely time consuming.” He said that “he valued gesture
drawing the most” (personal communications, Mike Riegel, 2009). He was most
concerned with the feelings of the lines and the figures in the drawing. He told the
educator that for her, practicing blind contour drawing would help her get better faster.
Consistent with the research by the educator in this paper, what Mike Riegel said
would be true because blind contour drawing would help the educator improve her
kinesthesia. Blind contour drawing is drawing an object while looking just at the
object. This is done without looking down at your paper or what you are drawing. That
helps to improve hand eye capability and the educator’s instinct as an artist. It would
be the kind of practice that would most enhance the outcome of her drawings. While
taking this road of self improvement as an artist, the educator has learned some new
theories and practices that have improved her effectiveness as an art teacher. Stressing
the importance of practicing contour and other drawing skills to her students will help
them to become better artists as well. When the teacher gets better, her students do to.
Synthesis of the Literary Review
This literary review has three parts and argues the theoretical and practical case
for art education being taught in the classroom. The research of John Dewey (1934)
and other prominent experts in the field of art education support the inclusion of art
education in the curriculum. These other educational researchers including Donald
Arnstine (1967), Elliot Eisner (1998), and Howard Gardner (1989), who authored
many studies and books on multiple intelligences, concur with Dewey. These
prominent researchers all agree that art education enhances the learning ability and
33
disposition for learning of every child. This educator agrees. In her own research as
well as classroom experience, the educator has found this also to be true. In addition to
studying the art educational theorists, the more the educator studied the great art
masters, like her favorite artist, Henri Matisse. She realized how their lives and works
need to be taught to all children because of the enriching nature of their art, as well as
the depiction of the historical era in which they were painting. Artwork always helps
give students a greater context for what they are learning. In addition, while learning
to be student artist themselves, at any level, the practice of art improves the overall
learning experience of all students in the classroom. The educator has learned through
her research how introducing students to great masters like Matisse improved their
interest in visual art. This educator has discovered since she has been teaching art, the
satisfactory completion of even the simplest art project gives a student great sense of
pride in their accomplishment. Having studied kinesthesia, the educator has added
contour drawing to her curriculum, so that the students learn to improve their hand eye
capabilities. This in turn improves their drawing ability and improves their confidence
and joy in their own ability to create art.
In art there is no correct answer. Students can be successful in many different
ways. When children are successful at creating art in school, it makes their total school
experience much more pleasurable. This in turn increases the chance that students will
stay in school and have success in other areas of study. This educator believes that art
education can improve all students’ disposition for learning. As Terry Semel (1994) of
Warner Brothers said, “Young people who create don’t destroy.”
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Chapter 3
NARRATIVE RESEARCH INTO THE ARTIST’S JOURNEY
This project is an Alternative Culminating Experience for a Master of Arts in
Education: Curriculum and Instruction with an Elective emphasis on Arts in
Education. It follows Pathway 1: Artist as Educator. This educator’s project entailed
creating several paintings under the guidance of art instructors from California State
University, Sacramento (CSUS), as well as other artists that the educator chose as
mentors. The educator who is the author of this Masters project has chosen to write
this chapter in the first person. She felt that it was the appropriate voice since the
chapter was written from the educator’s perspective. Since the recording of the
educator’s experiences have been recorded using journals, interviews, and interaction
with her professors and artist mentors, she used a narrative inquiry approach.
Narrative inquiry tells the story of an author’s experience. Narrative research
differs from more traditional quantitative methods of examining and recording an
experience because it includes not only observations, data and reflections, but also
impressions, feelings, and other qualitative observations of the researcher. It is
immediate, personal, and human. This method is appropriate for reflecting an artistic
journey as well as the process of the development of the artist herself. Since it is more
holistic in approach, it is an appropriate choice for a project examining the artistic
process. Since this journey was traveled by the artist alone, it was highly subjective
based upon her experience and reflection of the process.
35
Narrative researchers Connelly and Clandinin (1990) stated “Perhaps because
it focuses on human experience, and perhaps because it has a holistic quality, narrative
has an important place in other disciplines” (p. 2). Narrative inquiry is an appropriate
approach for studying human experience in a broad range of social science fields,
including art and education (Connelly & Clandinin).
This chapter is about the journey taken while in this Masters Cohort in Art
Education at CSUS. It will show my growth as an artist and art teacher through this
two year process. My goal has been to improve my own artwork through taking
classes at CSUS and through working with mentor artists who pushed me to improve
my skills in some basic art techniques which I had not had formal training in before.
The goal was to improve my art skills to become a better artist and art teacher. I argue
will that “when the teacher gets better, her students do too”. That is the title of my
project.
I begin this journey by talking about my own personal history, which led me to
join the arts cohort. I will follow that by narrating the process that I took over the past
two years. I have included in this chapter the influences from my family and friends as
well as the mentor artists and instructors who worked with me on this project.
