This issue highlights several ways in which art teachers have integrated collaboration into their teaching practice, such as providing students with opportunities to problem-solve and work together throughout the year, learning about the Sustainable Development Goals and creating a tile installation symbolizing them, inviting a local florist to teach an art lesson, collaborating with an artist to create an outdoor installation using materials reclaimed from the ocean, and more.
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Teaching can be a solitary experience, even if your art department has multiple art teachers. The art room becomes an island full of art, materials, and ideas. The reality is that this does not have to be a solo journey. There is magic in collaboration, which lies within our teaching practice—a release to get those creative juices flowing to inspire your students.
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Our graduating fourth-grade class embarked on a journey to learn about the Sustainable Development Goals and create a permanent art installation symbolizing them. The resulting mural installation, titled Piece by Peace, was created in collaboration with the Seward Johnson Atelier and funded through a grant from the East Brunswick Education Foundation. The installation consists of one hundred relief sculptures cast in aluminum.
As educators, we teach skills that are valuable in the classroom as well as skills that can be carried into students’ everyday lives. Kindness and collaboration are crucial skills in all aspects of life. Throughout the year, my first-grade classes have practiced these skills while “coolaborating” on a variety of projections. The term “coolaboration” represents the synthesis of respect, problem-solving, and creating in the classroom.
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Working together for the betterment of the group is often the mindset of students coming from many countries around the globe. Yet by using collaborative art projects with all of our students, we can help everyone learn more effectively and develop a variety of skills, in addition to learning about and creating art.
A few years ago, I had the daughter of the local florist in my art class. On Meet the Teacher Night, she offered her help, like most parents do. Four years later, when I had her youngest daughter in my class, I finally took her up on her offer. I made this decision after reading one of her social media posts, which had a photo of a floral design and the caption, “Loving ALL this texture!” She was speaking my language. I came to the realization that her profession uses all the same elements of art that I have been teaching my students for years.
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For this year-long endeavor, we begin at the end of seventh grade with a trip to the Cleveland Art Museum. Starting just before the Renaissance, we travel through the galleries, and students are introduced to the periods, movements, and schools of art, ending with contemporary art. The second week of the new school year finds us back in the museum. This time we focus on specific painters, once again traveling from the Renaissance to the present. Students are asked to choose an artist they would like to study, present, and emulate in a work of art.
In April 2023, every Art 1 student at Green Level High School created a vibrant 4' (1m) jellyfish out of marine rope and monofilament (fishing line) reclaimed from the Atlantic. The 100-plus giant jellyfish sculptures filled three cars before being installed more than 40' (12 m) in the air over roadways in one of our local parks. When hundreds of visitors arrived for the town’s art festival, they were greeted with a “smack,” which is what a group of jellyfish is called.
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In my many years of teaching art, I’ve found that working with animation consistently engages and excites my students. For an art teacher, this medium is a bit like modern-day magic. I recently taught a new animation project that resulted in successful learning and fantastic artwork in all of my high-school art classes, from studio art to digital media.
I began to look at my classroom projects as more than cross-curricular integrations through cross-referencing content materials; they were also opportunities for true collaboration. I wanted students to create a project, from concept to completion, that would allow them to collaborate in ways they had never done before. But how could we do this authentically without feeling forced and have it naturally align with the curriculum?
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Throughout history, there have been artists who have looked to past artistic traditions for inspiration and have applied that unique vision to create something new. Taiwanese artist Cheng-Tsung Feng incorporates modern design aesthetics into the ancient form of bamboo arts. Feng has described himself as an “old soul” in a young body. His artworks are not only beautiful examples of handmade aesthetics but also narratives on traditional East Asian culture.
