The 5 Components which make up an Exceptional Student are:
Respect Your Self and Others
•By being respectful of your “Self,” your work and of others’ work, you help create an environment where everyone feels safe to take creative risks and explore new ideas.
•Participate in your creative journey, and in class discussions. Share what you do. Help out your peers.
Respect your Art Space and Materials
•Keep an organized and clean workspace and portfolio.
•Materials are sacred and expensive. Take care of them.
•Don't expect others to clean up your personal or public work area. Do your share.
Investment
•Are you motivated to do the best you can?
• Go the extra mile. Push the development of your work at the beginning: Sketches, research, collaboration, idea development and brainstorming are just as essential as the final product. Don't settle for NORMAL or the just first attempt at something! Personally challenge yourself.
•Listen to others, with their ideas and suggestions. Remain flexible. Keep an open mind.
•Attitude. A positive and courageous attitude goes a LONG long way towards achieving excellent results!
•Be punctual. Class begins promptly at the bell.
•Show initiative by being prepared.
•Your presence makes all the difference in the quality of your experience. School policy applies for tardiness and absences.
•Time management. Use your class time to your best advantage. Projects can be long or short. It is counterproductive to cram work into the last few minutes. Keep socializing to a minimum.
Save Everything
•Do not throw ANYTHING away! Studies, “mistakes,” doodles can show problem solving and process. They can be used later in other projects, and can be used to generate new ideas and new beginnings. You will be provided with a portfolio, sketchbook and storage space to keep all your work. Date your work and save it.
Ask for Help
•Be a self advocate. Before you throw your hands up in the air, rend your hair, call your best friend, write a diatribe on facebook, complain to your folks . . . . please, come talk to your teacher first! She wants to help you keep yourself on track and to become a better artist!
•Extra help can always be provided, in class and after school. Just ask!
The Additional 6th Component is what makes up the exceptional ART Student:
Process Expectations
There are many expectations for an art student besides practicing and learning technique to become an accomplished craftsman or builder.
As a student artist in the studio classroom, you will find it different than being a student in a traditional classroom. Many sides of the art student are assessed during their artistic and educational progress, besides their specific skill building abilities.
Our art room is the place where creative learning and thinking takes place. In order to become a proficient artist, both creative thinking and skilled technique are equally important.
Creative learning requires a lot of brainstorming, motivation, hands-on activity, project development, critique, and being part of a collaborative working environment. This type of participation is called "Process" and is an essential part of the artistic experience. It is important that our studio is a safe place to try new things that may not always work, but are worth the effort.
While specific levels in skill building can be measured clearly for each assignment, creative skill building may not seem as obvious to assess.
This Process Rubric can help you understand some of the expectations. To print out the process rubric download the pdf version below.
Click here to see a marvelous example of an artist who is devoted to process as a way of developing his own body of work. His name is Theo Jansen.
ART is a PROCESS.
An excruciatingly beautiful process everyone learns about when they get stuck. Some people hate it, hoping for some light at the end of a never ending tunnel, but I love it. To me art is cathartic, a way to detonate every minor part of me and see where the shards land. I suppose that is why my art features incandescent, burning colours, with compositions found using atypical perspectives. These stylistic attributes capture my personality, providing a unique window into my character for my audience. No one should ever be left wanting or hoping for more from my art. As I continue on my journey as a person and an artist, I want the viewer to be a part of my art, emotionally and maybe physically. Pushing borders, colours, perspectives, compositions, and lines to their breaking points are goals and challenges I set for myself in the upcoming years. Whether it be a classical still life, or a conceptual self portrait, I always want to make an unexpected piece. A piece that not only shows what I can do, but who I am.
- BELLA NIKOM (NHS class of 2013)