Running head: MY ANALYSIS OF A FIRST GRADE MASTERPIECE 1

My Analysis of a 1st Grade Masterpiece

Devon Cromley

University of Missouri
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My Analysis of a First Grade Masterpiece

Art was perfectly summed up when French artist Edgar Degas (1834-1917) said Art is

not what you see, but what you make others see. Through the medium of art, an individual is

able to show greater levels of acceptance and understanding but also learn very valuable life

lessons. As a teacher incorporating art in the classroom it has so many benefits to oneself, but

mostly to the students as a whole. Students are able to express themselves in an alternative way,

especially when they have difficulty verbalizing ideas. Art also makes learning for students more

fun and meaningful.

In the article, Exploring the benefits of art in the Elementary Education, Ashley Flory

states that Art in the elementary classroom has great beneficial effects on student learning by

stimulating the multiple intelligences present in a typical group of students (pg.56). Some of

the benefits she speaks of includes therapy for students with emotional issues, improving social

attitudes, and also to make students more comfortable with their surrounds both physically and

mentally.

There are certain stages to art within the child. These stages are mentioned by Matt

Russell in his article The stages of Artistic Development. In this article he describes Brittain and

Lowenfelds (1970) six stages. These stages are the scribble stage, pre-schematic stage, the

schematic stage, the dawning realism stage, the pseudo-naturalistic stage, and the decision stage.

These stages vary from ages 1-16 and each stage has its own unique characteristics. The stage

that is most critical to the development of an artist is the Decision stage. At this stage there

should be signs of mastery of all materials within a students drawing.

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The six stages mentioned above are a great resource when deciding where a child lies

within their artistic development but they are not the only factor in predicting each childs artistic

ability. Every individual develops at their own pace in conjunction with their knowledge and

discovery of new materials and also new strategies to use in creating their art. That is why it is so

important for teachers to integrate art into their classroom so students can make connections that

will last a lifetime. In Judith M. Burtons article, With three dimensions in view, she says that art

making is part of the fundamental human urge to make sense of the world (p.80).

Method

For this study, I asked my seven-year-old daughter to draw me a picture of anything she

wanted on a blank sheet of paper. I watched her think carefully and then start to draw a figure of

a girl with long hair. I gave her markers and crayons and told her that if she wanted to she could

color her drawing or just leave it black and white. While watching her I noticed that she paid

close attention to the detail of the figures hair and her hands in comparison to her arms and legs.

I also noticed that she made the figure have a hair bow and also a certain type of socks on her

legs. Upon asking her about this figure she drew she told me that it was a girl with rainbow hair

that she watches on Roblox. The girl has a shirt that is orange and yellow, blue pants, and

leggings that have an X lines on them. She said that she added in the detail of the hair bow

because she thought it would look good with the rainbow hair. I found this interesting that she

paid attention to the details of the shirt being two coordinated colors and also the rainbow hair

has bright colors in it. Lastly, I asked her about the hands of the figure and why they were shaped

that way and she said that the girl she watches sometimes has Lego arms on her and her legs are
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more square looking than a normal person. I thought that made perfect sense to me once she

explained it.

Findings

Below is the drawing that Carsyn created and how she depicted the girl in the video with

rainbow hair and a Lego type body.

My findings of this drawing was that she is in between the Dawning Realism and Pseudo-

Naturalistic Stages. She touches on Dawning Realism by having a greater awareness of the
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details in the clothing and hair of the figure and also shows the separation of the sections of the

body. She also shows signs of the Pseudo-Naturalistic stage by having closer proportions in the

figure, awareness of the joints in the figures body, as well as facial expressions. In this stage

interest in cartooning comes out in which this figure is from an animated video. While watching

her do this drawing it occurred to me that she was making sure that they spatial relationship

within her figures body as well as the use of materials and the way she wanted to shade the shirt

and the hair in rainbow stripes. To me this drawing is very complex for a child of only seven

years old. It seems to me that having the experience of watching this figure on a video and seeing

her facial expressions had helped in her development of being able to connect that to her

drawing. She was able to know how to use her materials correctly that she was given in order to

make sure that the figure depicted what she sees in real life.

I would like to push her limits next time she wants to draw this figure by asking her what

is in the background in the video or even if the girl is with anyone else that she would like to add

to the drawing. I feel that her focusing on just one individual image limits her to now seeing the

world around the object. I would like to see her focus on other parts about the girl that would

pertain to the details such as are her clothes always the same, does she ever carry anything in her

hand, does she ever have her hair up instead of down, etc. I feel that by pushing her to observe

more details with the figure and also around her would let me imagination and artistry skill move

forward smoother.

Conclusion

For Carsyn to fully develop into the Pseudo-Naturalistic stage I would will be

encouraging her to not get frustrated in herself and to just keep following her passion for art. I
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would also encourage her to watch the relationships she has with spacing of objects within her

drawings. I also will ask her questions about the environment around her drawings that she is

creating to see if she can find details that she wants to add into her art that can help her make

connections to the real world and her artwork. She enjoys watching videos online that show her

how to draw certain characters or animals and I encourage her to do so in her free time. At this

stage in her development she needs a lot of encouragement to keep pushing forward and finding

her passion for her artwork. As her parent and as a teacher who knows the importance of this

encouragement, I feel that I am able to give it to her with any and all artwork she brings home

from school but also what she creates at home. I also see with her drawings I can connect the

encouragement I give her to my students within my classroom. I feel that it important for me to

make sure that I integrate art into my lessons and encourage my students to think outside the box

and be creative and to really reflect on their surroundings and environment when creating art.

I really feel that incorporating art into my reading instruction will help students to show

their visualizations on paper through art but also let their emotions come out when they read a

book. I like the idea of having time in the day or a couple times during the week to have free

draw time if students want to create artwork to display in the classroom or take home to their

parents/guardians. Letting students express themselves through art can make a huge difference

when it comes to their later years in school so they feel that they are free to express their

emotions. Any student can make a difference through their art, they just need the encouragement

to do so and I am hoping that I can be one of the educators that can make that difference.
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References

Burton, J. (1981). With three dimensions in view. Developing minds.

Flory, A. (2015). Exploring the benefits of art in Elementary Education.

https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/honors/documents/journals/elements/Fl

ory.pdf

Lowenfeld, V., & Brittain, W.L. (1970). Creative and mental growth. New York.

Macmillan.

Russell, M. (2011). The stages of artistic development.

http://thevirtualinstructor.com/blog/the-stages-of-artistic-development