Family Influences/Growing up in Michigan
I was born on January 10, 1957, in Detroit, Michigan. My parents, Marlene
and Jerry Feldman, lived in a predominantly Jewish suburb of Detroit: Oak Park,
Michigan. I was their first born child, as well as the first grandchild on both sides of
the family. My mother was a good artist herself. She was enrolled in The Detroit
36
Institute of Arts and Crafts. She had to quit because she had a baby (me). When I was
13 months old, my sister Lisa was born, and three years later, my brother Marty. By
the time my mother was 25 years old she had three small children, and no time to
work on her art. She did however instill a love of art in her children. Several times a
year, from the time we were very young, she took us to the Detroit Institute of Arts,
Cranbrook Art Museum, Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum. My mother
also took us to see the Detroit children’s theater, the ballet, symphony and any cultural
event that was happening in the Detroit area. I especially liked the Ann Arbor Arts
festival that occurred every summer.
I am thankful to my mother for developing my love for and appreciation of art.
My mother’s best friend, Ellen Porvin, owned an art gallery downtown and was very
involved in the “art scene” in Detroit. Often on Saturdays my mother and I would
spend the day with her at the gallery. I loved being around the art, the “artsy people”,
and artists that came into the gallery. Whenever our family would go on vacation to
other cities like Toronto or Chicago, my parents would always take us to the museums
and galleries in those cities. That reinforced to me that ART WAS IMPORTANT!
When I was a senior in high school I was in an advanced humanities class. The teacher
took the whole class to New York City on an arts trip. We went to the Museum of
Modern Art, The Metropolitan and the Guggenheim museums. Our teacher also took
us to the ballet at Lincoln center, and two Broadway plays. It was my first time in New
York. My friends and I were in awe of the art that we saw in the museums there. I fell
in love with the MOMA. I couldn’t believe all of the REAL Picassos, Matisse’s, Van
37
Gogh’s and so many others. There were so many original masterpieces, floor after
floor of them. I just couldn’t get enough.
We had some original art in our house, much of which my mom had created. I
remember when I was a teenager going to the Foundry. My mother was taking a
sculpture class and was going to have a wax woman cast in bronze. I remember how
dark and creepy the foundry was. I also remember the beauty of the finished metal
sculptures that were produced there. My mother still has her sculpture prominently
displayed in her house. I remember that the homes of many of my wealthier friends
were filled with artwork. Whenever I went into a house that had original artwork done
by “famous artists,” I always spent time looking at the art. One friend had a large
original Andy Warhol painting in his parent’s home that was damaged at a party we
were attending there. I felt so sad for his mother, because I knew how much that
painting meant to her.
Exposure to all of this art at a young age made a strong impression on me. By
the time I was a teenager, I saw how much the adults in my community valued art, and
this in turn influenced my appreciation of art.
My mother didn’t work with me too much on formal art training when I was a
child. She wanted me to become a doctor, since I was always a good and conscientious
student. I remember though how we used to do a lot of “art/craft projects “together. I
would help my mother make centerpieces for showers and Bar mitzvahs. She also
created very artsy food designs for parties, like jello ribbon molds and salmon salads
in the shape of fish. She encouraged me to make clothes for my Barbie’s and troll
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dolls. In seventh grade home economics, I learned how to sew on a sewing machine.
All of my designs were far more elaborate and detailed than the rest of the class. I
enjoyed designing and sewing outfits. At that age I was also taking piano lessons,
dance lessons, and swimming on the swim team. It didn’t leave me a lot of time to
spend on art. I am very glad that my parents exposed me to so many wonderful things,
but I do wish I would have had more formal art training along the way. I did have a
painting class and a jewelry making class in high school. My grandmother still has the
paintings that I created in those classes for her. She also has a necklace that I made for
her in 1974.
The next year I went to the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Most of my
close friends from high school went there too. All of my male friends were pre-med.
Since I was academically competitive, and I thought that was what my family wanted
for me, I joined them and spent my first two years of college taking chemistry,
calculus and all of the other pre-med classes. They were all very difficult and I did not
like having to study subjects that I did not enjoy. At the end of my sophomore year I
was enrolled in a gross anatomy class. We had both human and animal cadavers to
dissect. It made me feel sick to my stomach and very sad. I dropped the class and
changed my major to history. I applied to, and was accepted into, the School of
Education within the university. I was much happier and felt that I made the right
decision. During my junior year I took an art history class. I loved that class. I learned
the importance of art from a global perspective, and studied a lot about how the Nazis
were obsessed with art. I learned how they looted the art collections of most of the
39
Jewish families in Europe. I understood then why art is so important in the Jewish
community. I also met some students who were in the school of fine arts. I was a little
envious of them when they told me about all of the interesting art projects that they
got to create. I would have loved to transfer into the art program, but felt that I could
not change my major again. I also liked the School of Education, and the history was
easy for me. I graduated from the University of Michigan in 1979. It took me only
four years. My parents, who had been so supportive of me while I was in primary and
secondary school, were going through a divorce during my college years. They both
got remarried right away, withdrawing their financial and emotional support from my
siblings and me.
