My mind a beautiful thing Imagination, Art, Creativity in ... · My mind a beautiful thing. In my...

Austin Clarkson Ph.D.

“My mind a beautiful thing”

Imagination, Art, Creativity in Elementary Education

REPORT

SOUNDWAY PRESS

REPORT

“My mind a beautiful thing”

Imagination, Art, Creativity in Elementary Education

Austin Clarkson, Ph.D.Professor of Music emeritus, York University

Director, The Milkweed Collective

Soundway PressToronto

SOUNDWAY PRESS29 Lorraine Gardens

Toronto ON M9B 4Z5 [email protected]

Copyright © February 2011 by Austin ClarksonAll rights reserved.

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Clarkson, Austin “My mind a beautiful thing” Imagination, Art, Creativity in Elementary Education

Includes bibliographical references and appendices.

ISBN 978-0-919327-20-7

Design Daniel Foley [email protected]

To download this publication, visit: www.exploringcreativity.ca, Reports

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My picture is about what’s in my head. It’s a dream about lines and people. People are walking on the road. They are going to the mall. I used lots of colours and lines.

My picture makes me feel excited because of colours and lines.Girl, Grade 1

My art makes me feel peaceful because of the colours I used. My art is saying, “Welcome to my world!”

I think I am a good artist because I drew this picture.Boy, Grade 2

In my mind I wonder what’s there, Miracles, dreams, all about me.

My imagination flows through this delicate system, In my mind I wonder what’s there.

No specific portion, shape or subject, My mind is magical, something for me to figure out.

In my mind I wonder what’s there, All my own for me to hold, My mind a beautiful thing.

In my mind I wonder what’s there.Girl, Grade 5

Words cannot describe how I feel about my painting, but these words can: It is beautiful, it is great, that I think I should be crying right now.

The painting feels like a passage way to a new world. Boy, Grade 6

My imagination showed me something I did not know and I couldn’t describe, so I drew it out.

Boy, Grade 7

I can put my imagination on paper.Girl, Grade 7

This artwork expresses one’s creativity and imagination. It shows anyone can do anything.

Boy, Grade 8

I was sitting in my chair staring at the blank paper in front of me and wondering what should I draw about. So I began. It was like my hand had a brain of its own. It just kept drawing. I didn’t know what I was doing.

By the time I knew, the drawing was complete. But I do remember having feelings of love, confusion, harmony and peace. When I look at the finished drawing today, I still don’t know what it is.

Girl, Grade 8

The Wisdom of Young Minds

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CONTENTS

The Wisdom of Young Minds iiiContents vSummary viiAcknowledgements viii1.0 Introduction 12.0 “Exploring Creativity in Depth”: The Program 33.0 Teachers and the ECID 9 3.1 A Teacher in Profile 9 3.2 Teacher Responses 10 3.3 Teacher Reflections 134.0 Students and the ECID 155.0 Student Artwork and Reflections 20 5.1 Two Girls in Profile 20 5.2 Drawings and Writings of 25 Students 22 5.3 Student Reflections 33 5.3.1 Mind ⇔ Imagination 34 5.3.2 Imagination ⇔ Art 37 5.3.3 Art ⇔ Creativity 40 5.3.4 Creativity ⇔ Identity 41 5.3.5 Identity ⇔ Community 436.0 Discussion 45 6.1 Northrop Frye Revisited 45 6.2 Educating the Creative Imagination 46 6.3 The Rhetorics of Creativity 48 6.4 The Creative Process and Transformation 51 6.5 Reflective Learning and Visioning 53 6.6 The Revised Ontario Arts Curriculum 557.0 Recommendations 57 Recommandations 588.0 References and Resources 599.0 Appendices 62 A Teacher Questionnaire 62 B Student Questionnaire 64 C Responses from Student Questionnaires 2009-2010 65 D Questionnaires of Selected Students 68 Author’s Note 71

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ImagInatIon, art, CreatIvIty In the elementary Classroom

SUMMARY

Exploring Creativity in Depth is an arts enrichment program for elementary schools that is sponsored by Arts Etobicoke, funded by public sector agencies, and provided by qualified artist-teachers of the Milkweed Collective to the schools of West Toronto. 4,000 children from grades 1 to 8, with their teachers and parent-volunteers, from schools in predominantly “priority” neighbourhoods have attended the program since 2002.

The Report describes the ECID program and assesses its effects. Teacher questionnaires and interviews provide information on the effects of the ECID on their attitudes to art, the imagination, and creativity. Teachers affirm that the program increases their confidence in teaching art, and they provide examples of how they apply concepts and methods from the ECID in language arts, social studies, and other subject areas. Teachers reflect on the effects on student creativity, use of the imagination, confidence and self-esteem, ability to pay attention, and empathy and social skills. They also note positive effects on self-understanding (meta-cognition), metaphorical thinking, inferencing, creative problem-solving, and appreciation of multiple perspectives.

Student questionnaires provide data on what was learned about the imagination, about art, about themselves, and about their classmates. An analysis of several hundred statements from student feedback forms have been catalogued with respect to the categories: Mind, Imagination, Art, Creativity, Identity, Community. The drawings and writings of 27 students from grades 1 to 8 illustrate the transformative effects of the creative process.

The discussion takes up the topics: Northrop Frye Revisited, Educating the Creative Imagination, The Rhetorics of Creativity, The Creative Process and Transformation, Reflective Learning and Visioning, and The Revised Ontario Arts Curriculum. The Report concludes with 16 Recommendations on: the role of the arts in the core curriculum; the capacity of teachers to implement the Revised Ontario Arts Curriculum; the importance of reflective learning and creativity across the curriculum; and research and development of the ECID.

SUMMAR

ECID est un programme d’éducation de l’imagination par les arts destiné aux enfants de niveau primaire et subventionné par Arts Etobicoke et le secteur public. Le programme est actuellement offert aux écoles de l’Ouest de Toronto et il est enseigné par des artistes qualifiés appartenant au Collectif Milkweed. Plus de 4’000 enfants de première à huitième années ont participé au programme depuis 2002, accompagnés de leurs enseignants et de parents.

Ce rapport décrit le programme et évalue ses effets. Il est basé entre autres sur des interviews et des questionnaires remplis par les élèves et les enseignants. Pour les enseignants, qui décrivent leur attitude par rapport à l’art, à l’imagination et à la créativité, le programme a offert une nouvelle légitimation de leur capacité à enseigner l’art et de nouveaux concepts et méthodes à appliquer dans d’autres branches, telles les langues et les études sociales. Les enseignants exposent aussi les effets que le programme a eu sur leurs élèves en matière de créativité, d’imagination, de confiance personnelle et amour-propre, de concentration, et par rapport à leur empathie et leur habileté à manoeuvrer la vie sociale. Ils notent des effets positifs sur la capacité des élèves à s’auto-observer (méta-cognition), sur leur faculté à penser en métaphores et à raisonner par inférences, sur leur créativité dans la résolution de problèmes et finalement sur leur penchant à comparer des perspectives différentes.

Dans leurs questionnaires, les élèves décrivent ce qu’ils ont appris sur l’imagination, sur l’art, sur eux-mêmes et leurs amis. Ce rapport classe plusieurs centaines de leurs réponses dans les catégories suivantes: pensée, imagination, art, créativité, identité et communauté et fait une analyse plus approfondie du travail de 27 élèves. Il conclut sur les effets transformateurs du programme.

La discussion s’articule sous les titres suivants: réflection sur les concepts de Northrop Frye, éduquer l’imagination créatrice, la rhétorique de la créativité, processus créateur et transformation, apprentissage réflexif et visualisation, et, la révision du curriculum de l’Ontario en éducation artistique. Le rapport se termine sur 16 recommandations portant sur: le rôle des arts dans le curriculum de base; la capacité des enseignants à appliquer la révision du curriculum de l’Ontario en éducation artistique; l’importance d’un apprentissage réflexif et de la créativité dans toutes les branches d’enseignement; et recherche et développement de l’ECID.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, we would like to thank the teachers, who have helped us shape the Exploring Creativity in Depth program over the years, and the students, whose drawings, writings, and reflections have inspired the staff. In particular, we would like to acknowledge with deep appreciation the students whose drawings and writings are included in this Report, and their parents and guardians who gave us permission to let the artwork and photos be reproduced. We would also like to thank the school principals who have been so supportive of the program.

