Art-A-Party
Art History & Visual Arts
Ms. Erin
Arts integration during the pandemic has been adaptive experience. I always had trouble in front of cameras. I am a visual artist who teaches hands-on and in-person… until now. There was a sense of dread and excitement leading up to my first virtual class. Fortunately, it was going to be what they were calling an “Art-A-Party”, which inherently sounded like fun.
I have always loved art history and looked to the greats to inform and influence my works. For my first Art-A-Party, I was going to share that love with my students. Whenever presented with the opportunity, I try to diversify the canon of artists focused on in the typical Western history of art. A series of women in art history was just what I needed to push through a misplaced anxiety about online teaching.
I created my first virtual Art-A-Party to focus on Yayoi Kusama and Japanese Pop Art. I made a powerpoint with photos, videos, quotes, collages, and examples of works. I found a fun video produced by the Tate museum for kids that explained Pop Art in reference to mainly white Western artists. I used it as a beginning point and delved into Japanese Pop Art and Yayoi Kusama’s obsession with dots.
When my class was about to start, I donned my polka dot sweater, taped my example to my studio wall, and joined the call. When I saw a group of students all joined together to make art after school with me, everything flooded back. I was prepared. This was in my wheelhouse with the experience, the trainings, the professional development, my coworker’s unrelenting support, and above all the smiling faces of students ready to create. My love of art and educating flooded my heart.
There is no other feeling like when you share something that you are passionate about with another person, especially a young person. All of the anxieties were replaced with immense gratitude for this community. A warm energy washed over me as a taught that class. The type of energy you feel when you deeply connect and create together.
