Introduction

Hello readers!

 I'd like to use this first post to briefly introduce myself and let you know what to expect in future posts.  My name is Miss Imhof, and I have been teaching art to students in grades K-12th in various settings, such as camp, internships, and charter schools for the past 5 years.  Currently I am teaching art grades K-8th.  I have found that the biggest challenge in teaching art is finding a balance between providing the students with a finished sample and directing them to precisely follow every step, and letting the students work completely independently without having to follow specific directions. Oftentimes, students get frustrated by a samples because they cannot copy what is in front of them, and other times they have no idea of where to start if a sample is not provided. It is my belief that students should be guided without being smothered with steps that are too specific because this leaves no room for individual creative discovery.


As Eliot Eisner says, "The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling" (Eisner, 2002). I try to teach my students to embrace their experiences with art and I acknowledge that all student's have their own unique experience and should not be treated the same.  


In my upcoming posts, I will be posting many of my lesson plans that I have conducted with my students.  I will provide reflections on what worked, what didn't, and what I would change about the lesson.  I will also discuss findings and student responses that are specific to each project.  


I will also be using this blog to post the progress and completion of my own creative projects.  It is very important for one who teaches art to practice it as well. Plus, my students enjoy art so much that I can't resist joining in on the fun.  A few projects i'm currently working on are a bag crocheted out of hemp, a crocheted christening dress for my goddaughter, and something made out of my new penguin duct tape.  


Well, for now here's a few pictures to get stated: 

Duct tape purse I made for my mother: 

Fish I crocheted for my goddaughter: 

Diaper cake for a friend: 

View of a wall from this year's student art show!

 Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind, In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows. (pp. 70-92). Yale University Press.