Playground Workshop

Welcome the class!

Move chairs and tables away so we can have an open space. (If we are in the MOA then use an open area). Have everyone sit down on the floor like in an elementary school. Talk about James Mollison's work and look at images of his playgrounds. Discuss what a playground means to everyone.

Have everyone stand up and play music. Invite people to mingle and walk about. Have balls and jump rope out for use. After 10 minutes stop the music and have everyone pause where they are. Someone will take a photograph of our scene in the same way James Mollison's work embodies.

Talk as a group for 15 minutes about how play can change perspective for students and teachers. Discuss how to incorporate learning by play into the classroom.

Jump rope and play for the next 15 minutes!

Olivia Gude response

I loved reading of Gude's work. I liked her idea that creativity is fostered in psychological freedom. It feels like her ideas are new and fresh! In her Project and Activity Plans, she quoted, "Good art projects encode complex aesthetic strategies." Love this! 

It feels like students can engage in creating art when they feel like their environment is safe and centered on their success. Her Post-Modern Principles are very fascinating to read through. I think that incorporating postmodern views in the classroom can facilitate excellent art making. I included some ideas about them in my curriculum. Her ideas on Playing, Creativity, Possibility too. I liked the ideas on creating art by getting loose and letting go a bit. I believe that I do the best in creating art when I let go of the art piece. I love taking the pressure off of myself when creating. I want to enable my students to do the same and to feel the same. Art is a lot about problem solving and if students feel safe and challenged at the same time-they can solve problems better with more confidence. With these principles as well as her other ideas, I plan to merge new ideas with old traditions. 

With the Post Modern principles I believe in merging the two lists as one and incorporating old wisdom like composition, harmony and balance with new process like juxtaposition, layering and remixing. I believe that these postmodern principles can ignite a natural creativity in my future students. These standards can be drawn from pop culture, current events, past experiences and present feelings. Students should be introduced to relevant contemporary art. When I incorporate these new ideas into my classroom I can have more success!