We extend warmest appreciation to the original members of the Milkweed Collective who helped to start the ECID program—Alex Bovkis, Luci Dilkus, Sylvia Elliott, Carolyn Howell, Janine Kinch, Elaine Krueger, and Joanna McEwen. Above all, we are indebted to Patricia McPhail, who has administered the program from the beginning with such enthusiasm and dedication and who continues to facilitate the program with such skill and creativity. We would also like to extend thanks to the artist-teachers who joined the staff of the program more recently—Amy Capern, Louise Cordingley-Zych, Corene Jonat, Jess Harris, Dale Lang, Robin McPhail-Dempsey, Nancy Newton, Ina Puchala, Brenda Sturino, and Claudia Wittmann. Their skill in nurturing the creative process, their expertise as artists, and their enthusiasm and caring as facilitators have kindled the creativity of dozens of teachers and thousands of children.

In 2000, while searching for a site for the first exhibition of the Milkweed Collective, we discovered the Neilson Park Creative Centre. Its spacious galleries and light-filled studios, nestled in parkland overlooking Etobicoke Creek, have hosted our four group shows and workshops for children and adults ever since. We are most grateful to the board of directors of the NPCC for providing us with such an excellent facility, and to the staff for their warm and patient assistance.

We wish to extend special thanks to Nancy Newton. As a member of the board of directors of Arts Etobicoke, Nancy proposed in 2002 that the arts council sponsor the Milkweed Collective to provide an arts enrichment program for less advantaged schools in the borough. We were delighted when Nancy joined the staff of the ECID and the Milkweed Collective. Nancy’s solo art shows at the NPCC have inspired us along with hundreds of children.

We are most grateful to Christine McIvor, the first executive director of Arts Etobicoke, to her successor Louise Garfield, and to Karl Sprogis, chair of the board, for their strong and enduring support of the ECID. With Arts Etobicoke as funding partner the Milkweed Collective obtained major grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. We are also thankful for grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council.

This Report is a review of the first eight years of the ECID. We hope that it will be a contribution to the valuing and furthering of art, the imagination, and creativity in elementary schooling.

Austin Clarkson, Ph.D., Director, The Milkweed Collective

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1. Introduction

Exploring Creativity in Depth is a five-hour arts enrichment program that enhances authentic creative potential in an atmosphere that is relaxed, supportive and well structured. Participants make two oil pastel pictures, write poems and stories about them, then discuss and interpret their artworks in small groups facilitated by qualified artist-teachers. Taking participants through a two-fold cycle of the creative process evokes meaningful and often transformative experiences in the students, the teachers, and the accompanying parent-volunteers.

The ECID originated in a university course on the creative imagination (Clarkson, 2005). With the sponsorship of Arts Etobicoke, the support of the Neilson Park Creative Centre, and with funding from the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Trillium Foundation and individual donors, the program has been given to classes from mainly high-needs neighbourhoods since 2002 (Clarkson, 2008). The artist-teachers who facilitate the program belong to the Milkweed Collective, a community of visual artists, writers, dancers, musicians, teachers, and therapists that formed in 1995. The ECID program is also available for children with learning and behavioral disabilities and for youth at risk. ECID workshops for teachers are offered on a regular basis.

The documentation is extensive. Teachers, students and parents fill out feedback forms, and post-program interviews are conducted with selected teachers. The enthusiasm for the program testifies to the urgent need to revive the teaching of art, the imagination, and the creative process in elementary schooling. The need is caused by the narrowing of the curriculum during recent decades. A U.S. survey of one thousand elementary and secondary school principals in four representative States found that increased time for literacy, numeracy, and science drastically decreased time for the arts and the humanities, with especially severe consequences for schools in high-needs districts, where principals say that the arts are what keep children interested in school (von Zastrow, 2004).

Ontario followed a similar trajectory in the late 1990s with a new curriculum monitored by standardized testing.1 While the Government recently assigned funds to increase the number of teachers of the arts and physical education, only 15% of the elementary schools in the Province have a full- or part-time visual arts specialist.2 The narrowing curriculum has also severely impacted the secondary schools of the Province with respect to the arts and humanities (King, 2006, p. 62).

The reaction to these developments was led, at least in the English-speaking world, by Ken Robinson’s 1999 report, “All Our Futures.” In 2002 the Government of England founded the consortium “Creative Partnerships” to promote the creativity of young people, teachers and schools. In 2005 they introduced the concept of ‘Creative Learning’ to refer to contributions to curriculum development, teaching and learning practices, and the culture of schools in general. ‘Creative Learning’ is defined as “a set of values focused around developing individual potential and with an emphasis on authentic ‘deep’ educational experiences,” and ‘creativity’ as part of the learning process and as a capacity to be instilled in young people” (Sefton-Green, et al, 2008, p. 12). The reports, literature reviews, and teacher handbooks published by Creative Partnerships embrace a broad range of approaches to Creative Learning, but they generally agree on uncoupling the concept of creativity from that of the arts. They regard the arts as the prime site for educating the creative process, but the principles of Creative Learning are applicable across all subject areas. Teachers who have no background in the arts and believe they are not creative are encouraged to get in touch with their creativity. They are urged to reach beyond the highly regulated and monitored curriculum and instill connections between the reason and the imagination, skills and creativity, knowledge and spiritual well-being (cf. Banaji & Burn, 2006, p. 58).

1 Testing is administered by the Educational Qual-ity and Accountability Office, www.eqao.com. 2 See the 2009 Annual Report of People for Educa-tion, www.peopleforeducation.com/research-info.

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For its part the Ontario Ministry of Education published a new curriculum for the arts.3 Despite its title, the Revised Arts Curriculum, Grades 1 to 8 (2009) is a complete rethinking, redesign and four-fold expansion of the previous Curriculum. One survival from the 1998 document is the text of the Introduction, which begins, “Education in the arts is essential to students’ intellectual, social, physical, emotional growth and well-being” (p. 3). That statement appeared in the 1998 document, but without the words “and well-being.” That the authors of the new Curriculum took the trouble to add ‘well-being’ (“State of being or doing well in life, happy, healthy or prosperous condition,” Oxford English Dictionary) to the mandate signals their intent to revitalize and reorient arts education. ‘Well-being’ signifies that the arts are not just another subject area with a particular set of skills and concepts, but are crucial to the child’s mental, physical, and spiritual wellness.

The 1998 Curriculum geared expectations to three readily testable categories (Knowledge of Elements, Creative Work, and Critical Thinking). The new Curriculum opens up a vastly richer and livelier vista for the arts by grouping expectations under four broad topics: (1) Developing creativity (aesthetic awareness, creative process, problem-solving, meeting challenge creatively); (2) Communicating (expressing thoughts feelings and ideas, critical analysis process, communicating meaning); (3) Understanding culture (cultural traditions and innovations, personal and cultural identity, sense of self and other, social justice and environment); and (4) Making connections (connecting cognitive and affective domains, working and performing collaboratively, connectingthe arts with other disciplines) (p. 6). The truly path-breaking feature of the new Curriculum is the pride of place given to creativity, a concept that was hardly mentioned before. Another departure is that Dance and Drama, which formerly were combined, are now separate strands alongside Music and Visual Arts. A fifth strand, “Cross-Curricular and Integrated Learning,” is added to encourage the incorporation of arts activities in other subject areas.

3 Arts Curriculum, Grades 1 to 8 (2009), http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/arts.html

This Report describes the ECID and discusses the responses of teachers and students. The ECID approach to the creative and critical/analytic processes is considered in the context of the new Ontario Arts Curriculum and the literature on Creative Learning from England. The topic of educating the imagination begins with reference to the claim Northrop Frye made a half a century ago, namely, that an educated imagination is a necessity for all citizens of a free society. The role of the creative imagination in education, the contribution of aesthetic experience to individual development, and the creative process as the foundation of transformative learning are also discussed. Pictures, creative writing, and feedback from selected students are cited to illustrate the benefits of teaching the imagination and the creative process. Finally, the report Ontario in the Creative Age (Martin Prosperity Institute, 2009) is cited for its claim that early childhood development is crucial to heightening the creativity, skills and qualifications of Ontarians.

Figure 1.1 Festival of the Arts, North Kipling Junior Middle School (2009)

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2. “Exploring Creativity in Depth”: The Program

Exploring Creativity in Depth for school children is a five-hour program that cycles through the creative process twice, the first cycle in the morning and the second in the afternoon. The morning begins with a warm-up activity that energizes the mind and body with images of line, shape, and colour. Participants choose an artwork in the Gallery and are guided through a visioning exercise that stimulates the imagination to engage with the imagery of the artwork. The participants (teachers and parents do the program along with the students) go to the Studio, where they make oil pastel drawings based on that experience. After a while they turn the paper over and write about the drawing on the back. They form into small groups, and facilitators lead a process of interpreting the pictures. After lunch the second cycle of the creative process begins in the Gallery. The facilitators show samples of their own artwork and talk about them. The students usually have many questions. The participants return to the Studio. While looking at the picture from the morning, they again do the visioning exercise. They make a second drawing and write about it on the back. They return to the discussion groups to compare and contrast the two drawings. They fill out questionnaires and depart.

