Keywords

Elementary art, students, experiences, teaching

Abstract

The desert and mountains where Molly and I grew up had a profound influence on our sense of self and our artistic practice. Molly describes her experiences with connecting place to her own artistic identity and to her work as an elementary art teacher: As an elementary art specialist, I wondered if my students had similar experiences related to place. I wanted to know how elementary students might use art as a method of inquiry to explore how place contributed to their sense of identity. I also wanted to connect my artistic identity with my teaching. My experiences and understanding of place became part of my teaching as I started asking questions and exploring with my students in a collaborative space (Porter, 2004). I was interested in implementing what Olivia Gude (2007) called an “attentive living curriculum” (p. 10)that encourages students to analyze their close-at-hand or natural environments, thereby creating “opportunities for students to become grounded in a sense of place”(p. 10). I turned toward landscape as a way of making meaning and connecting with the emotions and experiences that influenced my own artistic identity, hoping that my experiences as an artist would resonate with my students.

Original Publication Citation

Graham, M. A. & Neves, M. (2018). Place-Based Practice: Landscape and Artistic Identity in an Elementary Art Classroom. Art Education 71 (4)