As a pedagogy, Art Sparks is more educere—meaning to draw out one’s potential—than educare—meaning to train, mold, or shape. To this end, we connect with warmth, enthusiasm, and excitement. We communicate interest in and respect for the students, their ideas, and art. We ask open-ended questions and affirm students’ comments, questions, and participation. This way of relating promotes students’ sense of well-being.
Art Sparks doesn’t teach art.
Our goal is to help participants express themSELVES, including their feelings, ideas, experiences, and dreams.
Ideally, students experience the joy, freedom, and empowerment that come with expressing creativity.
There is only one rule:
This is a safe space.
We leave criticism—of ourselves and others—at the door.
Also, we respect our own and each other’s creativity and are generous with positive feedback.
Art Sparks is deeply aligned with First Peoples’ “holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational” pedagogy. The First Peoples Principles of Learning that support “the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors” are respectfully observed throughout Art Sparks.
For example, the Yellow session celebrates the emergence of the sun, moon, and stars.
This session represents love.
It affirms that everything, including all of us, came from the transformation of stars from the Big Bang.
Carl Sagan said: “Our ancestors were once atoms made in stars. . . We are “star-stuff.”
Thinking of the stars as our ancestors is a wonderful way to reflect on our connection to all life!
To orient students about the underlying philosophy, we lead a discussion by asking:
- What does creativity mean?
- How can creativity help us live happier, healthier, and more empowered lives?
- What does empowered mean? (Share that empowered means choosing to act in the best mutual interest of self, others, and the world around you, versus being driven by self-interest or emotions.)
We clarify the course goals of helping each of us feel that:
- You are—we are—all worthwhile. We are all worthy of love and respect.
- You are—we are—all creative.
- There is no right or wrong answer in art. It’s not like math. You can’t make a mistake!
- You can express your feelings, ideas, experiences, and thoughts in art.
- HAVE FUN and PLAY with art materials!
One student felt deeply safe to take profound risks emotionally and creatively.
And so, he courageously painted a poignant portrait of himself, crying a river of tears.
This kind of work is important because when children express their feelings constructively in art, they are less likely to act them out destructively.
Our Therapeutic Techniques include commenting on artwork with empathy, compassion, and affirmation versus praise or judgment. Instead of praising the student or expressing dismay at his artwork, the Art Sparks facilitator shared with the student that it had taken courage to paint his powerful piece and share it with his classmates. He later earned the school’s annual award for character.