I'm just gonna blow a little steam...

Let me start by saying this.  Please do not be offended by this post.  I am about to express my own personal opinions, and that's all they are.  I don't expect you to agree with me, and that's fine.  Maybe you'll agree with some points; maybe not.  It's all OK!  Wouldn't it would be boring if we all had the same tastes and opinions?  This isn't a rant; it's just me blowing a little steam as I express my opinions on a bunch of random, some art education related topics. I'm just in the mood for getting these pet peeves, things that I am just "over", off my chest and I want to share them.  If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might even notice me saying something I've said before in one or more of these points (such as #5).  If some of the things in my list annoy YOU, that's OK; nothing here is intended as a personal attack and again, I don't expect you to agree with me.  
So here we go:

1) Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night. I'm so beyond bored by lesson plans based on the painting, clothing with the trademark swirly sky, you name it.  I am just SO over Starry Night!  (And YES, I have taught Starry Night lessons in the past, but not for a number of years now.)  This isn't a slam about van Gogh.  There's a lot of van Gogh paintings that I think are stunningly gorgeous.  And fun to teach with - the rich texture, the vibrant use of color!!  But Starry Night?  Not my favorite.  First of all, if you've ever seen the real painting, in MoMA in NYC, you know it is very small.  Sort of a disappointment.  But mostly, I feel the painting is overrated and dreadfully overused.  There's just so much better!  Here's one of the many goofy parodies of the painting:

2) While I'm on the case of paintings that are smaller than you hoped, there's also Dali's The Persistence of Memory.  The real painting, also in MoMA, is positively tiny!!  Don't get me wrong; I'm actually a Dali/surrealism fan; it's fun to teach.  But this painting is a grand disappointment compared to other works by Dali and other surrealists. This is me and the painting, I think last winter, at MoMA.

3) Being asked to vote for or "like" artwork by kids I don't know so that they can win prizes on Artsonia or elsewhere.  Sometimes I really don't think the piece I've been asked to "like" is the best one, and it is kind of awkward to be expected to vote for it just because I know you from Facebook or somewhere.  If there's a contest, and you'd like me to vote, fine.  Just don't tell me what to pick.  I'm rebellious, and if you tell me who to vote for, I guarantee that I'll always pick the other guy. 

4) While I'm at it: being asked to play games on Facebook.  Do I ever play games?  Yes: Words with Friends, and Word Streak/Scramble with Friends; I like word games.  But I do not link those games to Facebook in any way.  I'm happy to play them with you if you need someone who will be competitive, but  please don't ask me, on Facebook, to play other silly games.  I have enough to do. 

5) Lessons on using repetitive design and pattern that are called Zentangle lessons.  The word Zentangle doesn't appear in the National Art Standards, or in the Common Core, or in the Elements of Art or Principles of Design.  Zentangle is a prescribed method of drawing repetitive designs using specific techniques and patterns and materials, and has become big business.  Every repetitive design is not a Zentangle.  Do you think that when Laurel Burch filled her fantastic felines with rich pattern and design that she was Zentangling?  Do you think that the incredible artists of Oaxaca who make carved wooden animals and other figures and then paint them with detailed and colorful repetitive pattern have even heard the word "Zentangle"?  Please, folks!  Lessons on pattern and repetitive design are just that!  You may be incorporating various E's and P's, such as line, movement, rhthym, and so on, but you are not necessarily doing a Zentangle every time you fill a shape with smaller shapes and then fill them with repeating patterns.  NO NO NO. (By the way, on the left below is an image of some patterned Laurel Burch cats.  The two other images are of carved pieces hand-painted by the talented Oaxacan artist Agustin Cruz Prudencio.) 

6) Annoying brainless pop music ear worms (music that you can't get out of your head) of songs that you don't like.  The other night I was watching the Jimmy Fallon show and he and Ellen DeGeneres did a lip sync contest, and two of the songs they did (and the two that got stuck in my head for a full day) were the Whip/Nae-Nae song (I don't know the real title) and Bitch Better Have My Money.  WHAT????  What ever happened to songs with lyrics that I wouldn't be embarrassed to sing along to?  Good grief.  Dear younger generation, is this the best that you can come up with??

