Julie Steinberg

February 18, 2015

A&HA 4078
Journal #4
Response to Collage II
Collage
This week, as we began to explore collage, we were told, Think of the collage as
something you can use to invoke the feeling of, this is something I can change, work freely
with, explore. We were asked to explore new materials to express what we do for fun with our
friends. I noticed that these exploration directions were specific enough to guide our work, but
open-ended enough that we, as artists, had much choice within the materials we would use, the
size and shape of the collage, and, of course, the subject matterthe activity we would to
represent. I also appreciated the purposeful time for generating ideas that was built in to the
lesson, before we started our work.
When it came time to explore and create, I enjoyed choosing collage materials: different
colors and textures of paper, fabrics, prints and painted paper, and I thought very carefully about
what I would chose to represent the different visual symbols in my piece. Representational art,
especially, involves careful, purposeful choice of both material- color and texture and shape, and
the placement of each shape on the page. Because of all the choice and options available, I not
only enjoyed constructing my collage, but found myself especially attentive to detail.
Designs to Visual Symbols
This weeks readings corresponded particularly well with our collage exploration, which
became our first representational creation. As children shift from design to representation of
visual symbols, as Smith (1993) points out, we hope to be fortunate enough to be watching as
this happens, thus, gaining insight into the childs thought process (p.43). The ideas that guided

my reflection this week relate to the important role of the teacher in fostering and supporting
childrens shift to representation work, and the importance of how we understand and respond to
children as they make new connections between materials and ideas.
When teachers create valuable experiences for exploration with materials, children will
later learn to make connections between ideas, materials, and what they know about the world.
As Burton (1980) reminds us, we should be aware that the greater the grasp children have on
what they can do and make with materials, the broader the base which to take first steps into
symbol making and we should allow children to proceed at their own pace, creating their own
connections between ideas and materials, creating their own interpretations of what is important
in their world (64). Our important jobs then as teachers are to pose open-ended questions that
support choice and to respond to children in ways that allow for dialogue and childrens own
interpretations of their work.
Curriculum Ideas
Burton (1980) points out that we should strive to create lessons with enough structure in
them to foster exploration, while at the same time helping children keep their learning in focus.
In a lesson related to reading informational text, I might ask students to express what they know
about a topic of expertise (an animal, place, or activity) through a collage, using distinctive
shapes and colors. Students would make purposeful choices related to materials and placement of
shapes, and be encouraged to be attentive to detail, just as we did in our collage exploration, as
they express specific knowledge about a topic, gained from text.
References:
Burton, J. (1980). The first visual symbols. Developing Minds. School Arts.
Smith, N. (1993). Experience and Art. New York: Teachers College Press. pp. 43-53.