The basic format of the ECID has remained more or less constant. Details of timing and content are adjusted according to the age level of the students. When a class has done the program before, the teacher sometimes asks whether the format could be changed. We explain that the program remains the same because we are more interested in the creative process than in the product. We add that while the format is the same, the artwork in the gallery will be different, the students will be one year older, and the pictures they make will be completely different. Students who have done the program more than once seem delighted to do it again.

Creative Process I

Welcome. The children and the teacher arrive by bus or public transit and gather in the lobby of the art centre.� The members of the staff are introduced and gallery manners explained. The adults are invited to participate along with the students.

Figure 2.1 Welcome, Grade 2

Viewing the Art Show. They enter the Gallery and view the artwork on display.�

Figure 2.2 Viewing the Show, Grade 2

1 Classes vary in size from 20 to 35 students. Staffing varies accordingly, with one facilitator for every 5 to 7 students. Participants may also include a Teaching Assistant, a Student Teacher, a Special Education Teacher, and up to four parent-volunteers. One or two facilitators-in-training may also be present.2 The Gallery of the Neilson Park Creative Centre is run by a committee that selects shows by professional and semi-professional artists and groups. The show in the Gallery changes every three weeks.

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Warm-up Activity. They form into a circle, and do fun-filled exercises that energize the body and stimulate the mind to engage with the elements of line, shape, and colour.

Figure 2.3 Warm-up activity, Grade 3

Figure 2.4 Warm-up activity, Grade 6

Visioning Exercise.3 The participants choose an artwork in the Gallery and sit in front of it. A facilitator leads the visioning exercise. It begins with relaxation and centering, and then engages the imagination with the artwork (Figures 2.5, 2.6). The students go to the Studio and sit at desks supplied with white cartridge paper, a tray of oil pastels, and a piece of paper towel.

Figure 2.5 Visioning Exercise, Grade 1

Figure 2.6 Visioning Exercise, Grade 7

3 ‘Visioning’ is similar to ‘visualization,’ as described in the Revised Arts Curriculum (p. 42). But whereas ‘visualization’ refers mainly to visual imagery, ‘visioning’ may involve several sense modalities.

Words cannot describe how I feel about my painting, but these words can:

It is beautiful, it is great, that I think I should be crying right now.

The painting feels like a passage way to a new world.

Boy, Grade 6

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Picture-Making. Participants lay down a background colour, then draw a shape and fill it in with a second colour. They blend the two colours together with the paper towel or the fingers to create new shades and textures (Figures 2.7-2.8). Further prompts engage the feelings, suggest additional techniques, and encourage experimentation and risk-taking. They are not copying the picture they looked at in the Gallery, they are making an original drawing out of their own imaginations. After 20-25 minutes they turn the paper over and write about the picture on the back—separate words, poems, or stories (Figure 2.9). They wash their hands, have cookies, and take their pictures back to the Gallery.

Figure 2.7 Picture Making, Grade 1

Figure 2.8 Picture Making, Grade 7

Figure 2.9 Writing, Grade 2

Return to the Gallery. They bring the drawings to the gallery and place them in front of the paintings they looked at during the Visioning Exercise (Figure 2.10-2.12). Side by side with the canvases that inspired them, the students see that their drawings are completely original.

Figure 2.10 Drawings back to the Gallery, Grade 1

Figure 2.11 First drawing with original, Grade 8

Figure 2.12 First drawing with original, Grade 8

Interpretation Session. Facilitators lead groups of five to seven students in the process of interpretation. Students describe how they made their drawings, and how they relate to the paintings in the gallery (Figures 2.13-2.15).

Figure 2.13 Interpretation group, Grade 4

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Grade 6

Figure 2.15 Interpretation group, Grade 8

They share feelings, ideas, and associations, interpret the symbols and designs, and discuss what makes each picture unique. They read the words they wrote on the back. The interpretation process includes improvising soundscapes, group dramatizing (Figure 2.16), and telling stories about the pictures (Figure 2.17).

Figure 2.16 Dramatizing, Grade 1

Figure 2.17 Story-telling, Grade 5

Lunchtime. Lunch varies from 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the age group and the day’s schedule. Weather permitting, the class goes to the playground in the park adjacent to the Centre.

Creative Process II

Artist-Teachers Show and Tell. Facilitators show samples of their artwork and ask for responses. They tell how they became artists. Among the staff are visual artists (Figures 2.18-2.20), dancers, and musicians. Two dancers improvised together, then invited a student to join them for an improvisation (Figure 2.21). The children are keen to meet professional artists and ask many questions.

Figure 2.18 Artists Show and Tell, Louise Zych, Painter

Figure 2.19 Artists Show and Tell, Nancy Newton, Painter, with Patricia McPhail

Figure 2.20 Artists Show and Tell, Ina Puchala, Painter

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Figure 2.21 Artists Show and Tell, Dancers Robin McPhail-Dempsey and Claudia Wittmann improvise

with student volunteer.

Visioning Exercise. Back in the Studio, the morning pictures are on the floor beside the desks and fresh sheets of paper on the desks. The Visioning Exercise is given while they look at the pictures they made in the morning.

Picture-Making. They make a second picture based on the experience of their own picture (Figure 2.22, 2.23). After about 25 minutes they turn the paper over and again write on the back.

Figure 2.22 Picture-Making II, Grade 5

Figure 2.23 Picture-Making II, Grade 8

Interpretation Session. They take both pictures to their groups and compare and contrast them. The interpretation process now em-phasizes the difference in feeling tone and design between the two pictures (Figures 2.24-2.27).

Figure 2.24 Interpretation II, Grade 2




The process may include again improvised soundscapes, drama-tizing (2.28), and group story-telling (2.29).

Figure 2.28 Dramatizing, Grade 6

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Figure 2.29 Story-telling, Grade 8

Questionnaires. The students, the teacher, and the parents fill out questionnaires (Figure 2.30). After completing the form they have Freezies. Grades 1 and 2 are not given questionnaires. Instead, a facilitator with a hand held mike leads a question and answer session. The teacher is given a sheet of suggestions for Follow-up Projects, including a guide to Visioning Exercises. Departure.

Figure 2.30 Questionnaires, Grade 8

Debriefing. After the cleanup, the facilitators read the questionnaires and discuss issues that arose during the program. Pictures from selected classes are archived and returned to the school a few days later. Viewing the pictures and discussing the questionnaires contributes to staff training and development.

Figure 2.31 Art Show, Grade 5 Students from Wellesworth Junior School, Arts Etobicoke Gallery

(2007). Teacher, Clinton Wilson.

Figure 2.32 Festival of the Arts, North Kipling Junior Middle School

(2009), Grade 2 Hallway.

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3.0 Teachers and the ECID

160 classes have been to the Neilson Park Creative Centre since 2002. We have come in touch with dozens of teachers whose responses were crucial to the growth and development of the ECID. The culture of certain schools was such that teachers from several grades brought their classes, which gave us the opportunity to observe the effects on students who came to the program several times. We began to document the pictures and creative writing from the classes of the “focus” schools and conduct follow-up interviews with the teachers. This enabled us to observe how they adapted concepts and techniques from the ECID in their classrooms. Several teachers have attended ECID workshops that provided a deeper experience of the program and an opportunity to discuss classroom applications.

The questionnaires that teachers fill out after the program provide a candid snapshot of the present state of arts instruction in the elementary schools of Etobicoke.� Teachers who have been to the program several times say that the ECID inspired them to rethink their approach to art, the imagination, and the creative process. Many have increased the time they give for art and for integrating art across the curriculum. A measure of their regard for the ECID is that when the dates for the next school year are announced in the spring, the program is all but fully booked within a couple of weeks.�

3.1 A Teacher in Profile

This is the story of a teacher who came to the ECID the first year it was offered and several times since. Barbara (not her real name) brought a class of fifth graders in the spring of 2002. With seven years of teaching experience but no background in art, she was

1 The format of the teacher questionnaire changed from time to time. The current, more detailed, format was adopted in the fall of 2007. This discussion is based in part on teacher feedback from all 160 programs, and in part on the 77 questionnaires in the current format from 49 dif-ferent teachers. Some teachers have done the program as many as five times.2 The number of programs is limited, as the Neilson Park Creative Centre is the only community centre in the Greater Toronto Area with a studio adjacent to a profes-sional art gallery that can accommodate a class of 30 students at separate tables.

delighted by the program. She wrote on the feedback form that what she liked about the workshop was the guided visualization, the accepting atmosphere, and the workspace with individual tables and supplies that allowed the children to focus. She added that the art and creative writing her students produced in the program really surprised her. Eight years later, she recalled that first encounter, remembering her delight at what the students had created. The program had allowed them all to have a positive experience and to feel creatively successful, particularly those who rarely had that opportunity in the normal course of studies at school. She herself felt very creative and happy with what she produced. The experience brought home to her the value of the creative process and of integrating the arts across the curriculum so that all students have the opportunity to feel and be successful.