My Adult Life
I got married to my first husband Lester two months after I graduated from
college. I also got a teaching job right away. I needed security and stability since I no
longer had any from my parents. My job was teaching history, geography and
psychology. I also was the head coach of the boys and girls swim teams at a public
high school in Plantation, Florida. This was not an easy first year out of college at the
age of 22. Lester was from New York but we met in Florida. His parents and my
grandparents lived in the same community. We met at the pool. Lester graduated from
the American University in Washington D.C. When his parents and I went to his
College graduation, we spent several days in the Capitol going to all of the Museums.
We went to the National Gallery, as well as most of the museums in the Smithsonian.
Lester’s parents, Molly and Sam, were very interested in art. They were concentration
40
camp survivors. Sam was retired from the leather clothing business, and was spending
his retirement as a painter. Sam is an accomplished artist and is still painting at 95
years old. He had great influence on me as an artist and painter. I used to spend hours
with him on his screened porch while he painted. We discussed different artists and
painting techniques. No one in his family was interested in art. He mostly painted
“Jewish scenes” in a realistic style. I brought him books on Japanese art. He loved the
Geishas, and the bright colors and clean lines of Asian art. I encouraged him to branch
out and paint in other genres. He had great success with his Geisha paintings and sold
many of them in South Florida. I have several of Sam’s Geisha paintings in my home
today. This one is my favorite; it is a large painting six feet by four feet (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Sam Gruda’s Japanese Painting.
During the first two years of my marriage to Lester, I worked as a teacher and
swim coach at South Plantation High School. He was an accountant (CPA). After two
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years of teaching, I applied and got accepted to Nova Law School in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida. After one year I decided that being a lawyer was not for me. It was too
contentious! It did not suit my personality. I was not going to lie or go against my
values for a client or anyone else. I wanted to do something more creative. I got a job
at the Saks Fifth Avenue that was opening in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As a
merchandiser, my job was to dress the models, decorate the windows, run the fashion
shows and set the merchandise on the racks of the various departments. I enjoyed that
job very much. It allowed me to be creative and artistic. I was very good at that job. I
stayed in that job until I was pregnant with Ashley (my daughter). During my
pregnancy I was very sick. I had a condition called hyper-emesis gravadera. I was
nauseous and vomiting the entire nine months. I couldn’t work because I was too ill.
That was hard for me because I pride myself on being so strong and persevering. I was
actually embarrassed and disappointed in myself because I could not continue to work.
Ashley was born on January 30, 1985, in Plantation, Florida. I had an easy
delivery, and she was a very good baby. When she was born I was very excited and
wanted to dress up my new baby girl like a little princess. I started designing and
making clothes for her. It was fun for me because I was not working and I had always
loved to sew and be creative. People started to admire the outfits that I made for
Ashley. They wanted me to make clothing for their children and grandchildren. I made
a few samples and took them to Saks Fifth Avenue where I had a lot of contacts. They
wanted to order as many pieces as I could make for them. I had to hire a seamstress to
help me finish the garments for the order. After that, I took samples to other local
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“baby boutiques.” Many store owners wanted to buy my creations, so I formally
started a business. I called the company “Coochie-Coo Inc”. I rented a small
storefront, hired three more seamstresses, and started designing for the next season.
Clothing representatives were calling me from New York. They wanted to represent
Coochie-coo. I hired a woman who was well known in the children’s clothing
industry. She had showrooms in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas. Three
times a year I had to send a set of samples to each of these showrooms (see Figure 4).
Figure 4. Coochie-coo Poster.
As the owner, designer and manager of my own company, my duties included
everything from designing the line and selecting and ordering all materials needed to
produce the garments. I created drawings for silk screens and finished all garments. I
did the hiring, firing and supervising of employees. I also did some selling, and dealt
directly with customers. It was overwhelming at times, but I treasured every minute of
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it. Coochie-coo was producing over 10,000 garments per season. I was working from
the time I woke up in the morning until I couldn’t keep my eyes open at night. I also
was caring for a baby, a dog, and a husband. That was a very exciting time for me. I
was a local celebrity in my community. When I arrived in New York for the Kid’s
Show at the Javits center, I got picked up by limousine. I loved designing and making
the clothing and I loved selling my designs at the Kids Show. I did not like the
financial side of the business. Often customers would pay late, or go out of business
and not pay at all. Lester, my husband, was my accountant. He handled the finances.
He did not do a very good job. We fought a lot and in 1989 we got divorced. I closed
the business, and moved to California so I would be near my brother and sister for
emotional support. I got a job in Sacramento after two days, teaching Physical
Education at Kennedy High School.
California Years: Teacher and Mother
In the summer of 1990 I moved across the country with my five year old
daughter Ashley, a Doberman pincher, and two cats. I had never lived on my own
before, but I knew that it was the best thing for Ashley and me. I got an emergency
credential to teach physical education. I enrolled at CSUS to get my physical
education credential in a fifth year program, so that I would be certified to teach in the
state of California. I also had to take CBEST and the CSET single subject test in
history. That was the credential that I had from Florida and Michigan. Working full
time, caring for a small child, and going to school, my life had changed a lot since my
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“glamorous” days of Coochie-coo. I was happy, though, because I felt like I had
control of my own life.
