The Artist's Eye

Fall is here and that means Art is back in session!  Every year, I give the students an introductory project, usually a prompted drawing, designed to encourage them to think creatively and explore their own artistry.  In fourth grade, I begin the introductory project with a question: How do you think artists see the world differently from other people?  They always have great answers, including these spot-on ideas from this year's discussion:

• Artists notice more colors than other people
• Artists look at something and think of how to draw, sculpt, or paint it
• Artists are always thinking of creating something
• Artists always want to be original and unique 

Then, I give them the drawing prompt: create your Artist's Eye- a drawing that expresses how you see the world when you are making art and being creative. Further prompts included asking them to think about how they feel when they are making art, and what inspires them to make their art. This project encourages the students to engage in metacognition, as they think about who they are as creative individuals and how they function as artists.

More than any other project in the curriculum, I see in the Artist's Eye projects an incredible variety of interpretations and final projects.  I also find that the students really put a lot of themselves into their work and they create something that really expresses their artistic voice. Having known most of these students since they were in kindergarten, I think that if you showed me the work without a name, I could often guess who made it!

Here are some of this year's examples: