Encouraging Creativity - Assemblage
D’Amico (1972) believed assemblage to be one of the "means for structuring a basic program of creative expression” (p. 4).
D’Amico, V. & Buchman, A. (1970). Assemblage a new dimension in creative teaching in action. New York, NY: Museum of Modern Art.
Overview:
In this lesson students will explore, experiment, and experience creative expression through assemblage. They will use creative insight to give materials new meaning.
Enduring Ideas:
Students will:
D’Amico, V. & Buchman, A. (1970). Assemblage a new dimension in creative teaching in action. New York, NY: Museum of Modern Art.
Overview:
In this lesson students will explore, experiment, and experience creative expression through assemblage. They will use creative insight to give materials new meaning.
Enduring Ideas:
- Everyone has creative potential
- Creativity is an essential life skill
- Artists can develop and use their creative abilities
- Creating: Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work
- Creating: Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work
- Responding: Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
- What makes a person creative?
- How can you develop your creativity?
- Why is it important to develop creativity?
Students will:
- Explain what creativity is
- Recognize that all people have creative potential
- Identify how people are creative
- Recognize that creativity is an essential life skill
- Demonstrate aspects of creativity in their artwork
Hanging Wire Construction
Tools and Materials:
Wire clothes hangers (cheap bendable ones from the cleaners), tissue paper (a variety of colors, cut into 6” squares), yarn, sequins, small buttons or beads for decoration, glue, scissors
Introduction:
Review:
Take a coat hanger and show students how you can bend it into various shapes. Ask students whether the shapes suggested anything to them. Explain how the hanger makes an outline of shapes and tissue paper can be used to fill in the shapes.
Process:
Wire clothes hangers (cheap bendable ones from the cleaners), tissue paper (a variety of colors, cut into 6” squares), yarn, sequins, small buttons or beads for decoration, glue, scissors
Introduction:
Review:
- What makes a person creative?
- They think of new ideas
- They approach things in ways that are original to them
- They are inventive and resourceful
- They look at new possibilities to solving problems as they work on projects
- How can you develop your creativity?
- Do not worry what other people think about your work
- Do not be afraid—of rejection, of being different, of not doing it right, or of getting a bad grade
- Examine different ways of doing things
- If you don’t have what you need, think about what else you can use
- Try doing things a new way
- Take time to think about it; pray about it
- Talk about your ideas with someone else; get a second opinion
- Practice and look at things you are interested in, study them
- Why is it important to develop and use creativity?
- Creativity helps you express your thoughts and ideas
- It helps develop new ways of thinking and new ways to solve problems
- It helps build self-confidence
Take a coat hanger and show students how you can bend it into various shapes. Ask students whether the shapes suggested anything to them. Explain how the hanger makes an outline of shapes and tissue paper can be used to fill in the shapes.
Process:
- Pass out coat hangers
- Students bend hangers into various shapes creating recognizable or abstract objects
- Put glue on wire and fold the edges of colored tissue paper around the wire (not all areas have to be filled with tissue paper; some can remain open)
- If tissue paper isn’t long or wide enough to span a space, another piece could be glued to it. It can be the same or a different color.
- After tissue paper is finished, add yarn, feathers, sequins, or beads for decoration
- Before leaving, students will write their name on an Exit card and answer the following question: What can you tell me about your creation?
- Formative: Assessment is done through teacher observation of student’s participation during group discussions, during assemblage, and during informal interviews. Learners should be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of what creativity means and if they consider themselves creative.
- Summative: Individual artwork will be reviewed for thinking of new ideas, for approaching something in a way that is original to them, and for looking at new possibilities to solve problems that occur as they work.
Collage
Tools and Materials:
Containers with assorted small bits of collage materials (yarn, paper, feathers, sequins, felt, etc.), scissors, glue, staplers, construction paper: various colors, 6” x 9”, at least two sheets per child, and 12” x 18”, at least one sheet per child.
Introduction:
To begin this lesson students will view artwork by various artists. Kurt Schwitters: Colored Squares, Jacob Hashimoto: SST, Hannah Hoch: Little Sun. Students will critique the paintings and discuss the unique characteristics of each one.
Review:
It is easier and probably more fun to use a lot of materials in making a collage, but today we will limit ourselves to only a few materials and use them in a particular way. Each of you will get a sheet of the larger-size construction paper for your background, and two of the smaller-size pieces of different colors.
Process:
Containers with assorted small bits of collage materials (yarn, paper, feathers, sequins, felt, etc.), scissors, glue, staplers, construction paper: various colors, 6” x 9”, at least two sheets per child, and 12” x 18”, at least one sheet per child.
Introduction:
To begin this lesson students will view artwork by various artists. Kurt Schwitters: Colored Squares, Jacob Hashimoto: SST, Hannah Hoch: Little Sun. Students will critique the paintings and discuss the unique characteristics of each one.
Review:
- What makes a person creative?
- They think of new ideas
- They approach things in ways that are original to them
- They are inventive and resourceful
- They look at new possibilities to solving problems as they work on projects
- How can you develop your creativity?
- Do not worry what other people think about your work
- Do not be afraid—of rejection, of being different, of not doing it right, or of getting a bad grade
- Examine different ways of doing things
- If you don’t have what you need, think about what else you can use
- Try doing things a new way
- Take time to think about it; pray about it
- Talk about your ideas with someone else; get a second opinion
- Practice and look at things you are interested in, study them
- Why is it important to develop and use creativity?
- Creativity helps you express your thoughts and ideas
- It helps develop new ways of thinking and new ways to solve problems
- It helps build self-confidence
It is easier and probably more fun to use a lot of materials in making a collage, but today we will limit ourselves to only a few materials and use them in a particular way. Each of you will get a sheet of the larger-size construction paper for your background, and two of the smaller-size pieces of different colors.
Process:
- Students select two smaller-size pieces of different color construction paper
- Cut or tear the smaller sheets into interesting shapes. If they cut forms out of the pieces, for instance circles, free forms, or objects, save all the pieces because the main object of this lesson is to use all the pieces in your collage. Nothing is to be left out.
- When they have torn or cut all the pieces, lay them out on the background sheet to make a design; the pieces can overlap
- Arrange them so that the shapes and colors are evenly distributed—that is, so that there aren’t too many of the same shape or color in one spot; move the pieces around to change the arrangement until they like it. Then glue the pieces down.
- If they feel it needs more interest, they can add other materials—for instance, yarn, colored tissue paper, felt, sequence, out of the collage container.
- Before leaving, students will write their name on an Exit card and answer the following question: What is your favorite part of your creation?
- Formative: Assessment is done through teacher observation of student’s participation during group discussions, during assemblage, and during informal interviews. Learners should be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of what creativity means and if they consider themselves creative.
- Summative: Individual artwork will be reviewed for thinking of new ideas, for approaching something in a way that is original to them, and for looking at new possibilities to solve problems that occur as they work.