Art Education
With Ms. Frias
“An Artist is someone who must make things in order to process life” - Beth Pickens
About me :
My name is Crystal Frias. I am in Hunter College’s , art education graduate program. I graduated from the College of Staten Island CUNY, with a BFA in Photography and a BA in English with a concentration in writing. For Student teaching I spent half of my placement at P.S. 185 in Brooklyn, NY. I spent my second placement at Gramercy Arts High school in New York, NY.
tEACHING pHILOSOPHY
Teaching philosophy is an integral part in learning how an educator is willing to reflect and change. Educators respond to how they go about teaching, based on the feedback from students and peers. This is where they share their future ideas and goals for teaching and learning effectiveness.
Lesson plans, Student work & demo lessons
These lesson plans consists of students learning about art historical references, the exploration of various techniques, mediums, and different art styles.
About me:
My name is Crystal Frias. I am in the Hunter College CUNY art education graduate program. I graduated from College of Staten Island CUNY with a BFA in Photography and a BA in English with a concentration in writing. For Student teaching I spent half of my placement at P.S. 185 in Brooklyn, NY. There was a wide range of students, grade K-5 including special ed classes. I spent my second placement in Gramercy Arts High school an arts high school in New York, NY. I worked with 9th grade Visual arts and 12th grade AP art history class. Both experiences were unique and fulfilling. I enjoyed my time in the elementary school, working with children who are just discovering new mediums. I watched as they became filled wonder and curiosity. During my time in this placement, I created a collage based unit plan for a third grade class. I worked with each student and differentiated for those with IEPs and ELL’s. Being a part of their classes and witnessing their growth as I taught and learned from them was incredibly fulfilling. For my second placement, I assisted in making lesson plans that aligned with the visual arts curriculum at the arts school. I created lessons for the ninth grade visual arts class and one 12th grade AP art history class. I enjoyed being in a classroom with all art inclined students. I was able to watch their ideas come to life each lesson. It was incredible to see my students of various ages grow and evolve as artists.
tEACHING pHILOSOPHY
My teaching philosophy is driven by student centered learning. Children are filled with curiosity as a way to explore themselves. I want to create an open environment where they express themselves through their creativity and art making. Having students be engaged in the content as well as be intrigued in the mediums. For me it is important, not only as an educator but as human, to allow students explore the way they experience and navigate the world through the lens of meaningful art making. I think that students of all ages are capable of creating meaningful work through the techniques, skills and media they learn if allowed the creative space to do so.
Art is something that is vital to a child's cognitive and emotional growth . It is a way to explore what it means to be human. This can be taught through exploration of different art materials and through exposure to other artists of diverse backgrounds. A Childs wonder can diminish in a classroom that is solely directed and influenced by the teacher's choices. Art education should center around students’ interests and ideas. Their art practice should highlight who they are and their personal experiences. Art teaches you to appreciate yourself and others, as well as face the world with an open mind. As a teacher, I want to create a classroom environment where students feel safe and heard; An open environment where students not only feel comfortable creating but also are encouraged to speak their mind. I want the students to be aware that although I'm the teacher, I do not know everything. I am still constantly learning, and hope that students view me as more of a guide for their creative endeavors.
Art making is a way of thinking that should be accessible to all. Students of all backgrounds should have access to art as a part of their learning experience. Access to learning about artists from diverse backgrounds creates an opportunity for students to experience personal connections with the art content. They will be able to identify with an artist who is creating meaningful art in a way that is encouraging to them. Creating a community within my classroom is vital to students' experience with art as a collective entity. Students challenge themselves, their peers and even me as their teacher as we analyze art. Teaching is a journey I am excited to embark on. I look forward to learning from my students as much as they learn from me.
Lesson Plans & Student work
These lesson plans range from K-5 Elementary school to High school Visual Arts and Art history. Students learn about art historical references, the exploration various techniques, and experimentation of different art mediums.
lESSON Overview: Cityscape Collagraphs
Grades K-3
Students observe and think about cityscapes, they then create a collage using foam and other textured materials for a collagraph print. A collagraph print is made by glueing different materials to a piece of foam or cardboard and creating a kind of collage. During the inking process the ink will rub off surfaces that are smooth or higher and stay on surfaces that hold more ink, at edges and at lower points thus creating the image. They learn the printmaking process using ink, brayer to create prints inspired by cityscapes on construction paper.
lESSON Overview: Nature collages
Grade 2-3
Students Learn about Henri matisse ANd his collage making process. they paint paper using warm and cool colors, cut geometric and organic shapes to create an abstract or representational style collage based on the theme of nature and their own experiences with nature.
lESSON Overview: Zentangle LAndscape foam prints
Grade 3-5
Students combine zentangles and the negative space in their landscape drawings. They then learn the printmaking process of intaglio which means carving the image into their foam plate. using ink and a brayer, they coat their foam plates and create zentangle landscape prints on construction paper.
lESSON Overview: Watercolor Techniques
Grade 9
Students Learn about various watercolor techniques. usIng the resist technique students divide their watercolor paper with different lines into ten sections. they then explore each technique in the spaces they created.
lESSON Overview: Byzantine Illuminated Manuscript Letters
Grade 12 AP Art History
Students Learn ABOUT THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE AND ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTs letters. sTUDENTS RECALL HISTORICAL ART WORK AND THEN ANALYZE THE DETAILS IN THE LETTERS IN ORDER TO CREATE THEIR OWN USING ORNATE DETAILS OR NARRATIVE IMAGERY.
Student Work
DEMO LESSON PLANs