In 2005 Barbara was assigned to teach grade 4, and she asked if she could bring her class. We did not know if the program would work for younger children, but it went well, and she wrote, “Once again a fantastic experience.” She added that the ECID “developed courage to try and self-esteem from the effort and feedback.” She said that she planned to apply the ECID approach in drama, science, language, and music.

Barbara responded to a questionnaire in conjunction with an ECID assessment (Gee, 2006). On the form she noted that she gave 40 minutes for visual art per week, 30 mins. for dance/drama, and 30 mins. for music, for a total of 100 minutes for the arts, and that the ECID had shown how to integrate art with Language Arts. She added that it taught her how to accept a wide variety of creative responses and made her aware of the importance of creating, writing about, and sharing art for the child’s self-esteem. She added that she hoped that a version of the program would be available for younger students.

As it happened, Barbara was next assigned to grade 1 and again asked to bring her class. Her faith in the program prevailed over our doubts, and she helped us adapt the program for five- and six-year olds. The results, she said, were outstanding, as the children now see themselves as artists. Barbara’s insistence resulted in the ECID being made available for all elementary grades, and one quarter of all the programs are now for first- and second-graders.

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Barbara did not return until 2010, when she again brought a grade 1 class. On the feedback form she now indicated that she had the necessary knowledge and skills to teach art, and that she spent enough time teaching art and creativity. Her timetable now includes Visual Art (60 mins.), Music (90 mins.), Dance (30 mins.), Drama (30 mins.), and Integrating Art in Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies (240 mins). This is a four-fold increase over the 100 minutes she gave to the arts four years before.

Barbara remarked on the positive changes that she saw in the students: the creative process resulted in children “acknowledging each other’s perspectives”; learning about the imagination led to “metacognition of it”; because the children liked doing the program and felt successful, it increased their confidence and self-esteem; her “young” first-graders did well in focusing and paying attention, because “setting the expectation encourages the desired result”; presentation and communication skills improved, because the program gave them an “opportunity to talk about their own ideas and have them validated”; and empathy increased, because they shared creative work that involved the emotions.

Barbara warmly approved of the changes in the program since she last did it: the warm-up activity and the dramatizing and story-telling. She wrote that she had never felt successful in art, but that the ECID had increased her confidence in her ability to teach creatively and in her students’ ability to think and act creatively. In a follow-up interview Barbara reflected on how the ECID had changed her practice as a teacher: “That first experience [in 2002] helped me recognize the value of the creative process and of integrating the arts into all subject areas so that all students have the opportunity to feel and be successful. Over the years that insight, coupled with my growing confidence in integrating the arts into my teaching practice, has led to my programming being better suited to meet the needs of all my students and their various learning styles and strengths. A wonderful additional benefit is that I am enjoying my teaching more than ever, which is directly related to giving more time to the arts and creative activities.”3

3 Personal email communications, 12, 16 July 2010.

Barbara was one of many teachers with little or no background in art who gained confidence in their creativeness and discovered how to bring art, the imagination, and the creative process into their practice. Her story illustrates how the ECID inspires teachers so that teaching and learning have a renewed excitement. While Barbara’s contribution was exceptional, many other teachers have helped to increase the effectiveness of the program.

3.2 Teacher Responses

Since the fall of 2007, teachers have filled out the questionnaire shown in Appendix A. It asks: (1) The time they give for art per weekly cycle; (2) Whether the ECID motivates them to spend more time on art activities, and if so what would they do; (3) How they feel about teaching art/creativity; (4) The effects of the ECID on their students; (5) What they take away from the program that they could implement in their classrooms; (6) Comments on the elements of the program; (7) Art background; and (8) Interest in attending an ECID workshop.

Figure 3.1 Teacher Questionnaire, Question 3. “Which statement best describes how you feel about the time you

usually spend teaching art?” 2007-2010 (n=49)

3A. I would like to spend more time, but lack necessary knowledge/ skills.

51%

3B. I have the necessary knowledge/skills, but do not have enough time, given other curriculum demands.

43%

3C. I have the necessary knowledge/skills and spend enough time teaching art/creativity.

6%

The answers to Question 3 are tabulated in Figure 3.1. About one half the teachers say that they would like to spend more time teaching art but lack the necessary knowledge and skills (3A), while two in five say they have the necessary knowledge and skills, but do not give more time on account of other curriculum demands (3B). Only one in twenty say they have the necessary knowledge and skills and spend enough time teaching art (3C).

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About one half of the teachers (3B plus 3C) say they have the necessary knowledge/skills needed to teach visual art, but this puts in question what they understand as “necessary knowledge/skills.” According to Question 7, only 20% have background in art.

Taking groups 3A and 3B together, we see that nearly all the teachers would like to include more art in their timetables, and according to Question 8, most would like to attend an ECID workshop or have already done so. These teachers evidently regard the ECID as an effective program, whether or not they have background in art.

The time that teachers give for art shows enormous disparities. ‘Art’ here signifies ‘fine’ or ‘visual art,’ and ‘art activities’ may include integration of art with other subjects. As we would expect, those teachers with art background give much more time to art than those without. A teacher with art background from a school in an affluent neighbourhood gives 4-5 hours of art activities per cycle, while teachers without art background in less affluent and under-resourced areas give from 30 to 120 minutes, with an average of 60 mins. per cycle. Thus there are stark differences between one school and another, and even between classrooms at the same grade level within the same school. One grade 2 may get 30 mins., while another grade 2 may get 100 mins. per cycle. The time allotted says nothing about what the art activities consist of. But we do observe that teachers who have been to the ECID more than once tend to increase the time they give for art.

Art specialists make a dramatic difference to the culture of a school. The art teacher of a junior-middle school gives 84 minutes (two 42-minute periods) per six-day cycle to all classes from grades 4 to 8. The homeroom teachers of those classes say that they provide additional art activities of from 30 to 120 minutes (average 60 mins.) per cycle. The art teacher organizes a “Celebration of the Arts” each spring in which artworks from all her classes are displayed, together with pictures from the ECID programs. In addition there are performances of music, dance, and drama. Several hundred students and their parents attend these popular events.

When art lessons do not involve the creative imagination, art may devolve into craft activities on the themes of

festivals and holidays. Projects that have a predictable outcome and a specific purpose hardly qualify as instruction in art, for they do not engage the creative process. This would explain why many children say that they thought art was dull and boring, but that the ECID had shown them it was really “fun,” “exciting,” “cool,” and “awesome.” When art is an open-ended process the outcome of which is unknown, it arouses curiosity, excitement, and pride in creating something personal, authentic, and original.

When teachers come to the ECID for the first time, they sometimes have difficulty in letting go the need to control what is happening. Once they see that the framework of the process has been firmly established, they learn to go with the flow. Some teachers confess that the first time they came, they were anxious about having to make art along with their students. But as soon as they let the imagination have free rein, they relax and get involved in the creative process. When first-time teachers continue to check that students are following instructions, a facilitator gently reminds them that it is OK to give control over to the staff and just enjoy the program, as if they were one of the students. At least until the lunch period, when the teacher needs to be in charge.

Figure 3.2 Teacher Questionnaire, Question 2. “Based on the effects of the ECID program, would you wish to spend more time on art activities? If so, how would you do it?”

Categorized responses. 2007-2010 (n=49)

2A. Yes. Integrate with other subject areas. 58%

2B. Yes. Develop imagination, creativity, reflection, interpretation of artwork.