I still worked out at least five times a week. That was always how I managed
my stress, and still is. I need to work out so that I have the energy to do everything
else in my life. Shortly after moving to Sacramento from Florida, I joined the gym
closest to my apartment. After working out there for a few months, I met my husband
Dean Jansen. We have worked out together since we met. We were married in 1993.
Ashley was eight years old at the time. Over the next several years, I taught both high
school and middle school physical education. I finished all of the classes that I needed
to get my credentials, and Dean and I parented Ashley throughout all of her school,
swimming and musical activities. Since Ashley was such a fast swimmer, we traveled
all over the country for her to compete. She was an “All American” swimmer in both
high school and college where she was on scholarship. Her swimming took up the
majority of my nonworking time. I did not have much time to spend creating art, but
Ashley always had the best school play and Halloween costumes. The school projects
that I helped her with kept getting more and more intricate. In sixth grade, Ashley’s
“Egypt project” was so elaborate that it is still on display at Del Dayo elementary
school. My supportive husband Dean said to me after the Egypt project; “Why don’t
you take an art class? You enjoy creating art so much that you need to do your own,
and stop doing your daughters art projects.” Shortly after that conversation in 1987, I
enrolled in a painting class at American River College, it was my first “real art class”.
It was taught by Dan Samborski who is one of my mentors for this project. I did
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several painting in his classes. I appreciated the instruction in technique as well as the
constructive critism that I received from him. I gained so much from the first class that
I took a drawing class and another painting class from him during the next year. I also
bought one of Dan Samborski paintings: “Dogs are Smarter” (see Figure 5).
Figure 5. Samborski “Dogs are Smarter.”
Samborski was able to teach realism along with his own unique surrealistic
style. He taught me to create my compositions using a collage style; but selecting
elements that were meaningful to me. I was able to improve my art work using the
techniques that he taught me in his painting and drawing classes (see Figures 6, 7, 8).
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Figure 6. La Fames De Ma Maison.
Figure 7. Color Carnival.
Figure 8. Cheetah Morphing Into Manatee.
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Figure 6 is called “Les Fames de Ma Maison it is a spoof on a Picasso painting
called “Les Dames de Avion; I painted that 36”x36” canvas in 1998. In the second
painting class that I took from Dan Samborski, I painted Figure 7, 24”x24”Color
Carnival 1998, and36”x36” Cheetah Morphing into Manatee. All of these paintings
were created using acrylic paint on canvas. Dan was able to push me to work hard and
improve my skills. When I write about my process later in this paper, I will detail how
Dan Samborski helped me to improve my art skills during this project.
After Ashley graduated from high school and went away to college, I had more
time to devote to painting. In 1999, Dean had an art studio built as an addition to our
house. It is a 10’x12’ sunroom made of glass. It is a great room to work in because it
has so much natural light coming in to it. With the room to work in and store all of my
supplies, it was less complicated to paint on a more regular basis. I created several
commissions (see Figures 9, 10).
Figure 9. Shattered.
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Figure 10. Brown-turquoise Graphic.
These were created for a beauty shop. I painted Figure 9 first. Dean and I had to build
the frame for this canvas because it is so big. It is 6’x8’. It is painted using acrylic
paint, with lots of different kinds of materials mixed into them, to give texture. The
second painting, Figure10, is actually two paintings, 4’x6’ each, painted in acrylic, on
canvas as a set. I also created paintings for a sushi restaurant and for a pediatrician’s
office (see Figures 11, 12).
Figure 11. Sushi Festival (paintings at Miyagi).
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Figure 12. The Enchanted Jungle.
The “Sushi “paintings (Figure 11) are in Miyagi restaurant in Lyons Village. They are
acrylic on wood paintings 12”x12” square. The “Enchanted jungle” (Figure 12) is in
Dr. Asikar’s pediatric neurology office. It is an acrylic on canvas 20”x30”. He told me
that the children love to look at this painting.
In early 2001 I was asked to bring several of my paintings to the New
Artworks Gallery in Fair Oaks, California. I brought several paintings there for sale
and display. The gallery cooperative required a lot of my time. I took my paintings out
of the gallery after a few years, because I could not fulfill the time requirement.
During the same time period I was asked to be a docent at the California state fair fine
arts exhibit. I have been a docent at the fair every summer since 2000. I work three or
four, three hour blocks of time during the fair. I learned a lot about local art through
that experience. In 2006 I entered some paintings to be juried for the state fair. One of
my paintings, “Retro Cats” (see Figure 13), acrylic on canvas 36”x36”was selected.
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Figure 13. Retro Cats.
That was very gratifying for me, I felt like I was a real artist. I even won an award for
the painting. In the summer of 2006, my principal asked me to teach summer school
art. She knew that I was interested in teaching art so she got an emergency credential
for me and gave me that chance. It was a great success. I taught two, two hour classes,
four days a week for six weeks. The students loved the class, and I enjoyed teaching it.
At the end of the session, we had a student art show. It was very successful. Since I
have been teaching art during the regular school year I have continued with student art
shows at the end of each semester. The students look forward to it and their parents do
also. After this summer school session I started to think about getting an art credential.
