Ways of Working: Artists’ Practices

According to Walker,S “Artist pursue art making as an investigation, exploration, and discovery of meaning.” (p.115) The artist’s art making process can be from finding the idea, developing the idea to creating the idea. Some artist has a special way to find the idea. Such as, reading newspaper, cleaning up the studio, and go the gym. Inside the artist head is always thinking and searching for new ideas. Painter Terry Winters says for him the thinking process goes on all the time, inside or outside the studio. According to the Walkers’ book “The following are among the practices that are crucial in the pursuit of art making as a meaning-making endeavor; purposeful play, risk taking, experimentation, postponement of final meaning, and searching or questioning.” (P115)

Inside the classroom:

An example from the book shows how the process of an art making can be look like in teaching in classrooms. An elementary teacher, Keith Haring, made a study to drawing symbols from one big idea. She used the big idea of power and three symbols to create a series of drawing.  She compared the ancient Egypt with modern American culture and the student the control to decide and create their own symbols about power. After couple exercises, the students came up with six finals symbols of their own that reflect the power. (Walker, p 134). She also engaged her student into her lesson with a playful lesson by drawing on the floor, and moving quickly back and forth between drawings.

Seeking meaning through open-ended problems:

Walker stated “with open-ended art making problems, students must search for solutions during the art making process and/or after the work is completed.”

“And encourage students to postpone meaning depends on the nature of the art making problem.” (Walker, p135) It is always a good idea to help students to search and find solution to any problem they face during the art making. That will help them for their lives and their future. 

Meaning through series:           

Another so helpful strategy that helps students to seek meaning through their art project making is crating a series of works about the same subject. By doing this strategy many questions can come up in the students mind or even the teacher or the artist him self. Such as; What more can I say? How can I say it more complex? 

The repetition of drawing about the same subject will challenge them to pursue deeper meanings. (Walker, P137).

From my personal experience, in the art classroom, I used to paint a series of unrelated object. And I made them separately.  My art professor found that these small objects are related and he kept pushing me to figure out how they are related by drawing the same object over and over. Finally, I discovered that these small parts are in fact one big painting that tell a story of me, something about me. I always thank my professor because he made see things that I never see by myself before.