38%

2C. No answer. 4%

Question 2 asks whether, based on their experience of the ECID, teachers would like to spend more time on art activities, and if so how they would do it (Figure 3.2). They fall into two main categories: those who would integrate art with other subjects (2A, 58%) and those who would focus on art, the imagination, and the creative process (2B, 38%). The larger group mostly mentions integrating art with Language, as they have seen how effective the ECID is in encouraging written and oral communication. A grade 1 teacher with art background, who gives a total of 160 mins. for the various art strands, integrates art into several other program areas, and a grade 5 teacher with

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art background says that she integrates the arts in Literacy, Social Studies, and Physical Education. A grade 7 teacher from a separate school gives 160 mins. to art activities and integrates art with Science, Religion, and History. And a grade 8 teacher with no art background who has been to ECID several times wants to make a more conscious effort to integrate art as much as possible, but finds it difficult to do so. A grade 4 teacher who has been to the ECID several times gives a total of 150 mins. for the arts and says that to give more time requires integration with other subjects. A grade 6 teacher coming to the ECID for the first time said that he would like to give more time, but doesn’t know how. The ECID suggests possible ways for integrating art in other subject areas, but few have the knowledge and skills to follow up on their good intentions.� The teachers who would like to increase time by focusing on art itself make interesting suggestions. A grade one teacher who gave only 30 mins. to art activities would increase the time by letting students use their imaginations to create artwork. One grade 2 teacher said she would spend more time “exploring instead of producing,” and another would model experiences on the ECID. A grade 3 teacher, who noticed that the facilitators were talking about art in a special way, said she would use “some of the ‘wonderful language of art’.” One grade 3 teacher would spend “more time motivating my students to use their imagination,” and another wrote that she would “focus on teaching creative concepts rather than have specific tasks where students create the same thing.” A grade 5 teacher would “incorporate a lot more open activities that allow the students to use their imagination.” Another fifth grade teacher suggested exploring the use of pictures and drawings as “an alternate method of communication.” These teachers understand that art involves a special mode of thinking in terms of images, symbols, and feelings.

Teachers appreciate that interpretation is part of the creative process and that interpretations are highly individual.

4 Such programs as Learning Through the Arts www.ltta.com and Literacy Through Drama www.literacythroughdrama.org provide excellent lesson plans for integration.

Teachers are impressed by how focused and engaged children are when they devise their own solutions to a problem rather than follow instructions that define every step of the project. They discover that telling students not to be afraid to make mistakes encourages them to think outside the box. Teachers note that this is as valuable for the gifted perfectionist as for those who struggle academically. They observe that the confidence that results from the creative process carries over from art into other subjects.

Before the ECID, nine out of ten teachers would like to do more art but are unable to for one reason or another (Figure 3.1), whereas after the program nine out ten would like to give more time for art activities (Figure 3.2). A grade 1 teacher wrote: “I don’t feel that my lack of skills in art should stop me from doing art lessons.” And a grade 2 teacher said: “[I] feel more confident about my own ability to facilitate art experiences and discussion after seeing it modeled so beautifully today!” Thus the ECID greatly increases confidence in and motivation for teaching art.

Figure 3.3 Teacher Questionnaire, Question 4. “In which of the following areas do you see a positive change in your students as a result of the ECID program? Please

circle any that apply.” 2007-2010 (n=49)

Desire to engage in art. 84%

Use of the creative imagination. 96%

Confidence and self-esteem. 82%

Ability to pay attention. 61%

Social skills. 49%

Empathy. 45%

Question 4 asks teachers to check off areas in which they see positive changes in the students (Figure 3.3). Nearly all teachers (96%) observe greater use of the creative imagination and more than eight out of ten see enhanced interest in art and increased confidence and self-esteem. By giving students freedom to complete their pictures in their own way, the program trusts that each student’s intuitive sense of form will produce a picture with originality, intensity, and power. The role of the interpretation process is then to help discover the images, feelings, and meanings that the pictures convey. Discovering that their pictures are unique in form, feeling and meaning boosts their confidence and pride in their artistic efforts.

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Attention is often said to be the most precious commodity in the classroom. The students sit in silence during the visioning exercise (10-15 minutes), work independently while picture-making (30 mins.), then sit in small groups to discuss their pictures (20-30 mins.). After the lunch period, which varies from 30 to 60 minutes depending on the age level, facilitators discuss their artwork (20 mins.). Then there is another cycle of making and interpreting pictures (60 mins.), and filling out questionnaires (5-10 mins.). By the end of the day the students have been focused and attentive for up to two and a half hours (85 minutes working on their own and 80 minutes in discussion groups), and yet they leave the art centre bubbling with energy. Engaging the creative process taps into powerful energies that manifest as motivation and enthusiasm for the task at hand.

Students with learning and behavioral problems also have success.5 A grade 1 teacher wrote that she was surprised how well the students with behavioral issues were able to concentrate. A grade 5 teacher wrote that it was “excellent for LD students with ADD or anxiety,” and a Special Ed teacher with a grade 5 class wrote: “We saw students that normally do not participate in class being active in discussions today.” A grade 7 teacher remarked that a student who was academically at a grade 1 level surprised him by asking good questions during the Artists Show and Tell. A shorter version of the ECID is given to children with learning challenges in Home School Programs. At one such program the Special Education teacher reported an extraordinary breakthrough in the artwork of a boy with severe behavioral issues.

Nearly half the teachers observe positive changes in social skills and empathy. This results from discussion groups that encourage sharing of personal thoughts and feelings in a respectful, mutually supportive, non-competitive manner. Teachers remark that after the program their classes seem more friendly, relaxed, and cohesive. A grade six teacher wrote: “Students and teacher after experiencing the ECID go back to school and everyday life retaining an unspoken connection on a deeper level almost as if on a soulful level. Greater respect for each other and their vulnerability = Trust.”

5 The staff of ECID facilitators includes four qualified art therapists.

3.3 Teacher ReflectionsThe questionnaire invites teachers to comment on the various elements of the program: the facilitators, the facility, the warm-up activity, the visioning exercise, the picture-making, the discussion groups, the art materials, and the cost. A few suggest improvements, but most offer positive comments on aspects of the program.

Warm-up Activity. An excellent preparation and inspiration for the art activities that follow; students need and enjoy body movement; the exercises are great for demonstrating the art elements of line, shape, and colour. A grade 7 teacher wrote that the warm-up “gets us thinking immediately. Icebreaking! Lets us become comfortable quickly.”

Visioning Exercise. The exercise relaxes the mind and body in preparation for the art making: “a wonderful introductory activity” (grade 1); it gives students “a quiet atmosphere to really tap into their imaginations” (grade 6). It focuses the attention: “The guided observation of an artist’s work was awesome! The students are capable of sitting still for extended periods and reflecting on what they see” (grade 3). On activating the imagination: “As teachers we sometimes forget that the arts are all about using our imagination” (grade 3); “[The imagination] takes students to a different place” (grade 5). On using the work of professional artists as a “springboard for the imagination” (grade 1). A grade 7 teacher said the visioning exercise was “a bit strange to begin with,” but was impressed by the results: “Not everyone feels comfortable, but it does loosen us up!” (grade 7). An art specialist liked “the art meditation.”

Picture-Making. On the relaxed atmosphere, the clear instructions for beginning the pictures, and the open-ended process: “I will use a lot of the ideas from the guiding talk provided during the art creation process” (grade 3); “It really helped those who needed ideas but was open-ended enough to allow for their own creativity” (grade 3); the art-making is “totally open so that everyone can succeed” (grade 4). A grade 5 teacher noted that students were able to create their own “masterpieces, making it more personal, so their opinions flowed.” On the benefit of not talking about the principles of design ahead of time, but inferring them from the pictures: “Instruction is not specific, thus allowing student to see the principles of design afterward through their own art” (grade 5); the “flexible approach” taught that there is no “right way” to make art, but to just let go and explore, and “let the hands and imagination create without (necessarily) a purpose” (grade 5). A grade 6 teacher observed that students who did not enjoy art at school created “wonderful, powerful pieces.” And a grade 7 teacher

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remarked that the process allowed students the freedom to take risks and explore: “Open mindedness! More freedom for my students to reach further out of the box with their thinking. [It] motivated students to take chances, explore their creativity.” A Special Ed. Teacher valued the “relaxed feeling and giving students time to just experiment.”

Writing. After drawing for 20-25 minutes, the students turn the paper over and write about the drawing on the back. The creative imagination, which is engaged during the drawing, carries over to the task of writing. Teachers are very impressed by how expressively and freely their students write about the pictures. They observe that “reluctant” writers write far more readily in the ECID than at school. Grade 6 teachers wrote: “Students incorporated language and writing to connect words and images,” and “Students look within themselves and express with words what they felt at the moment of artistic discovery.” On the integration of art with language: “I will continue to extend what we have done here today by having the students write stories, poems, songs, scripts, etc. about their artwork” (grade 5). Teachers who give follow-up writing projects say that the students get back into the imaginative state and write copiously about their pictures.

