In my 20 plus years of guiding students through their creative journeys, I have assembled many, many insights and stories. This is the story of one of my most successful teaching chapters-The Redesign.
The story takes place in the early years of the 21st century, right around 2006 or 2007. The internet was still fresh and the future had a hopeful outlook. At the time, I was a freelance educator, mainly gigging with a young, NYC-based arts non-profit. I had just finished my first year with them, which was a great success, and this new project was going to be my full second-year assignment.
The brief was to transform a social room in a local high school by updating its surfaces, tone, and overall aesthetic. Essentially, it was a complete redesign. To make things even more interesting, I was told I would be collaborating with the top 10% of the high school’s seniors.
I was certainly intrigued by the challenge and eager to see how I would pull it off. When I met the school faculty, the top administrator gave me the gist of the project. He basically said I could do whatever I wanted, with one major exception. No tacky murals. No space shuttles, no American flags, and absolutely no bald eagles.
My class was scheduled for early Friday mornings in a three-hour block. This was my first time developing a curriculum for such a massive chunk of time, since I was used to the typical 45 to 90 minute periods. Still, I was happy to accept the challenge, knowing I had a blank canvas.
My strategy was to treat the class like a university course. It was also my first time introducing a "living document" approach to teaching. Our course foundations would remain firm because it was a design class after all, but our execution would leave plenty of room for experimentation, exploration, and improvising when needed. I planned for the ABCs of the class, but remained completely open to how we would reach our XYZ conclusion.
On the very first day, after quick introductions, I threw them right into the experiments with a curious "artivity." I played a few musical samples from a variety of genres and asked them to create a free-association drawing based on what they heard. I wanted them to loosen up and dive headfirst into the wondrous world of art-making.
The design experiments only grew from there. They included our messy but brilliant ketchup paintings inspired by Edvard Munch. We also did a silent art exam where absolutely no talking was allowed from anyone, including myself. We could only communicate through gestures or written index cards.
But the biggest experiment of all was taking a group of mildly art-interested kids and seeing if they could turn into creative powerhouses. I recall my supervisors mentioning that this was actually one of the first, if not the very first, exhibition design curriculums ever made for high school students in the country.
It was an immense challenge. I was combining a foundational design class with a hands-on interior decorating project for students who probably had not held a crayon since elementary school. Yet, I was happily surprised to see how quickly they embraced the journey and their personal creative potential.
The real key to our success was a powerful artist tool, the sketchbook! Every class we made room for sketchbook time where students could share whatever they felt like sharing. This did not just ignite their natural creative flow, it also gave them a chance to shine individually and impress on their peers.
The sketchbook was not just a place to doodle; they used it as a visual journal, a personal diary, and a safe space for whatever their hearts chose. They shared poems, drawings, paintings, stories and collages. Their creations were amazing, and sketchbook time easily became my favorite part of the entire course.
Watching the power of creative exploration wake up in these high school seniors was and still is truly inspiring. As they prepared for a massive life change after graduation, I was thrilled to provide a bridge to a new world of possibilities.
The redesign project was on a roll. We had serious motivation and conviction in our sails, and then the winds began to shift.
Check out The Redesign Pt. 2 next week!
See my bio and experiences here: https://wimzee1.mysharetribe.com/u/69cad77b-2912-43fa-898b-066cdda4b98c
