Week 13 Artisitic thinking PLAY! (aka stretch and explore)

OK.. WOOT WOOT!

I am all about this play stuff.  AS I was reading and listening some of the other ideas Ive been "scratching" at suddenly exploded into an idea I am going to try with ALL my students. My students are used to working independently, are also used to working along side me and love to play.  As Tim Brown put it in his talk "In studies of kids playing, its been shown time after time that kids who feel secure, that are in a trusted environment, they're the ones that feel most free to play". Well, I agree... so lets see how free my kids really feel!

I want to create a large (5 foot by 6 foot) collaborative playful peice.  It is voluntary participation, cooperative in that they must respect marks and meaning made by a previous student. Students may go to it as they wish in any class I am teaching. No more than 2 at a time working to have adequate space. In order to do this I had to redesign (for me that menas cleaning house and moving shelves) a corner of my room to make wall space I can put paper up on.  Done.

Now... what am I up too???  (Ive been giddy and jumping up and down and giggling all day.... this is peaking the students curiosty)  Becuase I am interested in how the community at my school contributes to creativity, I am going to make the theme of this piece about creativity.  Students will be invited to come and contribute to the surface of the paper in anyway they want with only a few criterion;            1. Honoring the contribution of another.
2. Considering what is present and how thier addition may alter or change meaning, or enhance meaning.
3. Develop the thought they want to express to make it personal not general.
4. Employ excellent craftsmanship.
5. Address the idea of creativity.

This is the beginning premise.  To get them excited and create a Spring board, I have spent most the morning cutting up words.  Im going to begin this by introducing that "refrigerator magnet" idea.  You know the ones?  Come in a clear box and people at parties have a marvoulous time making crazy sentences or beautiful poems...  YUP, those. They will be available to use, as well as letters and any image they feel is appropriate to express thier idea. (They may also use paint, oil pastels, other collage materials etc)

I have no clue where this will go, but I am very excited about it.  I will post images as it begins.