Origins of This Project
In the spring of 2008, I attended the Arts Resource Fair at CSUS. I did this to
get my district’s required credit hours. One of the seminars that I attended was about
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the Arts in Education Masters Cohort. After the presentation, I met Crystal Olson and
spoke to her at length about the program. I was so impressed by both the program and
Crystal that I applied for acceptance to the arts cohort that day. As I stated earlier, I
wanted to earn an art credential so I could teach art full time. I also wanted to get the
formal training in art that I needed to become a “better artist”. This Masters program
was the perfect opportunity to get both an art credential, and the formal training I
needed to become a serious artist.
The Project: When the Teacher Gets Better, Her Students do Too
I entered the arts cohort in the fall of 2008. I was very excited about improving
my skills as an artist. I was also on the road to becoming a full time art teacher at
California Middle school. That same year, my principal assigned me two art classes,
along with three physical education classes. I had been teaching only physical
education over the past twenty years. Earning the Master’s degree would make me
eligible to teach art at all levels in the public schools, as well as at the junior college
level. I was excited by that possibility, because I was getting tired of teaching physical
education, but had a passion to teach art. After reading Dewey (1934), Arnstine
(1967), Eisner (1998), Gardner (1989), and other educational philosophers in the first
semester of the arts cohort, I was convinced that art was what I wanted to teach for the
remaining years of my teaching career.
John Dewey (1934) wrote that students have aesthetic learning experiences in
art that help them to become independent thinkers and problem solvers. He also wrote
that arts education improves the student’s disposition for learning in all subjects in
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school. While teaching art in my first semester at California Middle School, I could
see how my students were engaged in the process of creating art. I knew that I had
made the right choice to pursue my Master’s in art education.
According to Dewey (1934) and Arnstine (1967), art education should be
taught by teachers who have enthusiasm for their students and expertise in what they
are teaching (Arnstine, p. 370). I had the enthusiasm for what I was teaching and I
hoped that through the process of attaining the Master’s degree in art education, I
would gain the expertise I needed to be a great art teacher. I wanted to avail my
students of esthetic learning experiences.
During the first semester of the arts cohort, my professors introduced us to the
different pathways to take for the Master’s project. I had no problem deciding that I
would be following pathway I, Artist as Educator. It fit perfectly with my goals of
becoming a better artist and art educator. Once this decision was made, I had to map
out my plans for my project, which I did in chapter one. In the next section I will
describe in depth the process that I took during my project.
The Project: My Paintings
Each one of the paintings that I created for this Master’s thesis has its own
story of how and why I created it, along with the process of its creation. The majority
of the paintings are acrylic on canvas. Some have companion pieces to go with them
that were created in other media, such as puppets.
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The Puppets
In the spring semester of 2009, my elective class was Richard Bay’s puppet
class at CSUS. There were several other members of my cohort in the class, which
added to the enjoyment of it. Richard is a great teacher. He has enthusiasm for what he
is teaching, and made the class fun for all of his students. The first thing that we had to
do was draw a picture of a cartoon character, or “Pop culture” icon. I chose “Barbie”,
because 2009 was the year of her 50th birthday and I have always been a big fan. I
made a painting so that I could use it for my project. It is 18”x18” acrylic on canvas. I
used an actual doll as my model. I was very pleased with how the painting came out. I
liked it so well that I took a picture of it and make an innovation of the painting. I used
Photoshop to make nine different images of Barbie, in the “Pop art” style. The
painting can be seen in Figure14). The Pop art style, nine image-print is shown in
Figure 15.
Figure 14. Happy Birthday Barbie.
Figure 15. Pop Art Barbie x 9.
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The Painting is titled “Happy Birthday Barbie.” Richard and the students in the class
all appreciated the painting. I had a lot of fun creating both the original and the
metamorphosis of Barbie. The next assignment was to make a drawing or painting of a
cartoon like character, or animal that you wanted to use for the creation of your first
puppet. It was going to be a hand puppet. I chose my favorite subject: Saki, my
beautiful orange-tabby cat. I made two paintings in cartoon style of him. I chose
paintings, instead of drawings, because I knew that I wanted to use them for my
project (see Figures 16, 17, 18).
Figure 16. Saki, from
Retro Cats.
Figure 17. Saki Profile
Painting.
Figure 18. Saki Hand
Puppet.
The first painting (Figure 16) is Saki, from my “Retro Cats” painting. Since
Richard wanted the drawing or painting in cartoon form, I thought that would be an
excellent choice. The second painting (Figure 17) is a profile of “Saki” using the first
painting as a guide. It is painted to look more like a puppet than the first one. Both
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paintings are acrylic on canvas 14”x18”. They were fun and easy to create. I did not
use any new painting techniques. Both paintings were created in an unrealistic,
cartoon style. They only took a few hours to complete. The hand puppet (Figure 18)
was made in Puppet class. Richard Bay taught us step by step how to create a hand
puppet, and had all of the materials that we needed to create one in the classroom. I
brought a few items from home, like the acrylic eyes and materials for the vest and
whiskers. The sewing came easy to me since I had a lot of machine sewing experience,
with Coochie-coo Inc. I was able to finish my puppet in a very short time, and spend a
time helping others from my cohort with their sewing. The second puppet that I
created for the class was a mouth puppet. I made a white Llama puppet because my
friend Kathy has a beautiful white Llama named Dusty. I will be giving this puppet to
her at the conclusion of the project (see Figures 19, 20).
