Having three months off in the summer is a great chance to get inspired with ideas for the teaching year. Having time to go to exhibitions, artist talks, teaching jobs, art jobs and experiment with different art mediums is hugely beneficial in providing creative ideas.
Exhibitions:
Visiting exhibitions gave me ideas for the different mediums I will be teaching learners to work with during the year e.g. paint, sculpture, ceramics. Learning about new artists is also hugely beneficial as they can be taught or used in class to inspire learners. Critical and contextual studies have grown in their importance in art education as they allow learners to understand ways of higher order and conceptually thinking and can be inspired by other artists (Parker, 2009, p. 279).
Work:
Over the summer I worked for an events company called Event Fuel and at events for Fingal Arts Council alongside the recycled art supply organisation, Recreate. I love working at events as you always meet new people and every you do something new.
Camp Freddo: I taught art at Camp Freddo for a week at Avon Ri with Event Fuel. It was great getting to work with children and teenagers again over the summer.
Space Invaders arts festival: I worked at this festival with Fingal Arts Council and Recreate last summer in Farmleigh. It gave me so many ideas for art teaching including different ways to incorporate recycled material into work. The girls at Recreate also made different art tools for learners or children with SEN or disabilities to suit their needs. This was very helpful for ideas before starting SEN placement.
Flavours at of Fingal: This summer, I worked for Fingal Arts Council with the same team and assisting artists to work with children in the art area. All of their materials were from Recreate and the ideas I got from this to bring into the classroom were brilliant. They are very interested in "play art" and allowing learners to freely express themselves and experiment with materials. Although we were working more with children, it was still inspiring for learners in a post-primary school.
As an art teacher, I want to remain open to different art forms, artists and critical and contextual studies to help learners to become inspired and contextualise their work. Trying new things in the art room, such as bringing in a guest artist, or new ways of working is a great was to create a dynamic and responsive curriculum and way of working (Cowley, 2005, p. 280).
