ArtForce: Visual Arts
Summer Apprenticeship
Ivy Tech Community College
Grades 10-12
June 13 - July 1, 2016
Program Summary
ArtForce: Visual Arts 2016 provided fifteen high school students from Indiana with a unique opportunity to hone their artistic and teaching skills through a three-week fine arts apprenticeship. Through daily instruction from an experienced Arts for Learning teaching artist combined with multiple workshops from eight visiting artists and speakers, ArtForce students were given the opportunity to refine their artistic abilities.
In addition, ArtForce participants learned how to create and carry out an art lesson plan. Participants instructed younger students on an art lesson of their choosing over a two-day period. After the initial teaching experience, ArtForce students received feedback and made changes to their lessons before teaching a different group of students on the second day.
The final day of the apprenticeship concluded with a culminating exhibit for the public. The exhibit showcased multiple pieces of artwork created by the participants during the program. Upon completion of this program, ArtForce participants gathered multiple pieces of artwork to add to their portfolios, improved a variety of skills, learned how to plan and implement an art lesson plan, and gained an artistic and pedagogical experience that will enhance their resumes and future experiences.
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Program Objectives
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To increase participants' understanding of various visual arts techniques.
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To increase participants' understanding of basic concepts in teaching.
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To increase participants’ understanding of the role of the arts in addressing social issues.
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To help participants develop an artist statement and portfolio.
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Program Design
ArtForce is designed to provide participants with a unique focus every week for three weeks. Week 1 focused on creation, during which participants created works of art for their portfolios and were introduced to multiple art techniques and styles demonstrated by various teaching artists. Week 2 targeted education by instructing participants on child development, lesson planning, and classroom management. Week 3 focused on teaching, during which ArtForce participants implemented their newly created art lesson plans to Camp AYS students, received feedback, and made improvements to their lessons. Throughout the entire program, ArtForce participants discussed social issues and experienced how their art could help address those issues.
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Our Partnerships
Ivy Tech Community College in partnership with Arts for Learning created a unique experience for high school students interested in the fine arts. Participants in this program not only developed artistic and teaching skills, but were able to see what it was like to learn in a college setting. Furthermore, ArtForce partnered with Camp AYS at IPS #84. ArtForce participants taught their lesson plans to AYS participants ranging from kindergarten to 6th grade. This partnership formed a unique bond between the elementary and high school students.
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The Creative Team
ArtForce 2016 instructor and teaching artist Jingo de la Rosa instructed ArtForce students in self-portraiture, rotational painting, illustration, and more, and offered assistance and expertise in the creation of the students’ art lesson plans. Additionally, ArtForce provided students with workshops/lectures from eight visiting artists and speakers: Stephanie Hopper (animation), Delores “Gigi” Johnson (lifelong learning), Bill Rasdell (photography), Hector Delcampo (drawing), Stephanie Robertson (fabric art), Maurice Young (homelessness), Frank Hockett (mixed media), and Rose Wilson (child development).
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The Creative & Learning Process
ArtForce students began the apprenticeship on Monday, June 13, with the final exhibit taking place on Friday, July 1. Participants came to Ivy Tech Community College Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for instruction from Jingo de la Rosa, as well as workshops from visiting artists throughout the program. Students learned about multiple drawing techniques and gained skills in creative and original thinking and forming good work habits, among other skills. They also got to see performances by Griot Drum Ensemble, Adzook’s Puppets, and Stephanie “Sphie” Holman.
At the start of the program, students were provided with an assortment of art supplies ranging from high quality colored pencils to pads of paper and paint. Upon receiving these supplies, the high school students felt as if they were true artists which helped them to take pride in their artwork. Students created self-portraits, collages, multiple sketches of a live model, and more, as well as wrote personal artist statements which were displayed to the public at the exhibit on July 1.
This year, ArtForce: Visual Arts also included a component of social issues during the program. Some of the main topics that were discussed were animal welfare, poverty, homelessness, human rights, and bullying. Students had the opportunity to hear Maurice Young speak about “Homelessness by choice,” and they also took a field trip to Exodus Refugee Immigration Inc. and FACE Low-cost Spay/Neuter Clinic. To tie it all together, participants created large rotational paintings to experience the role their art has in addressing social issues.
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As part of the teaching component to the program, ArtForce students explored the process of lesson planning, beginning with idea formation and ending with the lesson’s implementation. Participants observed teaching artists Beverly Roche and Jingo de la Rosa implement art lessons to Camp AYS participants at IPS #84 before they created their own lesson plans. By doing this, participants were exposed to different teaching approaches, which assisted in creating their own lessons.
After creating their own lesson plans, ArtForce participants went back to Camp AYS at IPS #84 and taught small groups of students ranging in age from Kindergarten to 6th grade. Participants were given two opportunities to teach their lessons, which allowed them to receive feedback and make changes for the following day. Lesson plans included origami, jewelry making, pointillism, puppet-making, mask-making, and many more creative ideas.
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Outcome
Overall, the fifteen ArtForce participants displayed improvement in their art, 21st century, and teaching skills upon completion of the apprenticeship. This data was collected from three separate rubrics. The art and 21st century skills rubrics were completed by teaching artist and ArtForce 2016 instructor Jingo de la Rosa. The teaching skills rubrics were completed by Camp AYS staff members who observed the ArtForce participants as they implemented their art lesson plans at IPS #84. These three rubrics showed an overall increase in scores among a variety of standards.
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Meaningful Student Learning
Each ArtForce: Visual Arts participant was positively effected by the apprenticeship. New friendships were formed, new mediums were learned, students were pushed out of their comfort zones, and some even realized what they want to do after high school because of the program. Ten of the fifteen participants are now considering to pursue a degree in the arts and/or teaching, and two students have even decided to attend Ivy Tech Community College because of their participation in ArtForce. Parents of the participants also saw positive changes in their children because of the program.
ArtForce: Visual Arts Parent 2016: “Our daughter has come out of her shell more in social settings when dealing with people and public speaking as well as in academic settings with how she treats her art and herself as an artist.”
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ArtForce: Visual Arts Parent 2016: “My daughter is much happier and comes home with amazing news she can’t wait to tell.”
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Conclusions
Offering so many different mediums during ArtForce: Visual Arts allowed participants to try new things and improve at techniques they were familiar with. It also gave them an insight into all the types of visual arts they could pursue in the future.
Also, being able to teach younger students twice to learn and grow from their mistakes allowed ArtForce: Visual Arts participants to increase their pedagogical skills and really see what it’s like to teach an art lesson in a school setting.
The added component of social issues to ArtForce: Visual Arts allowed participants to take a fun, educational field trip to Circle City Industrial Complex as well as become more aware of how they can express their feelings towards social issues through their artwork.
Finally, the culminating exhibit at Ivy Tech on the last day of the program allowed participants to take ownership and feel proud of the artwork they produced. They got to experience setting up, presenting, and tearing down a gallery, and they were able to talk about their artwork and personal artist statements with friends, family, and the public.
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Written By:
Leesa Jing
Summer Program Assistant, 2016
Butler University, Class of 2017
B.S. Arts Administration
B.S. Mathematics