Figure 19. Dusty Llama, Side View.
Figure 20. Dusty Llama, Front View.
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This was the last puppet that we make in the class and it was a lot more
complex. We had to glue foam rubber together to make the head and mouth, and then
we had to sew on all of the fabric and details. I like the eyes and eyelashes the best.
Those details make the puppet look most “Llama like”. I will also be doing a painting
of “Dusty llama”, that will be the last thing that I do for this project, because I want
the painting to be very realistic. I plan to have it ready for our art show at the Vox
gallery in July. I have a photograph that I selected to use for this painting. I will be
painting in the style of Mari Kloeppel whom I met at the Crocker art museum in
February of 2009. Her paintings are very realistic and beautiful. She uses dark
backgrounds like the Renaissance artists did. I spoke to her and she said that she
would mentor me for a painting. We have not been able to get together yet, but I am
still trying to set up a time for us to meet. I do have a book of her paintings. Figure 21
is my favorite Kloeppel painting. It is of the white stallion that she cherished. I will try
to do my Dusty Llama painting in the style of her beautiful white stallion (see Figure
21). The picture of Dusty llama is (Figure 22) was taken of her at the California State
Fair. I like the blue curtain in the background which matches the blue ribbon that she
won. It will be challenging to paint this picture in the style of Mari Kloeppel.
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Figure 21. Mari Kloeppel, White Stallion.
Figure 22. Dusty Llama,
Photograph.
My Favorite Artist: Henri Matisse
The next two paintings that I created during the summer of 2009 were in the
style of Henri Matisse. They are very bright and colorful like Matisse’s paintings, as
well as being cheerful and uplifting. I enjoyed painting them. I painted the first one, in
June. I was doing research on Matisse at the time, and was spending a lot of time
looking at, and reading about his work. This painting is mostly in “cool colors”; blues,
greens and purples. There is a bit of hot pink added for contrast. It is an acrylic on
canvas painting; 24”x36”. It is entitled “Blue Harmony”. This was a study in mixing
colors to try to get the most vibrant and interesting combination as Matisse would
have (see Figure 23).
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Figure 23. Matisse Style, Blue Harmony.
The next painting I created in July. It is a collage-painting. Matisse made collages
using simple shapes, in bright colors, later in his life. I wanted to honor him by
devising a painting using several of his techniques. He called the process that he used,
“paintings with scissors”. I created a piece using a painted canvas, cutting and painting
several “Matisse style” shapes out of canvas cloth, then gluing them to the canvas to
make it came to life with shape and color. I used bright complimentary colors to show
movement. I was pleased with the outcome of this collage-painting and I enjoyed
creating it. I would like to make more collage-paintings in Matisse’s style in the future
(see Figure 24).
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Figure 24. Matisse style, Painting-Collage.
The Figure Drawing Class
In the fall of 2009, I took a figure drawing class at CSUS. My teacher was
Michael Riegel, who has been teaching art at CSUS for over 30 years. He is an
excellent teacher, and I learned a lot from him. The most important thing that he
taught me was that if I wanted to become a better artist and painter, I had to improve
my drawing skills. That was exactly why I took his figure drawing class. The class met
on Monday and Wednesday afternoon, from 3:00 to 6:00 for the semester. All of the
drawing was of live nude models. Practicing drawing six hours a week for an entire
semester was a great way to improve my skills. Michael Riegel taught me the
importance of drawing from life as a skill to improve myself. He contends that you
must practice drawing every day just like a basketball player practicing free throws, or
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a musician practicing scales. For my final in his class, I had to do a self portrait. I did
three different pieces of art for my final. The first was a drawing of me using a mirror
(see Figure 25).
Figure 25. Self Portrait, Pencil Drawing.
It is 9”x12” drawing pencil on paper. The second drawing is more stylized; I was not
pleased with the outcome. I don’t think that it looks like me at all but I did have fun
creating it (see Figure 26).
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Figure 26. Self Portrait, Pastels.
This portrait is 16”x20” and was created using pastels on watercolor paper. My
teacher liked both of my drawings a lot, but I did not. I thought that the nose in this
picture is too long, making the mouth to low and the chin too small. Since I was not
happy with my second drawing, Iwanted to create something that would be really
great. I wanted to show myself that I had made real progress in Riegel’s class. In
September when I began the class, I was not good at drawing the human figure, but I
had work very hard for three and a half months and I knew that I had improved. In
November of 2009, I had an idea to borrow one of my favorite artist’s paintings and
put myself into it. That would fufill my final assignment in figure drawing class, of
the“self-portrait”. I also thought that adding a painting in the“figurative style” would
be a great addition to the paintings in my project. I chose an obscure painting by Henri
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Matisse (my favorite artist). The painting was a nude,Matisse’s favorite genre, the
human form. The painting that I selected is called Nude on a Sofa, 1923. It is an oil on
canvas, 20”x24”. It is from Matisse’s Odalisques collection (see Figure 27).
