Unit 1: Identity
Mini Compositions: Collages
This is me trying out for OFFICIAL Dance Crew last semester. We had to audition in front of three judges and I was terrified. I didn't know if I would make it but I did! It has been so much fun and a huge opportunity for me to grow and push myself. This project taught me about my identity because I got to portray an experience where I took a risk with dance that I had never taken before. I learned a lot about myself through this dance team and have built a lot of confidence as well. I like this idea for a project and would want to try it in connection to social studies and have them also make a collage of an event that defined the identity of a group of people or historical figure.
Chuck Close Meets Disney
This studio lesson related to identity by having me look at my personality in a traditionally "positive" and "negative" light. This project made me reflect on my kindness, independence, and compassion through Belle, and my frustrations when I feel like people walk all over me through Yzma. I learned a little more about this character and decided to portray her as a "doormat" in this piece. I like the idea of using this project in my classroom but I would want to be a little bit more specific with the directions. I might have my students choose one or two characteristics to portray in their pieces. I also would want to connect this to literacy by having students choose characters from books we had read in class or on their own instead of Disney characters.
Artful Personification: Mixed Media
This project relates to identity because we were examining the identity of a fairy tale character. Here I chose Chicken Little and expressed his stress through my art. I combined a human body holding his head in anxiety with a frazzled chicken head and feet. He thinks the sky is falling even though an acorn hit his head. He is imagining himself dead as a cooked chicken. The chaos he feels is represented by the shapes and bright reds and oranges, which contrast with the peaceful scenery that is his reality. In the background the text says, "Who wishes he were home and abed?" If I were to use this activity in my classroom, I would want to narrow down the number of mediums my students can use. I would also maybe extend this activity after my students create a collage about a fairy tale character of their choosing, they can bring in the fairy tale and this could be how we begin a lesson on fairy tales. This would be a great introduction if we then wanted to move into writing their own fairy tales.