This is true whether the students are 5, 15, or 50. It’s difficult to provide these opportunities and guide a class through the stages of making an artwork in a limited amount of time.
Students need opportunities to experiment with technique before applying it and time to think through ideas.
When everyone is making the same thing, it’s a risk to try something different. Directional activities don’t support creativity, they reinforce following directions. Throughout the painting process, we were given examples of how we could be creative. Everyone in the class ended up with paintings that looked like a close variation of the example even though we had multiple opportunities to try our own ideas. We did, adding value and the iconic birch tree black lines. “Take a sip of your drink and keep going,” our instructor told the class, not unkindly. Do we do the same thing to our students when we show them a model and ask them to replicate it? Everyone in the class was comparing their work to the example and worrying that it fell short. The fear of failing is very real, even for adults, when the task is to recreate an example. It was obvious that my classmates were uncomfortable with trying to replicate the trees from the example. I was surprised at how stressful this stage in the painting was for many of the painters. Our instructor gave specific directions to help the class replicate the number and placement of birch trees in the example painting. Then we started working on adding trees in the foreground and the mood changed. Everyone talked and laughed and continued to have a good time. Next, we added warm and cool yellow to finish the background and took a break to let the paint dry.
I had a painting instructor in school who was adamantly opposed to mixing on the canvas, so I felt a bit like I was breaking the law, but I ignored the feeling and kept making choppy brush strokes with my big brush. Next, we added white paint over the wet brown paint.
SIP AND PAINT ATLANTA FULL
When I don’t provide my students the full picture, maybe I’m just building discomfort. I do the same thing to my students, I realized, with the intent of build interest or anticipation. This was strange for me because I wasn’t sure how what we were doing fit into the final painting. The instructor told us to select big brushes and make choppy strokes with the brown paint on our palette. We started our paintings with the background. In fact, many art teachers use directional activities that are very similar to what happened at my party. Yes, the work being painted in these parties lacks the originality to make it true art, but it’s not too much different than activities that happen in art classrooms every day. I saw why so many people enjoy this type of class. My canvas was ready for me when I arrived along with my paint and brushes. It was relaxed and fun, filled with people looking forward to spending time with friends. The first thing I noticed about my class was the atmosphere. I ended up reflecting on my own teaching practice as much as I did on my painting. What should art teachers, who value creativity, make of these events where everyone ends up with an identical work? To find out, I went to a Paint and Sip party with friends. It seems like every time we log in to Facebook, we see images of friends and acquaintances proudly holding their latest masterpieces. Paint and Sip parties have never been more popular.
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