Figure 27. Henri Matisse, Nude on a Sofa.
I was brave, on this painting I chose a large canvas 36”x36”. I drew the figure on the
canvas, and then altered it to look like me. I did my best to keep all of the components
of the painting in Matisse’s style. I added a cat in the window (Saki), and made the
couch blue like the couch in my living room. I used acrylic paints trying to achieve a
bright, cheerful composition like Matisse would have. I even used some of his
“painting with scissors” shapes in the wall paper. I enjoyed creating this painting. I
think that it is my best painting so far. My teacher, Mike Riegel agreed (see Figure
28).
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Figure 28. Self Portrait, Matisse, Nude on a Sofa.
My Friend the Artist, Donna Blum
The next painting I created in December of 2009. That was during my winter
holiday break. I produced the painting in the style of my friend Donna Blum’s work.
She is an accomplished painter. She devised a three dimensional style of
painting/collage that is ingenious. She cuts strips of canvas, frays and paints them,
then glues them to the painted canvas in a three dimensional way. The pieces are not
always flush to the canvas. She uses very bright colors and simple shapes. She gave
me permission to construct a piece of artwork in her style. I think that it came out well.
I used a canvas 36”x36”, painted it black; and then cut ten strips of three inch wide
canvas, in ten different lengths. I painted each one in cool colors, using a value scale,
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from light to dark, approach. I then painted a round piece of canvas and make it look
dimensional. The next step was to get individual strands of canvas. I painted them in
“hot” pink and orange. I chose those colors to contrast with the cool colored the strips.
I stuffed the circular piece with quilt stuffing, and then glued it on the canvas, with a
hot glue gun. Next I arranged the strips around the “sun”, and glued each canvas strip
in a wave pattern. The last step was to glue the hot pink and orange strands of canvas
around the sun. I named this painting; “Waves and Sun”, a tribute to Donna. It is very
different than anything else that I have made. I will try this style of painting again.
There are endless possibilities of what you can do with this technique if you are
imaginative (see Figure 29).
Figure 29. Waves and Sun.
The Samborski Challenge
The last two paintings that I produced for this project were mentored by Dan
Samborski. He was the art teacher at American River College, that I took classes from
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years ago. I wrote about him earlier in this chapter. I met with him in May of 2009 at
American River College. I brought some of my recent work to show him. He agreed to
be one of my mentors. He said that he would mentor me even though I did not have
much formal training as an artist, because I was always fearless in my effort.
Samborski told me to send him a proposal for my each painting. The first proposal
used the collage style that he had taught me in his painting class. I selected three
pictures to meld into one composition. The canvas that I used is 48”x30”. The painting
is horizontal on the canvas. I used acrylic paints. I found three very interesting pictures
to use for the composition, and e-mailed them to him (see Figures 30, 31, 32).
Figure 30. The Levi
Window, Mark Chagall.
Figure 31. Saki’s
Photograph at his
Bar Mitzvah
Figure 32. Photograph, the
Wailing Wall, Jerusalem
The first picture (Figure 30) is of the Levi window. It is one of the 12 stained glass
windows designed by Mark Chagall. The windows represent the 12 tribes of Israel.
This set of stained glass windows was created in 1959, for the synagogue, that was
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part of the new Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem. The
second picture (Figure 31) is a photograph of Saki at his Bar Mitzvah. This picture
was taken December 29, 2007, Saki’s 13th birthday. The third picture (Figure 32) is a
photograph of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. The wall is all that is left of the ancient
King Solomon’s temple. The Dome of the Rock, a famous church in Jerusalem, is also
in the picture. I combined the three pictures together, and named the composition
“Saki’s Bar Mitzvah” (see Figure 33).
Figure 33. The Collage of “Saki’s Bar Mitzvah, the Painting.”
This painting was the most complex and difficult one that I had ever attempted.
I started this painting in May 2009, and it still is not finished. The first step was to
draw all three pictures onto the canvas. The second step was to start painting. I chose
to paint the Chagall window first, followed by Saki. I painted the old city of Jerusalem
last. Dan Samborski has given me helpful critique on the painting. I hope to have it
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finished by our Cohort Art show at the Vox gallery in July. I learned a lot in the
process of creating this painting. It has been a very humbling experience, because it is
such a difficult project. It has been worth the effort because this composition did push
me to improve my skills in the areas of painting that I wanted to improve upon:
perspective, proportion, and chiaroscuro (see Figure 34).
Figure 34. The Painting, “Saki’s Bar Mitzvah.”
For the second painting mentored by Dan Samborski, I chose a much more
simple composition. I modeled it after a painting that he produced using the style of
several master artists (see Figure 35). In August of 2009, I started this painting. For
my composition, I used the Mondrian technique of lines and squares, and added a
picture of an eye that I found intriguing, to complete the collage (see Figure 36).
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Figure 35. Samborski Painting,
Mondrian-Van Gogh.
Figure 36. The Intriguing Eye.
