Sherry+Knight

Welcome...

‍My name is Sherry Knight and I have been a Visual Arts Educator at Trinity High School for 35 years. This is my second year in being involved with Arts Educator 2.0 and classroom inquiry.

The following line of inquiry was developed out of the previous assumptions about inquiry strategies:
 * How can inquiry strategies are incorporated into music and arts classes to improve motivation and effort toward students' practice habits?**

‍Although I am considered a Master Teacher, I am constantly frustrated at the lack of effort by my art students and that their question to me regarding the production of art work is "Am I through with this?" instead of "what do you think that I can do to make this a better work of art?". Trying different ways to motivate them to think through process and be motivated to create works of art based on their own inquiry and exploration was my drive in my line of inquiry. What a challenge!

‍Originally, I was thinking about trying to work with all of my classes, which consist of Drawing 1 and 2, Painting 1 and 2, Sculpture, Asian Arts and Culture, Printmaking and Independent Art, but found that this was going to be too overwhelming, especially with the introductory classes who are trying to just learn different techniques and skills and only want to do what is the minimum requirement. Our group created a survey that I asked al my classes to complete and compiled the results.

What grade are you in *


 * Grade 4
 * Grade 5
 * Grade 6
 * Grade 7
 * Grade 8
 * Grade 9- 24
 * Grade 10- 26
 * Grade 11- 18
 * Grade 12- 18

Independent Art- 9 Painting 1- 25 Drawing 1-22 Drawing 2- 9 Sculpture-11 Painting 2 86

During the rest of this year in class, I want to learn how to:

I would be more motivated in this class, if only: Do you practice or sketch outside of class? If yes, how often? Do you study privately outside of a school setting? If no, do you wish you could? I would put more effort into practicing or sketching if... What achievements in your music or art classes are you most proud of? Explain why. What things help motivate you in your music or art classes? Please choose all that apply. Which is more rewarding... If given the opportunity, would you go to an art gallery ir music performance outside of the school? Why or Why not. In the last year, what types of live music events or art exhibits have you attended? why or why not. Museums- Pittsburgh, New York, Boston, Chicago,Washington DC, Philadelphia, Milan, Italy Have attened with friends, family, vacation
 * Make paintings look more realistic
 * Learn more techniques
 * Draw/paint people, animals, manga, landscapes
 * Shade
 * Be creative/come up with my own ideas
 * How to make colors work together/ value
 * Draw in proportion/perspective
 * I could draw/paint
 * Work on art that is trendy
 * Teacher didn't have to keep on the goofballs that don't want to be in class
 * Could listen to my music
 * Yes- 62%
 * No- 38%
 * 0-1 times a week- 39
 * 2-4 times a week-14
 * 3-5 times a week-10
 * 8-10 times a week-15
 * I don't practice-8
 * Yes- 32
 * No- 54
 * Yes- 50
 * No- 36
 * I din't work/have outside activities
 * Didn't have so much homework
 * Get more credit
 * Friends make fun of me when I draw
 * Artwork hanging in gallery/hanging in district show
 * Gold key/silver key/ merit awards in Scholastic Art show
 * Someone wanting to buy my artwork/selling artwork
 * Praise from my teachers- 25
 * Recoignition from my peers-60
 * Praise from my parents-65
 * Opportunities to earn money or prizes-10
 * A place to fit in-22
 * Being able to express my individuality-80
 * Creating quality products-70\
 * Opportunities to improve technical/musical skills-75
 * A piece of art or music that is more challenging and may not look as polished, but helped you "get it"-47
 * a piece of art or music that looks good, but requires little effort-30
 * Yes- 80
 * No-6
 * I like art, music, sclpture
 * Enjoy quiet time/place
 * get inspiration for my artwork
 * like ift shop-cool stuff
 * Carnegie Museum/Warhol
 * Concerts
 * Symphony
 * Ballet
 * Musicals (Pittsburgh/New York)

I knew at that time that could not be so broad in my study and started focusing more on my Independent Art Class, a year long course consisting of 9 talented young ladies who have been struggling to "find their voice visually" in their art. ‍Part of the requirement for Independent Art is each student is required to create a concentration of 4-6 pieces that follow a “theme” or “thread” which reflects research and personal inquiry. Materials, techniques and ideas are all independently chosen, based on the interests of the student. The Independent Art class first semester was falling back on traditional ideas and materials and was afraid to “break out of the box” due to their lack of confidence regarding their art. In other words, they were making art to fulfill the course requirement and not making art for art’s sake or for the joy of creating art to find their style. I began by scheduling an “interview” with each of the girls to have them talk about what they had been doing with their concentration and what they thought they could visualize by stepping outside of their comfort zone and pushing their art with different materials and ideas. Individual interviews grew into small group interactive discussions with a few directed questions or comments and then into question and answer sessions with little or no direction from me. The classes went from “I don’t know what to do” or “what you think that I should work on next”to“what do you think of this idea?”

As new ideas emerged from students who originally kept falling back on traditional drawing and painting skills, my comments to them were “where were all these ideas and concepts hiding?” I started pushing more “research” into new techniques- mixed media using found objects, altering books not as a journal, but as a sculptural forms, trying materials that were not normally considered art materials and encouraged the girls to find other artists that were also experimenting or working with similar concepts so they would realize that they were not alone.

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The group went from “what should I do now?” to “look what I was working on last night” or “I found this out in the parking lot of the mall and I am going to incorporate it into this piece of art”. Direction and inquiry was no longer teacher based, but student driven and the level of motivation was off the scale! I forced the students to talk about what they were doing and how “boring” their ideas were to really exciting works of art! They stated to think about their process and began to listen to one another regarding the production of their art. The more personal the artwork became, the more motivation and effort were visible. The girls were asking one another to be critical in viewing their progress and listened carefully to suggestions and questioned reasons for the comments. They became more critical in their own thought and creative process and more motivated, spending study halls, lunch and after school time in the art room. Now I am seeing the artwork that they are working on at home! The more they explore, the more they have been motivated to create!The final chapter of this process will be their own Independent Art show and opening reception on May 16th at the high school showcasing their effort in creating incredible works of art!



May 17, 2012... the Independent Art show was last evening and all I can say is that it was such a success! The girls were so proud of their installation piece and thier art displays which they set up after school. Several of the students sold artwork which wasso amazing to them... they have been so critical of their work and yet their work was amazing! Now we just wrap everything up and talk about their processes and what worked and did not work for them throughout the year.