As students get to high school, many are forced to make the choice to give up taking an art class in order to make room in their schedule for other academic classes seen as more essential for college or careers. While it’s true that high school students should not be expected to overfill their schedules, the value of studying and creating art translates not only into the workplace, but also into emotional and social health. This is one of the reasons that at Rock Point School, we continue to put the arts at the center of our curriculum. Whether students are collaborating on a mosaic or doing a photoshoot in the woods, the skills they gain in the process are essential to becoming successful in school and beyond.
Motivational Quote Art
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The New Year is the perfect time to celebrate a whole new you! A lot of us use this time of year to kick off big projects, set goals for life or our careers, or embark on completely different adventures. Sometimes we need a little help staying motivated, but that’s the easy part. Here are a few ideas using motivational quote art and Tulip color products to create pieces that are inspiring AND fun to see everyday on your way to a new you!
What you need:
– Canvas, corkboard or surface to create quote art on
Whether you’re toting around a binder for school or work, create a message that keeps you motivated through tough tests and tense meetings. Print out your favorite quote in a font you love, place it under the clear binder cover and trace over the design with Tulip Dimensional Paint . Let it dry and you’re ready to tackle your next big project!
This quote art is perfect for teachers and soon-to-be-teachers, parents and anyone who works with kids! Create it for yourself or as a special gift for someone to show your admiration for their hard work and to help keep their motivation strong. Use a chalk pencil to write out a quote then brush over it with Tulip Soft Paint and let dry.
You can never go wrong with canvas art and tons of color! Create quote art that you’re proud of on your journey to success with a little help from Tulip Fabric Markers. It really is as easy as writing, doodling and coloring to make wall art that’s awesomely inspiring. If you’re nervous to jump right in with the markers, try using a pencil or chalk pencil lightly on the canvas then trace with markers.
We hope you’re feeling inspired to get creative and stay motivated with lots of color in the year ahead!
Social – Emotional Skills are Key to Success
In a previous blog post on nurturing grit , we discussed why social-emotional skills, sometimes called soft skills, are becoming more and more important to employers. Recently, Google re-examined its hiring priorities based on hiring, firing, and promotion data they analyzed from 1998-2013. The company realized that its most successful employees were not necessarily those with the highest GPA in computer science. It turned out the seven top characteristics of success at Google are all soft skills :
- being a good coach;
- communicating and listening well;
- possessing insights into others (including others different values and points of view);
- having empathy toward and being supportive of one’s colleagues;
- being a good critical thinker and problem solver; and
- being able to make connections across complex ideas.
Looking at this list, Google executives started recruiting artists and humanities majors because they were more likely to possess these skills!
Art Class Learning
Students in art class are frequently asked to solve problems creatively in their projects, both individually and as a team. Art classes are designed to help students make connections across complex ideas and communicate those ideas in many different ways. On a given day in the art room, you can find students making a self-portrait, creating a mixed media piece commenting on current events, or making a mosaic highlighting recycled materials. One senior, Calvin, said art is valuable to him because “So much of school is about not having freedom, but art is the expression of oneself and once you know the basic artistic concepts you can take it anywhere.” For Calvin, art gives him the opportunity to explore his own ideas.
For many people, giving voice to a personal problem or complex feeling can be challenging. Through art, people can communicate their feelings or communicate complex intangibles. Skilled teachers can use a student’s drawing as a jumping off point to help them make sense of their emotions. When I asked Jeff, a sophomore, what he liked about art, he said, “Art is a good stress reliever for me. I’m calmer when I’m making art. I express my feelings through creativity.”
Especially for adolescents, the questions of “Who am I?” and “Where do I belong?” become central to their learning. It is critical for schools to offer guided opportunities for students to become more self aware and, as a result, gain empathy for and understanding of others. In art classes, students can explore their identity in a safe and welcoming environment, where creativity and experiments are encouraged. Creating art can help students process and restore memories and put into perspective what is important to them.
Art and Health
A recent study in the UK found that 66% of physicians agree that public engagement with the arts can prevent ill health. The study found that many doctors also believe that arts-based interventions could prove to be a cost effective way to improve health outcomes. As a result physicians in the UK may be moving toward “prescribing” participating in art-based activities.
Creating art can give people a sense of accomplishment that they might be struggling to find in other aspects of their lives. For many of our students, some traditionally structured academic classes have been a source of frustration for them. Art classes give them a place where they can create something of their own and feel successful. One student, Alison, said, “My whole life I’ve struggled with everything, but art is one of the few things I have felt like I was capable of. It’s a huge self-esteem booster to finish a piece.”