The result is an interesting surreal painting, 24”x24”, acrylic on canvas. I used very
bright “Matisse” like colors. The process was much simpler than Saki’s Bar Mitzvah
because of all of the straight lines. I named this painting, “Mondrian’s View” (see
Figure 37).
Figure 37. Mondrian’s View, Painting.
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Summation
The paintings created in this project were part of a two year journey. The
purpose of this journey was to improve my art skills so that I would become a better
artist and art teacher. With the help of my professors, art teachers and mentors I think
that I have succeeded in that quest. In addition to improving my competence as an
artist and art teacher, I have improved my writing skills tremendously. I have also
learned a lot of theory in the area of art education which has helped me to grow as a
person. In Chapter 4 I will go into detail about how this experience has changed me,
and has helped me to be a more educated artist and art teacher.
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Chapter 4
REFLECTIONS ON THE PROJECT
During the two years that it took me to complete this project, I encountered
many challenges and successes. The greatest challenge was finding the time to do all
of the reading, writing and painting required to complete this Master’s project well
enough to satisfy my personal tough standards of quality. The class meetings were
always pleasant as well as enlightening. Monday and Wednesday evenings were hard
because I was always tired from the school day. The professors were great, they taught
us so much, yet were sensitive to the fact that most of the students in the cohort were
full time teachers, parents, spouses, etc. Many fellow students in the cohort have
become my friends; a few will be lifelong friends. I am glad that I decided to take on
this enormous project. I have learned a great deal about myself, art education, art skills
and being a much better writer.
Reflection on the Art
The first project that I undertook was the puppet class. That was a class that I
never anticipated taking. It was really fun and I learned how to make many different
kinds of puppets. If I had the materials in my classroom I would add a puppet unit to
my art class. My students would love it. I would even have my students make a stage,
props, and put on a puppet show for the entire school, or go to elementary schools and
put on a show. Maybe in the future when there are not so many budgetary constraints
it will be possible.
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The figure drawing class was something that I always wanted to take. I believe
that it is necessary to be able to draw well, in a realistic way, to be able to be an
accomplished artist. I learned a lot of drawing techniques and philosophies of drawing
in the figure drawing class. I improved in my drawing abilities during the class, which
helped me in my Master’s project. I will be able to use what I learned in my own art
work, and will use the information in teachings my art students.
Working with the mentor artists was very helpful to me. Dan Samborski made
make many suggestions that helped me improve my paintings. Mari Kloeppel’s
artwork was awe inspiring, and it challenged me to work harder, to master the skill of
chiaroscuro. Donna Blum, my friend, also mentored me for one painting. I have
known her for a long time, but did not know that she was an artist until I went to her
house. I was so impressed with her artwork that I asked her if she would mentor me
for a painting. She was able to teach me her technique for a three-dimensional
painting.
Henri Matisse, my favorite artist, was the inspiration for three of my paintings.
I researched him as a person, as well as his work, in depth. Matisse was a great man as
well as a great painter. He inspired and mentored many young artists while he was
alive. He is still an inspiration to many even after his death. I have been teaching a unit
on Matisse for all of my art classes. My students love doing Matisse projects because
of his simple lines and bright colors. In Chapter 2 there is a picture of my students’
Matisse project (see Figure 1).
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The Writing
The writing of this project has been difficult and time consuming for me. In the
beginning of the Arts Cohort, I had a lot of trouble. I had never heard of the APA style
of writing. I graduated from the University of Michigan in 1979. Even though I had
taken a lot of college classes since my undergraduate graduation, I was never required
to write long papers or use the APA format. The professors in the Arts Cohort were
very patient with me and taught me the correct way to write this Master’s project. I
now have much more confidence in my writing ability and will be more adept at
writing documents, such as grants for my school, in the future.
Future Plans for my Artwork
In the future I plan to continue to paint and draw as often as possible. I will
make the time to draw live models in a figure class on a regular basis. I want to
continue to improve my ability to draw in a more realistic way. I would also like to
enter more of my work into juried art shows, and do more commissions. I would also
like to go to Europe to get more formal training in painting and drawing. I would
especially love to spend some time in Italy so that I can spend time studying Leonardo
Da Vinci and Michelangelo paintings. I would also love to spend a summer painting in
the south of France to learn more about my favorite French painters like Matisse and
Monet. I just want to keep painting and getting better because when the teacher gets
better her students do too.
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My Future Teaching Art
One of my future goals as an art teacher is to teach art all day, not only two
periods. I am currently teaching two periods of art and three periods of physical
education. I would also like to sponsor an after school art program at my school where
we could create murals and mosaics around the school and community. I have been
invited to teach a children’s art class at the Crocker Art Museum this summer as a
volunteer, and the art director of the California State Fair asked me to be one of the
judges of student art for this summer’s exhibit. I am glad that my love of art is making
an impact on the community, especially in the area of teaching and mentoring children
to become our artists of the future.
Summation
The entire experience of this Master’s Cohort has been one that I will never
forget. I learned so much, and have grown as a person, artist and educator.
Thank you Lorie, Crystal and Karen
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