"Macaroni Art." I heard that term many times in a very thick Brazilian accent from a professor in art school. It was always said with a sneer, and a hint of disgust. It's the kind of art created with beans, noodles, cotton balls, popsicle sticks, and - you guessed it - macaroni. I'm quite supportive of using a non-traditional medium in art. I have made many works myself out of non-traditional items. This is one of the few times I will ever criticize an artist's choice of medium, but in this case I must.
Macaroni Art has its' place: in physical therapy for rehabilitating hands and fingers, in teaching severely disabled people about tactile and sensory explorations, and in building motor skills and hand-eye coordination. I think it should not have a place in teaching art to anyone. I can already hear the whines from the elementary school teachers, (because I've heard them before). This is a major reason why I'm writing this blog and offering these lessons. Multiple-Subject teachers (K - 8 in California) have often undervalued student ability and potential in the Arts. I have seen many K-8 teachers undervalue the Arts and Visual Communication in their curriculum, and quality lessons in art are rare without the help of an artist.
The old stand-by is just not good enough. Students deserve better, and teachers should not be intimidated by the subject, nor the medium. If you want to make fluffy snowmen with cotton balls for holiday cards, that's great for an activity, but it is a terrible inadequacy as an art lesson.
The medium you choose to use is your tool. It would be ridiculous for any mechanic to use a wooden ruler as a replacement for the torque wrench. A baker would never use a rope to mix a cake batter. Using food as a tool in creating art (specifically in creating macaroni art) undermines the art created. It sends a message to the student that the teacher doesn't think the student is capable enough to use the real thing - that they aren't good enough, or smart enough. It sends a message that art isn't to be taken seriously, or there is nothing of value to be learned from creating art. Macaroni art also undermines the purpose and enjoyment of the food. Another issue I have with macaroni art is something not all teachers have to deal with - but we do here in this metropolitan district; some of the students are hungry. Placing food in front of them and expect them to paste it to construction paper is cruel and wasteful.
My intent is not to criticize those who use this method, but to remind us all that we can do better than that. Our students can do much better than that. Let's not sell them short. Give the students an opportunity to show you what they are capable of - it's not for you to decide.
My own experience with under-estimating students came when I taught an art lesson to a class of first graders. Their teacher was quite intimidated by art, claimed she didn't know much about it, and reminded me to keep the lesson short (20 minutes at most) because the attention spans of the young students were so short. I delivered a very quick and simple lesson in color theory, and brought oil pastels for the students to use in creating their works. Yes, oil pastels to first-graders! The students were excited about the medium, its tactile experience, and about using real artists' tools. They were engaged and involved for a very long time. The teacher was able to do her grading and lesson planning as they worked QUIETLY. Imagine that: 28 first-graders, all quietly concentrating, all working, and all happy. We were both shocked when the bell rang. Two hours had passed from the beginning of the lesson to the ring of the bell. The real art lesson, the real artists' tools, and the time and encouragement to explore kept the students engaged and learning for two hours.
Note about oil pastels: don't be afraid to try them! They're vibrant, saturated in color, they blend easily, and, believe it or not, they're a cinch to clean up. Any brand of baby wipes will lift oil pastel off of hands, desks, table-tops, walls, even out of carpet. Oil pastels are quite inexpensive, too - a good starter box will cost about 2 to 3 dollars.
The medium is your tool! It is a reflection of how much you care about your creative expression, your work. It is taking yourself seriously, and asking others to take you seriously. It's wearing a clean shirt and a smile to the party instead of smelly old sweats with stains and holes. Macaroni art is fine in its place (see above), but you can do better than that, we all can. So, that brings me to the assignment of the week:
Visit an art supply store - A place where real artists shop, and real art supplies are sold. I'm not talking about the places that have the 1 cent frame and poster sale, and I'm not talking about the place that has art supplies in a small section of the store filled with potpurri and craft supplies. A real art supply store. If you don't know where to find one, call your local university and ask the Art Department. They may even have an art store on campus! If you're in a very rural community, find a good store on the internet - but try to find an art store to visit the next time you are in a neighboring town. The internet is great for many things, but real people are better.
Your assignment is to spend at least one hour exploring the art store. You may have to schedule an appointment with a clerk there - ask for a tour if you want. Look at the pencils and charcoal - why do they have numbers and letters on them? What's the difference in oil pastels and chalk pastels? What's gouache? Why do artists use certain brushes for acrylic paints, and different ones for oil paints, and even more different ones for watercolor paints? Why would someone paint on cotton paper instead of on a canvas? How do you stretch a canvas? Do people still carve linoleum to make prints with ink? Why would someone use modeling clay when a big bag of stoneware clay is so much less expensive? Ah - prices - this is one time you are encouraged to pester about WHY things cost what they do. Why DO oil pastels cost so little? Why do some paint colors cost more than others?
Ask as many questions as you have, and learn about your tools. You will have the chance to learn the technique - Mrs. B will be posting lesson plans very soon - and you will have the chance to explore what you are capable of creating. Don't let yourself become overwhelmed, or discouraged. Just be open to learning about the possibilities. Find something that you didn't know before, and find something that you want to explore further. If you have the opportunity to do so, make a purchase of some materials that interest you. Play with them and explore how they work for you. Don't worry about how you're "supposed" to use them, just use them. We will get to technique and styles later.
If you don't know where to start, drop 5 bucks on some oil pastels and break out that stack of construction paper in your closet. Color - sort of like you do with the old crayons! Have your baby wipes handy if you need them for clean-up, but just try it out. Use different pressures, try to blend the colors, SMEAR them around on the page. See what happens when you try it out. We'll chat more about it next time.
Until then,
- Mrs. B
Note: ALL information and links provided from this blog and subsequent issues are for educational purposes only. Please do not use copyrighted imagery without the consent of the image owner.
All lesson plans authored by Mrs. B are the expressed intellectual property of Stephanie T. Butler unless otherwise noted. Use of Mrs. B's lesson plans without Stephanie T. Butler's permission or failure of citation is considered intellectual theft and constitutes academic fraud.
Plaigarism is theft: what lessons will you teach our students?
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