They Have to Be Asked: Using One Material, One Category, One Question to Invite Meaningful Art Experiences for Children

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Notes

1 Some anecdotes in this article are drawn from 2019–2020.

2 Glazing clay or printmaking steps are inherent to the technique, not imposed by the teacher.

3 My mother, Nancy Beal, is the author of The Art of Teaching Art to Children (2001).

4 I also teach observation drawing and crafts that do not fit into this framework.

5 I frequently introduce museum artwork in the classroom. For example, I might show paintings by Stanley Whitney during a launch (asking, “What do you notice?”), or perhaps after the students have explored color. During a clay unit, students might watch a clip of sculptor Simone Leigh working in her studio.

6 According to Nancy Beal, Lord would begin classes at Bank Street Graduate School with that sentence (personal communication, February 16, 2021).

7 Cited in a printout, “Source of Subjects for Children’s Art,” used in Lois Lord’s graduate class at Bank Street College of Education.

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Notes on contributors

Sarah Mostow

Sarah Mostow, Educator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, New York. Email: [email protected]