Ms. Sargents Art Education Blog

Saturday, April 24, 2010

My Teaching Philosophy

What everyone should know about "Art Education" is that it is as important as any subject taught in our schools. When you think about art, many people may think it is just about doing some crafts with kids, or painting a pretty picture. Art is so much more than this, what makes mankind stand out from every other inhabitant of this planet, is our need for self expression. When you look back at the first recorded works of "Art History" when man scratched a drawing into a stone or on the wall of a cave, it is obvious that mankind uses art to express himself. Maybe this is the one thing that truly makes us civilized, our innate need for creative self expression, as a means of telling the world who we are, what interests us or fascinates us or inspires us and many times what makes us angry or frustrated.

When it comes to self expression I can not think of a better way to accomplish this, than through the use of art. Art takes many forms that are not always as obvious as a painting, drawing, sculpture or other creative endeavors. Many times we express our creativity through construction like the Greeks and Romans did in the past. The Greeks were unsurpassed in their expression of beauty and perfection; most people would probably agree that the Parthenon was a monumental success for the architects of that time. Most people probably don't think about the homes and buildings of today as works of art, even though many are just that. When you think about the beautiful vessels of the Greek period you are inspired by the beauty of these everyday objects. However, most of us don't think of our vessels today as works of art even though many are.

As an educator, I want my students to see the bigger picture when it comes to artistic expression, to understand that the prospects are limitless. Yes, it is wonderful to see beautiful paintings and sculpture, but what about the everyday items men and women create, such as furniture, automobile's and homes. It is important to make certain that the youth of today are educated in "Art History", but we also need to help them see art as the building blocks of our society and our way of life as well. It does make sense to teach art in our school system today, we can easily connect art to science, math, and history and language arts too. I hope every individual who reads this blog will insist on preserving the "Arts" for your selves and your children, by keeping art education in our schools. Our children need the freedom to express themselves through art, to explore all the possibilities that are out there.

Cave Painting

The earliest known European cave paintings date to 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the cave paintings is not known, and may never be. The evidence suggests that they were not merely decorations of living areas, since the caves in which they have been found do not have signs of ongoing habitation. Also, they are often in areas of caves that aren't easily accessed. Some theories hold that they may have been a way of transmitting information, while other theories ascribe them a religious or ceremonial purpose. This assortment of images was found at Oddee.com, where there is also short text accompanying them.