7) T-Shirts and posters that tell me to "Keep Calm and...".  I do NOT always WANT to stay calm!  I am not a yoga sort of gal.  I like to get excited by stuff!!

8) And since I've mentioned T-shirts, how about this: being expected to want to wear a logo T-shirt to match a bunch of other people in a group of some sort.  Sorry, folks.  I wear T-shirts to the gym, or cleaning the house, or when I'm in the kayak or in the yard.  I do not consider logo T-shirts to be fashion.  And, as an art teacher, I like to be unique in the clothes and jewelry I wear.  I want to be an individual.  Wearing matching T-shirts makes me feel like a kid in day camp or  camp counselor.  Where's my whistle?

9) Still in the T-shirt department - just because a T-shirt has an art print on it, doesn't make it fashion!  Why are so many people so excited to wear a T-shirt with a Keith Haring (or any other artist) work of art printed on the front?  It is STILL JUST A T-SHIRT!!  Now, if you are making something awesome with fabric that has artwork printed on it, that's a different story.  Just please, let go of the T-shirt as a fashion choice!

10) Facebook posts of coloring book pages in the Facebook Art Teacher group.  Listen, if coloring books are your thing, if they are therapeutic for you, I've got absolutely no gripe.  I do know people who adore coloring books for relaxation, and I know adult coloring books are the rage right now.  So go ahead and color!  But sharing your coloring sheets on Instagram or Facebook?  I just don't understand why anyone thinks I'd want to see them, and I don't understand why they are they clogging up the feed, making me miss more useful and interesting posts.  By the way, when I searched for an image to put here, I was pretty stunned at some of the 'edgy' coloring books available for adults.   I chose to post something relatively safe...

11) Lately, again in the Art Teacher Facebook group, I see lots of posts of people asking for links to videos they can show a certain grade level on a certain topic.  I think kids spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME looking at stuff on screens.  I don't understand the need to have a video in order to introduce a new topic.  Kids need less screen time, not more.   

12) And finally, there's this - the way I see people teaching the drawing of cylinders.  It makes me absolutely CRAZY when people draw the tops of cylinders as an almond, with two curved lines ending in points where they meet at the ends, rather than an oval.  It makes the cylinder look like a crushed can.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, look at my quickie illustrations below.  The first shows using ovals to create cylinders, which is correct.  The depth of the oval will depend on where your eye level is.  The second illustration shows a drawing where the top curve and the bottom curve meet in points on either edge, like an almond shape.  This is NOT correct.  I always had students, when learning to draw solid shapes, practice using their entire arm to make ovals.  And we used lots of cylinders and looked at them carefully to see if there were ever points on the ends.  And unless the cylinder was squashed or crushed, there was not. 

13) I have a concern about the many lessons I see posted, incorporating sweet foods to make them fun, such as mixing colors of frosting for cupcakes to teach color theory, or using cupcakes for incentives, and so on.  I have three concerns about this: first, the kid who is gluten-sensitive and can't participate, second, the diabetic child who can't have the sugar, and third, the obese child who doesn't need to be fed candy or cupcakes in art class.  I have a close relationship with someone who has a child that is struggling with obesity, and is trying to maintain a doctor recommended diet, but everywhere he goes, someone is offering an ice cream or a cupcake, it seems.  It's hard for a second grader to have the will power to say no, and even harder if it is part of a class experience.  When I was teaching, I did sometimes reward a class with a "pop-pop" party.  The refreshments, popcorn and fruit ice pops, were chosen specifically to avoid food allergies and diet concerns. 

14) And finally, something I think you should all be able to agree with.  It absolutely kills me how many school districts have art teachers, and art programs, and then have no budget to support them.  It breaks my heart to see the constant posts in the Facebook Art Teacher group about the incredible amount of money people spend from their own pockets to supply their programs.  Everyone is always posting bargains they find at Target or other stores that they are scooping up for their classrooms.  Bargains are great, and certainly when I was teaching, I spent some pocket money to buy oddball things to enhance my lessons and my classroom, but I didn't totally supply my art program out of my own pocket.  No other teachers are expected to do this!  Phys ed teachers don't use their own money to buy the basketballs and other equipment for their programs.  And certainly the academic teachers aren't buying the textbooks for their classes!  It's ridiculous!  I'm blown away by how disrespected (by lack of financial support) so many art teachers are by their districts, rather than being given the resources needed to be successful. 

