3D Artistic Abilities
3-D Artistic Abilities is a class for adult learners with disabilities. Most of them have jobs and pretty independent, none of them required paras to help in class. Some even rode the bus to and from class. Class was held every Tuesday from 4:00-6:00 at CSU. Students have taken classes at CSU before and are comfortable in the classroom setting. It is obvious all student know each other from other classes and have established friendships that extend outside the classroom, which made for a fun dynamic in the group.
Student #1- This student loves Frozen and finds inspiration from this movie for her projects. She made an Olaf (snowman) paper-mache hot air balloon for one of the projects and a princess mask with a tiara for another project. She also likes to swim and included this in some of her work as well. She loves pink and purple. This student has down syndrome and it is sometimes difficult to fully understand her speech, but she always gets her point across and communicates her needs and ideas.
Student #2- Very chatty and friendly young woman. Always excited to strike up a conversation to tell you about her day, her hobbies, her plans for the weekend, etc. She loves high-fives and is always enthusiastic about making art. Her chattiness sometimes distracted her from projects, but it wasn’t difficult to get her back on track because she was always willing to listen and continue working on her creations.
Student #3- Very independent, cheerful, enthusiastic student. Always showed up early to class and ready and excited to get started. She loved to look at teacher examples to follow and try to replicate but we always encouraged her to think of her own designs and creations, which she did, and created well thought-out and well-crafted pieces. A very considerate student that looked out for other classmates.
Student #4- This student is very friendly, easygoing and independent. He really likes wolves and decided to portray wolves on various projects. He was always eager to create and explore with materials. There were several times in which he would get stuck on steps and say he needed help because he “couldn’t do it.” Once the situation was assessed and we realized he was capable of accomplishing the task, we would talk him through simple ‘how to’ steps and he would be delighted when he realized he had actually done what he thought he couldn’t.
Student #5- Mostly non-verbal student but definitely expressed when he didn’t like something. Loves to paint and draw. More of a 2-D kind of guy, not so much 3-D. He is very independent and determined. Likes to be clean and organized with his work. Did not like to get his hands dirty. He didn’t always like the ideation process, preferred to jump right in to projects.
Student #6- This student has very limited mobility and speech. She is in a wheelchair and can only slightly move her left hand. One on one assistance was must, but even then, she was able to sketch her ideas, paint her projects, glue simple pieces and communicate how she wanted to proceed with her ideas. She was still able to participate and create art that reflected who she is. She unfortunately missed a few classes due to illness but in the few classes she was there we learned she likes purple and loves Mexican food!
Student #6- This student was a delight to work with. She is very independent, insightful, and likes to plan out her projects carefully. Halfway through classes she got a puppy which became her inspiration for various pieces. It was great to see her carefully problem solve through her ideations and ask for help or suggestions when she was stuck (which didn’t happen often).
Student #7- This student is a bit older than the rest. Very sweet and sociable. Always glad to share what she is working on and show off her work to you. She is mostly independent and requested help when needed. She started attending class halfway through sessions and we did not get to know her as well as the rest of the students, but she was cheerful and fun to talk to, always smiling and always happy to be in class.
Student #8- This student is easily distracted and has a hard time staying on task, but we discovered that projects that involve repetition such as paper mache, working with plaster strips, or even painting keep her engaged and focused. She tends to repeat the same phrases over and over and likes reassurance that you understand what she is trying to communicate. This student is not independent and requires one on one assistance most of the time. It was important to make simple adjustments such as pre-cutting or to help her complete projects.
Our projects throughout the semester built upon skills learnt in the previous lesson. Projects included forming and shaping using recycled materials, paper mache, plaster strips, and aluminum foil. Always making sure to make lessons personal and conducive to portraying interests, hobbies, and personalities in their work, we focused on helping students showing a little of who they are in each project.
We always started with a short lesson about the theme of the day’s class. We showed pictures of art created either by contemporary or historical artists as well as teacher examples of pieces they were to create. Our focus was also on building on skills and reminding them in each class how previously learned skills could be used to make more elaborate pieces. Before starting on any project, students were encouraged to sketch their ideas and figure out a plan of action and materials required to accomplish their idea. All teachers walked around during ideation to check in and help students problem solve and organize their ideas to be successful with their designs.