Interpretation. The discussion groups draw more comments than the other elements, as teachers are impressed by how they encourage respectful sharing and oral communication. When the students form into groups, they are immersed in the imaginative experience of drawing and writing and are keen to share thoughts and feelings about their pictures. The small groups encourage intimacy, and the facilitators are skilled at engaging even the most shy and reticent students. A grade 1 teacher noted that sharing in small groups is less intimidating than in the class as a whole and students can “focus and share in non-threatening ways.” The discussions bring up “a wide range of creative responses to art” (grade 1) and are “important to the child’s self-esteem” (grade 2). Discussing pictures stimulates expressive language and respect for different perspectives: “Talking about art and expressing what it ‘contained’ was therapeutic. Invaluable—seeing each others’ work and how we each see different things” (grade 2). A grade 3 teacher liked “the ability to critique art amongst peers—sharing art ideas with each other.” The students say things about themselves in the intimacy of the small groups that they do not share at school. They “provide great insight for me and the students,” and are “a great opportunity to learn from each other” (grade 4).

While “appreciating their own work and ideas” students develop communication skills with “meaningful,

encouraging, thoughtful comments.” Those who struggle academically have a chance to shine and be appreciated for their talents. On the critical analysis of art: “[They] learned to critique/analyze own/others’ work in [an] artistic manner” and helped to achieve expectations with respect to “comprehension skills” and “inferencing” (grade 6). A grade 8 teacher said that the groups were “great for development of oral and visual communication” and was impressed by the “ability to talk about representation of life and feelings through art.” He appreciated how the approach to interpretation encouraged “non-linear, abstract thinking.”

Discussing feelings encourages mutuality and reciprocity: “amazed how well the children expressed emotion, relating it to the pictures” (grade 5); the groups “fostered student bonding and mutual respect” (grade 2); “nice chance to practice social skills . . . great for social growth, empathy, stretching the imagination, point of view . . . loved the openness and chance for kids to share their work . . . the small groups allow for interaction of all” (grade 7).

Teachers discover that if they set the framework of a project and leave the outcome open-ended, then students exercise their imaginations and release their creativity. A grade 1 teacher said that she is generally very structured and was afraid that if she didn’t give examples of the results, the children would not know what to do. The ECID showed her how to outline the project, then give the children freedom to find their own solutions. This increased their motivation and confidence, and she saw sides of the children that she had not seen before. Furthermore, the low achievers were able to shine.

There is an important place in the curriculum for a subject where there are no mistakes and that allows students to express whatever is on their hearts and minds. For a grade 2 teacher, “art builds confidence, because it’s coming from within.” She appreciated how the visioning exercise helps students focus, especially those with problems of attention, and that the imagination is crucial when analyzing and critiquing art. When students interpret their own artwork, they learn to appreciate the validity of different perspectives. Another grade 2 teacher said that as a result of the ECID, she no longer gives examples of what an art project should look like. She found that the children’s creativity increased greatly when they were free to carry out the project in their own way. She had learned to trust the children’s creative imagination.

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4.0 Students and the ECID

Students in grade 3 to grade 8 fill out the Questionnaire shown in Appendix B.1 The form has provided data for two assessments (Gee, 2006; C. Clarkson, 2008) and tabulations (Wittmann, 2009, 2010) that monitor the effectiveness of the program. The 2006 assessment recommended that more should be done to address the needs of boys (Gee, 2006, 23). This resulted in the addition of the warm-up activity, having cookies after the morning picture-making, and adding soundscapes, dramatization, and storytelling to the discussion groups. There was a marked increase in the approval of the program. A measure of the increase is the last question on the feedback form: “Would you like to do more arts and crafts?” In 2006, 76% of the students (n=284) answered in the affirmative (Gee, 2006, 14), while three years later the affirmative answers increased to 94% of the girls (n=192) and 89% of the boys (n=209) (Wittmann, 2009).

Figure 4.1A/B Boy 1, Grade 3

A. This picture makes me feel calm. The colours I used were orange, red, brown and blue.

When the forest is silent it is calm,B. The sun set. All looks so cool too.

When you see it is all different colours.

Before discussing the results in general, let us note the response of a grade three boy. Boy 1 made his first drawing after looking at a landscape in the Gallery (Figure 4.1A). On the back he listed the colours he used and added that the forest scene was silent and made him feel calm. On the feedback form he said that his first drawing was special because he tried his best. The creative process had evidently sparked his motivation to do well. There is an increased focus and intensity in his second drawing (Figure 4.1B).

1 Different questionnaire formats were tried for first- and second-graders but were not sufficiently reliable. Instead, while the children sit in the studio having Freezies, a guide circulates with a portable microphone asking what they learned about art and the imagination.

The sun, which was a plain orange disc in the first drawing, is now blazing with radiant energy and fills the upper half of the page. Instead of the calm landscape, the sea is alive with swimming creatures. He thought the second picture looked “cool,” meaning he really admired it, because it had so many different colours. The program emphasizes the association between colours and feelings, so that there is a direct relation between the variety and intensity of colours and the variety and intensity of feelings. The switch from a landscape to a seascape is typical of the reversals that occur between the morning and afternoon drawings.

Boy 1 wrote on the feedback form that the second drawing was special because he thought about what he was going to do and then tried out his idea (Appendix D4.1). This suggests that he was aware of having reflected before proceeding to make the drawing and was conscious of the difference between directed thinking and the creative imagination. He also said that he learned that you can do anything with your imagination, that if you mess up you can make something else of it, and that he can be anything if he puts his mind to it. The afternoon drawing confirms that he trusted his imagination and risked “messing up.” As a result, he gained confidence in his creative potential. The radiant sun mirrors his increased confidence, and the multi-coloured sea creatures symbolize the influx of feelings and energies from deep in the personality.

Figure 4.2 Student Questionnaire, Question 3.“What do you like about the program?”

Categorized responses. 2008-2009, Grades 3-8, Boys 52%, Girls 48% (n=401)

4A. I like to see/make art. 55%

4B. Generally favorable comments. 14%

4C. I like everything. 8%

4D. I like learning about art, creativity, and specific techniques.

8%

4E. I like to show and talk about the art we made.

7%

4F. I like that we are free to draw whatever we want.

6%

4G. I like nothing. (.005%), No answer (2%) 2%

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The third question asks what they like about the program (Figure 4.2). 98% of the students from September 2008 to June 2009 approved of the program. More than half said that they liked looking at art or making art, and another 14% made generally favourable comments: “The program has nice people and is very fun”; “It is fun energetic and joyful.” A grade 4 girl went into detail about the staff: “The nice staff that don’t act like robots programmed to be nice but they were nice, just not like robots.” 8% liked everything, and another 8% named techniques and skills that they learned: “It helps kids learn what art is about”; “We learn different ways to think of ideas and start our picture.” 7% mentioned discussing their artwork: “We got to tell stories about our pictures”; “I liked that even if I didn’t like my picture, my group and [the guide] made me feel good about it.” Another group (6%) emphasized the freedom to draw what they wanted: “I liked the fact that you are able to express yourself without being laughed at or teased”; “I loved just using my imagination and doing whatever I wanted.”

Figure 4.3 Student Questionnaire, Question 4. “What do you not like about the program?”

Categorized responses. 2008-2009, Grades 3-8 (n=401)

5A. There is nothing I don’t like. 55%

5B. Specific constraints of the program. 26%

5C. Incidental/peripheral remarks. 4%

5D. I don’t like getting dirty. 2%

5E. I don’t like sharing with others. 2%

5F. It’s kind of boring. 1%

5G. I don’t like making art. 1%

5H. No answer. 9%

Question 4 asks what they do not like about the program (Figure 4.3). 55% said that there’s nothing they didn’t like, while some had complaints, such as, there’s only one recess, the lunch area is too small, and discussions are too long. 6% said that there’s too much sitting and that they didn’t like the “art meditation.” However, some said that what they didn’t like was the program was too short, that they would like to use paints as well as pastels, and they wished to make three pictures. A grade 3 boy wrote, “I don’t like this program because we have to leave.”

Figure 4.4 Student Questionnaire, Question 5. “What did you learn about your imagination?”


