1. Why does Ms. Sharples advise against only projecting examples of art?

Ms. Sharples is against projecting examples of art on a screen because it is difficult for a student to be immersed in the artwork. When you take the extra time to print the artwork it gives the students the opportunity to look at the details. Having the artwork close and tangible it occupies their learning space and creates more questions and ideas.

2. See how students analyze examples of abstract art and the artist's purpose How and why does Ms. Sharples model her thought process in creating her own piece of abstract art?

Ms. Sharples models her thought process in her own art to show that art can be relevant to the artist. Art can be about an experience or a memory. The art can also be about the emotion from the experience or the memory. Doing this process in front of the students helps demonstrate that abstract art can have a significance for the artist.

She is an awesome art teacher who is willing to expand the knowledge of her students by explaining the steps of the project to them. She wants the students to incorporate the provided images in their own ways. This activity also gives a chance to the students to walk around the art tables to look at the artworks of their peers and make the comments on their chosen artworks. They decide to explain about their preferences to her at the end. Her own artwork is also the reflection of her own life. She has been through several stages and each one revolves around a story that she shares with them. The details of her own life tell the students that they also need to work hard to achieve their goals by themselves. Education is the passion for her life and she is willing to teach her students to expand the knowledge of the students in her artroom.

I have been working with fline and dot designs to develop a sense of the formal aspects of the Principles of design with my middle school students.  Ce=reating non-objective art has been quite challenging for them.  This maybe a fantastic culminating project for the students to apply their new knowledge and skill with design.Thank you!