With the first quarter of the academic year officially complete, students and faculty alike have faced challenges–but, if a curriculum typically depends upon students working with clay or paint, the transition from in-person learning to remote learning can be particularly daunting.
Indeed, visual arts teachers and the students enrolled in their classes are finding the need to apply their creativity to more than just their artistic creations.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle art teachers faced at the beginning of the year was simply ensuring students had the supplies they needed in order to learn.
Art teacher Paul Estrada had to order sketchbooks, watercolor paints, pens and pencils, which proved to be a challenge: many materials were out of stock, while others took a long time before they were delivered.
Ceramics teacher Kristen Morgan had to distribute her classroom materials herself at Smith Middle School due to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health guidelines. Though she distributed so much clay that her back hurt, she said she was happy to meet some of her students and their parents.
Students, in turn, have had to be clever about creating their own supplies. They’ve had to use toothbrushes, kitchen sponges, and even plastic sheeting in their classes. Some students even went the extra mile and created their own sketchbooks.
Morgan acknowledged the hurdles she and her students are facing, though she said her greatest challenge is one that all teachers are struggling with.
“Teaching online presents many struggles, but the hardest part is creating connections with students,” she said.
Senior Louise Belser, who is taking David Antle’s Visual Arts II class, said that Antle has helped to foster a sense of community through shared digital slideshows of student work.
“Mr. Antle has made a point to still show our artwork and give critiques,” Belser said. “The biggest part of the learning process in Visual Arts is critique day. We, as students, are still able to share our art, and that is really important to me.”
Belser noted, though, that the feedback she receives from Antle is different in a digital environment.
“The biggest challenge of being not in the classroom is the fact that Mr.Antle can’t see your work in person most of the time,” she said. “When you have a question, you either have to email him or ask in front of the class, and it’s just different than being able to have him right there to answer questions.”
Senior Ava Lea, who is taking Ceramics I, also noted that a class she anticipated would be a hands-on one does not translate ideally in a digital environment without an in-person instructor.
“The hardest part about taking ceramics online is not being able to have real-life teacher demonstrations,” Lea said. “Ms. Morgan demonstrates a little over Google Meet, but, because ceramics is a 3D art, it would be much better to see her work with clay in person and see her work from all angles.”
Estrada said that he has had to revamp nearly his entire approach to teaching students.
“I have to make video tutorials; I have to make very organized documents explaining art vocabulary and artistic processes; I have to do art critiques through Google Meets,” he said.
Morgan said that her previous teaching job, at Durham’s Hillside High School, has helped her to adapt to the new digital environment. She had students work with dry media and digital media while they waited for clay to arrive.
“I have had to use lessons I created when I worked as the Digital Media teacher at Hillside New Tech High School,” she said. “Since students can’t fire every project, some of the ways in which we work with clay have changed as we embrace the ephemeral.”
Even though online arts classes present new challenges, some students say they prefer remote learning to in-person classes.
“I have taken an art class before, and I think this year has been better because I have more freedom with assignments,” freshman Jacob Greene, who is taking Visual Arts I, said.
Though junior Victoria Romanova does not have another art course with which to compare her online Ceramics I class, she said that taking an art class in the midst of the pandemic has been almost therapeutic.
“Having an art class online has been very relaxing so far, since it makes you take the time to get creative and have fun making new things,” she said. “During these rough times, the work I’ve done for the class has also been a great way to de-stress.”