6A. I have an imagination. 44%

6B. Imagination helps make art. 30%

6C. Generally positive statements. 11%

6D. It makes me feel unique. 5%

6E. Nothing (4%), No answer (5%). 9%

Question 5 asks what they learned about the imagination (Figure 4.4). Nearly one half said that they learned that the imagination is a powerful part of their minds, that it is huge, and limitless, and that it provides access to a unique and wonderful inner world.2 30% said that the imagination is essential for making art: “You can draw anything with your imagination”; “Art is imagination.” They note that the imagination gives access to their feelings: “I can express more emotion in my pictures if I put my imagination in it.” A crucial discovery is that the imagination is autonomous and independent of directed thinking: “[The imagination] is very smart and has a life of its own”; “it has a mind of its own”; “your imagination is the one that controls the painting.” The differences among the pictures leads to the conclusion that everyone’s imagination is unique and valuable: “No one has a better imagination than you and no one has a bad imagination.” This results in the recognition that the imagination is the key to art and self-expression: “I can use my imagination to express myself.” Discovering the imagination impresses students so that many, especially older students, remark on it when answering the next questions.

Figure 4.5 Student Questionnaire, Question 6. “What did you learn about art?”


7A. There is no right and wrong in art. 35%

7B. Generally positive statements. 30%

7C. Learned skills (blend colours, use imagination, etc.).

20%

7D. Art is about self-expression. 9%

7E. Nothing (2%), No answer (4%). 6%

2 Statements selected regarding each item are given in Appendix D.

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Question 6 asks what they learned about art. More than 90% gave a positive answer (Figure 4.5). While they work on their drawings, a guide provides a series of prompts: “You are making an original picture out of your own head and not a copy of the artwork you looked at in the gallery. Your picture doesn’t have to be neat and perfect. It doesn’t have to look like anything you’ve ever seen before. You don’t have to like what you’re doing. There are no mistakes. What you think is a mistake may give you a chance to do something new and different. It’s OK to take risks. You can make dots, streaks, and scratch lines with your fingernails. You can even scribble.” These prompts show up in what they learned about art: “You don’t have to be happy with your art”; “There does not have to have a meaning you can just scribble”; “It doesn’t have to be perfect”; “You don’t even have to like what you did.” They learn skills and concepts: “Colours and lines and movement”; “Texture, creativity, and imagination”; “To be free with my mind.” They learn that art is about self-discovery: “I learn to draw a dream”; “Art shows what or how you feel”; “Art represents yourself”; “Art is how you describe your feelings through paper and paint”; “Every form of art is related to emotion.”

One of the most remarkable discoveries is the connection between art and the imagination. Several conclude that “art is imagination.” A grade 5 girl wrote: “I learned that art is your imagination in disguise. Art is not about drawing people or [being] perfect, it comes from your mind. That it is your imagination that expresses you, not the other way round” (ECID 2007, 3). Since art is an expression of “your mind” and since the imagination is independent of the conscious mind (the “you”), she concluded that it is not the conscious “you” that expresses the imagination, but rather the imagination that expresses “you.” She inferred that the imagination is more extensive than ordinary ego conscious awareness. This affirmed that the imagination provides access to the unconscious levels of the mind.3

While working on the drawings, children notice that what they are imagining is appearing directly on the paper. This contradicts the usual idea that art is about copying something in outer reality.

3 There is a shift in use of the pronouns in speaking of the imagination. 32% of children grades 3 to 5 (n=258) used “your imagination,” “you can,” “everyone,” “everyone’s imagina-tion,” while this usage appeared in only 19% of students, grades 6 to 8 (n=145) (Wittmann, 2009).

When they experience that art comes from the imagination, they infer that art is about expressing inner reality: “I learned that art is about what and how you feel.” Art is also about transformation, as thoughts and feelings become colours and shapes. A grade 5 boy said that what he learned about art is: “You can transform things” (ECID 2007, 3), and a grade 8 boy remarked that he learned to “transform one thing into another” (ECID 2009, 31). It is but a step to realize that the artwork mirrors the inner reality of the artist: “I found out my artwork symbolizes me.” And that as the artwork is transformed, so is the artist: “I found out that my ideas are really good and if I look into them I will be good” (Clarkson, 2008, 137). A grade 6 boy said that the ECID gave him “a new perspective on things in life.” And a grade 8 teacher who had not painted a single picture before she came to the ECID, wrote: “You have changed the way we look at life.”4

Figure 4.6 Student Questionnaire, Question 7. “What did you learn about yourself?”


7A. I have an imagination and am creative. 24%

7B. I learned to like art and be an artist. 22%

7C. Everyone is unique. 18%

7D. If I try hard, I can make good art. 15%

7E. I can show my feelings in my artwork. 12%

7F. I am more confident and can achieve if I put my mind to it.

9%

Question 7 asks what they learned about themselves (Figure 4.6). The answers show that experiencing, making, and interpreting art has a powerful impact on self-awareness and self-knowledge (Appendix C7). Third-graders said: “I have a lot of imagination”; “I can be artistic”; “I am a artist every day”; “I have warm colours inside”; “to just believe in myself”; “it’s OK to make mistakes.” A grade three girl who had been to the ECID twice before said she learned: “That I can be more and more creative year after year.” Grade eight students made similar statements. The responses of grade 8 students are given according to derived categories:

• That they have an imagination and are creative: “I’m more creative than I thought”; “I have lots of creativity and imagination”; “my imagination and art go well together.”

4 The teacher wrote this on the cover of a booklet of let-ters of appreciation that the class wrote to the staff of the ECID.

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• That they like art and can be an artist: “I have hidden talent”; “I can actually draw”; “I’m artistic.”

• That everyone is unique in their own way: “I have different artistic skills than everyone else”; “A lot about my personal style and imagination”; “that we are unique people that have a different perspective.”

• That if they try hard, they can make good art: “I can be very good at things if I try hard and imagine. I have learned a lot and have improved”; “I can do better if I try.”

• That they can show feelings in their artwork: “Although I might try to hide my emotions, I really don’t have to”; “I can express my feelings on paper”; “that I could draw hearts and express myself to others.”

• That confidence has increased: “I can think quite deeply”; “I’m a good storyteller”; “I’ve always thought I was bad at art, but I’ve found my niche in art”; “I should always think positive and not put my own work down”; “That it’s not so scary to talk with a group, and I also learn to be more confident in myself.”

Figure 4.7 Student Questionnaire, Question 8. “What did you learn about other students in your class?” Categorized responses. 2008-2009, Grades 3-8 (n=401)

8A. They can draw too. 42%

8B. We are all unique. 19%

8C. Generally positive statements about others. 11%

8D. They have imaginations too. 10%

8E. No answer or didn’t understand. 7%

8F. I don’t know (2%), Negative statement (1%). 3%

Question 8 asks what they learned about others in their class (Figure 4.7).

• 90% said they learned something positive about their classmates.

• 42% were impressed that their classmates are also good at art: that they are “creative,” are “good artists,” and can draw “just as good as me.”

• 19% learned that everyone is unique in their own way: “They have different imagination and no one is the same”; “Other people can see the same picture as something completely different.”

• 11% made generally positive statements about others: “It is fun working together”; “They love art”; “They are friendly on their inside”; “First impressions are not always correct.”

• 10% said that others also have imagination: “a wild imagination just like me”; “such a big imagination”; “They are more profound than I thought.”

Figure 4.8 Student Questionnaire, Question 9. “This workshop makes me feel . . .”

2008-2009, Grades 3-8 (n=401)

More creative. 88%

More confident. 87%

More interested. 84%

More excited. 79%

More happy. 78%

Less bored. 68%

Question 9 asks how they feel after the workshop and gives multiple choices: “more creative, less creative, no change; more confident, less confident, no change,” etc. (Figure 4.8). 78% to 88% indicated that the workshop made them feel more creative, more confident, more interested, and happier, and more than two-thirds said they felt less bored.

A substantial number of students add their own words: that they feel “proud,” more “inspired,” and that the program was “fun.”5 The comments from some fifty students are tabulated in Appendix D9. At each grade level the girls are listed, then the boys, with an indication of whether it is the first time (1x) or second time (2x) at the program. Feelings of pride, enjoyment, creativity, energy, inspiration, surprise, excitement, and amazement are frequent. Several add that they love the program and want to come again. Girls tend to be more introspective, referring to feeling more thoughtful. And a grade 8 girl was glad to fill out the form so that she could “reflect about our day.”

5 The word ‘fun’ is not in the questionnaire, but 16% of the students use ‘fun’ in their answers about art or about the program in general (Wittmann, 2009).

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Figure 4.9 Student Questionnaire, Question 10. “Would you like to do more arts and crafts?”