There.  I've said all I want to, and I'm done.  I'm curious to hear whether I've touched any nerves with this post, whether you agree, or have a totally different perspective on my points.  Let me know!

My doodles are not Zentangles

 I'm a compulsive doodler, and I've written about it several times before in my blog.  What I create are doodles, not Zentangles.  I want to talk a little here about the difference, and why you haven't even seen and won't ever see me presenting Zentangle art lessons here on this blog.  By the way, all images in this post are from the latest of several little sketchbooks I take with me to meetings or workshops, so that I can keep my hands busy while I focus my mind.  They are done mostly in a combination of black Sharpie and a set of multicolor Flair pens.

I first wrote a blog post on the topic of Zentangle vs doodle in March 2011, and while it is not in my list of most popular posts, it has certainly sparked more response than most other posts.  As a matter of fact, it has received more comments than any other post I've done since the inception of this blog, with today's total of 60 comments (yes, some of them are my responses to commenters, but there's still a lot.)  New comments still frequently appear on that post, so I know it is still a topic of interest.  I also wrote another post about doodling here, with the link to a great TED talk on doodling, too.

 

So why am I writing another post on the topic today? I've actually been planning it for quite some time, but I would see posts written by other bloggers, or in the Facebook Art Teacher group, about projects/lessons taught that incorporated Zentangle, and I did not want anyone who wrote these posts to think that my blog post was referring to them directly.  So I waited until a 'neutral' time to write this.  This blog post is not directed at any specific person but is intended to make you think about what you teach and why. 

 Here's my concern.  Throughout my long teaching career, my students did lessons and projects that incorporated line, texture, shape, balance, repetition, rhythm, pattern, unity, contrast, and so on.  If you are an art teacher, these words should be very familiar to you, since they are all part of the basic Elements of Art and Principles of Design.  The word 'Zentangle' appears nowhere in the Elements and Principles, nor will you find it in your Core Art Standards or in the Mathematics Standards either.  That's because Zentangle is a trademarked method taught by CZTs (Certified Zentangle Trainers).  In other words, it's a money-making business.  They teach classes and sell products. 

Searching the web, I came across a wiki that gave this definition: "A Zentangle is an abstract drawing created using repetitive patterns according to the trademarked Zentangle Method. True Zentangles are always created on 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) square tiles, and they are always done in black ink on white paper."  It further went on to say that it should without orientation (no up or down).  Already, I certainly know that MY doodles don't qualify.  Mine often incorporate color, they absolutely do have a certain intended orientation, and they are not square.  Further, they do not include the pencil shading that is a part of the Zentangle method.  

Then then I went to the official Zentangle® website, and I learned that "Zentangle's teaching materials are subject to copyright owned by Zentangle." According to the website, they have a patent pending on their teaching method.  Also, I found this: "Many aspects of the Zentangle® Method, including our materials and teaching tools, as well as the material on this site, are covered by copyright which is owned by Zentangle, Inc. All rights reserved."  (So it's a good thing I'm not calling my drawings Zentangles, I guess...)

If you are doing a project with your students that includes drawing something with a specific shape (whether a cat, a tree, an owl, a flower, a whale, an ice cream cone, or whatever...) and a major part of that lesson involves having your students divide up the internal space of the subject and fill each part with repeating patterns, rhythmic designs, or repetitive textural lines, WHY are you calling it a Zentangle?  Isn't it really a lesson on repetition?  On line?  On implied texture? And so on?  You can reference almost every Element and Principle in such a lesson, and that is much more valid to justify as part of your curriculum than calling it a Zentangle!  I would think your administration, looking at your curriculum, would much prefer seeing that you are teaching long-established elements of art and principles of design.  (Just my opinion, I know.)  As a matter of fact, I could probably dig through my ancient School Arts magazines and other resources from my early days teaching elementary art, and find many articles on lessons using repetitive pattern and design that were published before Zentangle® was ever conceived!

