The Ultimate Takeaway; No better place to be!

I talked to three AAU Fine Art Sculpture Department faculty this past week. I wanted to hear their perspective on helping students with problem solving. 

Academy of Art University Fine Art Sculpture Cannery Campus 

All three let out a big sigh as if to say, well yes Jim that is what it is all about isn’t it? All three said in different ways, “It is about one on one conversations, it’s about being accessible to student’s, it’s about being there as students work to figure these things out.” 

Problem Solving is the topic I chose to explore in a short three minute video that I created as an Academy of Art University, Technology in Education class project this week. 

One faculty member talked about an expression that starts off a bit like a joke. “You know about the two artists who jumped out of an airplane? One who did a lot of planning before he jumped and the other who just jumped. That is what planning for an art project can be like. There are artists who take a lot of time to prepare and think ahead and there are others who just jump right in.” 

Two faculty encouraged me to follow them as they talked to students. “You have two weeks to finish this sculpture you are working on, what are your plans?” I used this opportunity to ask students about their inspirations. Processing and sharing student’s ideas was beyond the scope of this project but you can see more than one student in my video talking about their work which adds a delightful element to the piece. 

I decided to not make this a demonstration video. I wanted this to be more about inspiration featuring a particular concept. While problem solving is a rather broad topic I think it worked for this purpose. I was able to bring some basic exposure to some ideas behind problem solving while at the same time show images of sculpture being fabricated. I intentionally brought AAU in as a backdrop for the action on the screen to give it grounding in a real place with real students. 

Here is the video I put together called The Ultimate Takeaway. 

This video is intended for art students as an inspirational pick-me-up. I imagine it being shown in a school or after school program for middle school students, high school students and up. It could be used in a college level class as well. The point is for students to consider the importance of the difficult side of the artistic process. Problem solving is part of the artistic process not often discussed. This can make it an isolating experience without a good mentor or teacher. The video does not replace a teacher or mentor but may bring some appreciation for the process from the perspective of life long learning.

I imagine half way through a semester, when students are grappling with the results of early decisions with a layer more to make, this would be a good short video to show. It would be accompanied with discussion. Students would be encouraged to talk about their immediate process related to problem solving. They would further be asked to imagine how this process might help their thinking for future projects and future learning situations. 

As I worked on this video I felt steeped in the problem solving experience. So many decisions to make. So many possible disappointments to tread near. Talking to faculty and students about their work and about my project helped ground me in the process. It leaves me feeling that while I many not have arrived, I can breath knowing at least I’m on the path. I don’t think there is a better place to be.