Marisa Sanchez

Art 133
Amber Ward
22 October 2015
Play in Art Making
Over the course of these past two weeks our readings, art-making, and discussions have been
tied together by the big idea of PLAY. So, you are probably wondering how playing has any
relation to art. Well, in this unit I have learned just how important it is to play, or have fun, while
making art. Too often, students at the elementary level are required to produce an identical art
project as the rest of their peers, with very little creative stimulation. Virginia Freyermuth
described the beginning of her teaching career as boring, unrewarding, and dissatisfying until she
began to teach using learner directed methods. She reports that her students were, at first,
stumped with the absence of instruction, however as the creativity started to spread throughout
the room, the art work was inspired, stimulating, and meaningful. As a class, we experienced this
first hand as we were given almost an entire class period to create what we pleased, with no
objective. It was obvious that my peers and I had trouble finding a starting point however it was
amazing to the see the domino effect take hold of our creativity as we began to inspire each
other.
Imagining myself as a teacher, I can definitely see myself incorporating learner directed
methods into my lesson plans. As I student, I have noticed that creativity flows effortlessly while
having fun. Therefor as a teacher, I will make it a point to encourage play in art making. If
students are having fun, I believe that any form anxiety or fear of judgment diminishes, resulting
in personal, meaningful, and inspired art.