2008-2009, Grades 3-8 (n=401)

8A. Yes. 89%

Drawing/painting. 63%

Film/Video. 27%

Photography. 22%

Dance. 22%

Music. 21%

Drama. 15%

Other, pottery, weaving, etc. 15%

8B. No, or No answer. 11%

The positive feelings generated by the ECID translate into heightened motivation for art. The last question asks whether they would like to do more arts and crafts, and, if so, which ones (Figure 4.9). 89% indicate that they would like to do more arts/crafts, and more than two-thirds of these chose ‘drawing/painting.’ The lopsided preference for visual art probably reflects the fact that the ECID program is based in visual art.

The children confirm what the teachers observe, namely, the crucial role of art, the imagination, and the creative process in the elementary classroom. Their drawings, writings, and feedback provide ample evidence that the creative process and the imagination powerfully motivate learning both in the arts and across the curriculum. Students attest that art gives them access to their talents; that the creative imagination reveals their uniqueness; that the imagination is crucial to making art; that they can express their thoughts and feelings in art without fear of making mistakes and being judged right or wrong; that their artwork makes them proud and gives them confidence and self-esteem; that art is transformative; and that sharing and discussing artwork with each other helps them to understand differing points of view and develops a sense of kinship and community.

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5.0 Student Artwork and Reflections

5.1 Two Girls in Profile

Two girls, a nine-year-old in grade four and a 13-year-old in grade 8, did the ECID for the first time in the fall of 2009.

Figure 5.1A/B Girl 1, Grade 4

A. This picture makes me feel calm. It says, “Artwork isn’t drawing, it is the peace that comes within you.”

B. Art is belief./ The picture is peace./ The thought is what counts,/ The picture is belief,/ Whatever you draw,/

is a way to make peace.

After sitting in front a picture she chose in the gallery and listening to the visioning exercise, Girl 1 went to the studio and made her first drawing (Figure 5.1A). Two black columns frame circular and oblong shapes, wandering lines, hazy textures, and cool colours. On the back of the picture she wrote: “The picture makes me feel calm. It says, ‘Artwork isn’t drawing, it is the peace that comes within you.’” As she worked on the picture, it seemed to come alive and spoke to her, saying that it was not just a drawing, it was the peace that she was experiencing. The girl inferred that the drawing was not about replicating something in outer reality, it was about embodying inner reality. Activating the imagination had evoked the “flow” state in which mind and matter merge, and the artist becomes one with the artwork.

After lunch she returned to the studio and sat at her desk with the morning picture on floor beside her. The facilitator guided her through the visioning exercise while she looked at her picture. She was asked to focus on two colours and two shapes. To begin the second picture, she was told to lay down a background with those two colours in any way she liked, and she made mauve and light blue stripes (Figure 5.1B). She was asked to add two shapes and then told to go ahead and make the picture. The idea for the plant

may have come from a morning picture by another girl who drew a vase of flowers. In an arc above the plant are the circular forms, red rectangle, and cup-like shape. The wandering lines from the morning are now organized as sets of lines that suggest clouds, wind, and rain, and swirly shapes. Two black corners provide a partial frame. Compared with the morning picture, the figure and ground are more distinct, the palette more varied, and the colours warmer and more saturated. On the back of the second picture she wrote a poem:

Art is belief. The picture is peace.

The thought is what counts, The picture is belief,Whatever you draw,

is a way to make peace.

The six lines deepen the realization that art is a way of embodying what she is thinking and feeling. The second picture is a direct expression of her belief in the need for peace. The creative process enabled her to transform a core value into a work of art.


A. Who I Am???? Who I am? 10 years from now? 15 years from now? I know what my personality is. But what will I

be like then, years from now?B. My Rules. Respect, friendship, family, courage, love,/ manner & live like a rock star. By the end of the day it is

my life and my rule. Peace Out.

Older students come to the ECID with more life experience, emotional intelligence, and capacity for self-reflection, and describe their responses with a wider vocabulary of ideas and feelings. Girl 2 was 13 years old and in grade 8 when she came to the program for the first time. Her morning picture is a wreath of delicate floral shapes against an orange background, with a decorative border of curved lines and dots, while the central area is a wash of intense reds (Figure 5.2A). On the back of the picture she wrote:

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Who I Am???? Who I am?

10 years from now? 15 years from now? I know what my personality is.

But what will I be like then, years from now?

On the feedback form she wrote that her first picture was special because she didn’t know what she was going to do, so she let her imagination take over (Appendix D5.2). In other words, she gave over conscious control to the creative imagination. This allowed core concerns of her identity and her future to flow into the art-making process. The picture conveys the tension between her poised attitude to the outside world (the floral border) and her inner uncertainty (the central wash of colours).

Girl 2 began the second picture by covering the upper and lower thirds with the magenta from the centre of the morning picture and over it drew a large broken heart (Figure 5.2B). The broken heart motif appears quite frequently in children’s pictures as an emblem of suffering love, and a classmate’s morning picture included a black and red divided heart. On the feedback form Girl 2 said that after seeing the morning pictures she had a better idea of how creative she could be. In her interpretation a jagged line splits the heart into red and black halves, with a streak of black extending into the red half and a streak of red into the black half. Above the heart she wrote “LOVE,” and around the heart she added words for feelings and values associated with the two sides: “hater,” “back stabber” for the dark side, “courage,” “laugh,” “friendship,” “peace,” and “empathy” for the light side. She explained that she wanted to express the two sides of love in family, friendship, and so on: “Sometimes you have an argument, then you make up.”1 The connection between the opposed aspects is shown by the black streak in the red half and the red streak in the black half of the heart. The word “Me” affirms that the picture represents her. She identified the rainbow, sun, peace sign, and three trees that encircle the heart as emblems of hope, strength, peace, and the beauty of nature.

1 The teacher brought Girl 2 with him to an interview with the author. She brought her picture with her and discussed it in some detail.

On the back of the picture she wrote:

My Rules respect, friendship, family, courage, love,

manner & live like a rock star By the end of the day

It is my life and my rulePeace Out.

She explained that the message of the picture is that you must decide how you want to live your life, then say what you want. But you must do it in the right way, in the right manner. To “live like a rock star” means you are free to hang out with people you like, do different things, and go different places. But when cliques form and there is backbiting and hatred, she feels disoriented: “you don’t know where you belong.” The picture expresses her belief that Love will conquer the forces that divide the heart. If she takes responsibility for her feelings and values and lives by her principles, she will find peace. The second picture thus helped to resolve the questions of identity and destiny that surfaced in the morning by putting her in touch with her core values.

On the feedback form Girl 2 wrote at length about what it meant to discover the imagination (Appendix D5.2). Now that she knows about it, she will use it every day. During the program she saw “AMAZING art work” that made her wonder whether she would ever be able to use her imagination the way the artists did. She had known the dictionary meaning of the word, but the ECID showed her what imagination feels like and what it really means. The imagination was no longer a concept, it was something she experienced. The workshop made her feel happier, more confident, more creative, and less bored, and she added, “I really did enjoy myself!!!”

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5.2 Drawings and Writings of 25 StudentsDrawings, writing and feedback from 11 boys and 14 girls who came to the program between September 2009 and June 2010 document their experiences while exploring creativity in depth.


A. sea, crab, turtle, shark, fish, ship, and waterB. sun, snake, sand, hot, sky, cloud, bumble bee, rock


A. I feel happy! B. I feel excited.


A. Tree. There was a tree and a rain cloud. The rain cloud put water on the tree, the grass, and the flowers.

B. There was a sunset and the dark is coming. All the people are sleeping.

Figure 5.6 A/B Girl 4, Grade 2

A. A flower starts her life like you. She’s like you too. A beautiful life for you.

B. I feel that I am happy in my secret world. It’s a pretty world of mine.

Figures 5.3-5.6 are from grades 1 and 2. Note that the afternoon pictures show more confidence in handling the materials, and the palette, forms, feelings, and subject matter are more resolved. The morning pictures are more or less related in subject matter to the pictures the children looked at in the gallery, while the afternoon pictures are more original.

The morning picture by Boy 2 is a dark seascape, while the afternoon picture is a sun-filled landscape with a more varied palette (Figure 5.3). The turbulent sea is rough with heavy scribbles, while the sunny landscape has a richer variety of shapes and colours and greater attention to detail. The items that Boy 2 listed on the back are easier to identify in the second picture. The teacher was surprised to see him draw landscapes, as he typically drew characters from TV, movies, and video games. She said he did not have a positive attitude to art and didn’t like what he drew at school, throwing his drawings into the recycling bin. When she gave out the ECID pictures to take home, Boy

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