 Let's try to put this another way.  I love papier-mache.  Let's say I invent a specific papier-mache mixture, call it "Dragon Drool" (which is already the nickname my students use for mixed Art Paste), copyright it and sell it, train and certify "Dragon-Droolers" in training sessions that cost money to attend, and copyright my specific method calling it "Dragon-Drooling".  Now, every time you use papier-mache, should you be referencing my copyrighted name, even though you might not be doing the process the same way, or using the same material?  Even though you haven't been trained in Dragon-Drooling by a CDD ("Certified Dragon-Drooler")?  No!  You simply call it a papier-mache project!  Similarly, unless you are a CZT, and are using the specific process and materials outlined in official Zentangle classes, should any lesson in repetitive design be called "doing Zentangles"?  

I'd love to hear your thoughts.  In the meantime, please understand; this blog post is in no way criticizing the Zentangle process or the people who teach it.  I simply don't think it's what we are actually doing when we are teaching art to kids!

Zentangles? Nope, just doodles.

Huh? I'll admit I'm just not "getting it" (the Zentangle craze). Let me say up-front that I know I'm opinionated and I might annoy you but please don't take my opinions personally. They're just opinions; that's all. So let's get on with it: I'm having a little trouble with this Zentangle thing many of you have been posting about in recent weeks.

People like to sit next to me at meetings so they can watch me doodle. Compulsively. Important dates and information become incorporated into my designs. When I wrote "7 things about myself" for a "blogger award" recently, I admitted to being a compulsive doodler on my list. I have doodled on randomly strange objects like bowling shoes, and I can't stand to be at any meeting or workshop without a pen for doodling. My mom, who never much understood me as a child, did at least accept my doodling fanatacism, and when they first arrived on the market, she purchased me loads of Flair pens in every color imaginable so I could fill the margins and covers of all my spiral notebooks for classes. She continued to buy them for me for years. Mom's no longer around to buy them, but Flair pens are still a favorite doodle-pen for me, back on the store shelves for a couple of years now.

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Here are doodles from a recent meeting at Temple Beth El (black and white doodles below and up top), done with ball point pen. You might deduce we were talking a bit about money. The doodles were never meant to be seen beyond the meeting, but I'm posting them to make a point. I think they look Zentangle-ish.

So back to Zentangles. I find myself a bit puzzled, because they look JUST like many of my doodles. I decided to check out the Zentangle website figuring that maybe there must be something I was missing. And I discovered that they sell supplies. I need to purchase special supplies from a special dealer just to DOODLE? And, if I have my students fill a page with sectioned off patterns and designs all in black and white do I now have to say we are doing Zentangles? Or can I still call it simply be practice in repetition, pattern, and design, and can I use ANY DRAWING MATERIAL I WANT? I mean, we art teachers have been doing this FOREVER.

These photos below (and the color detail at the top) are of a slightly flawed white leather pocketbook I purchased. The doodles were done in Sharpies, which I love almost as much as Flair pens.

To me, it all boils down to this: if I want to eat REAL Italian food, I go to the local Italian restaurant owned by Italian immigrants. It's authentic. I do not go to the Olive Garden for authentic Italian cooking; Olive Garden just a brand name that is well-marketed. It doesn't mean the food is no good; it's just not necessary to go the Olive Garden for great Italian-style food, and it is NOT as authentic. Zentangles seems to me the same thing - someone who has found a way to successfully market doodling and make some money while taking away the "authenticity" of doodles without rules.
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Or another example: I make jewelry. I do not buy kits. I pick out the beads I want, the findings I want, etc, and while I might look at other jewelry or books for ideas, in the end I make my own decisions and figure out how to make it work. Zentangles seems to me a bit like buying the kit to do what can easily be done without it.
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Please weigh in with your opinions on Zentangles vs doodling, and don't be afraid to disagree with me. It won't be the first time, believe me, and I don't offend easily!!
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And in the meantime, I think I'll go doodle...