Eco-Art eConversations: Personal Introduction: Christina Roberts

Introduction to the Curriculum

An ecological art curriculum employs art as a means for studying and promoting respect for the relationship and the interaction of all living things. It should be exciting, hands on, interdisciplinary, and should engage students through various methods, such as teamwork, research, integration of technology, and exploration of ecological issues in the students' community.

The goal of an eco art education curriculum should be to inform and enable students to utilize art and technology as a means of exploration, expression, and communication, in order to understand and assume their role within their community and the environment.

Monday, April 2, 2007

Personal Introduction: Christina Roberts

My name is Christina Roberts and I am a graduate student in the Art Education department at University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. I am currently working in a middle school as Personal Care Assistant to a student with Autism. Along with teaching life skills, I sneak in art appreciation and the love of nature.The school has student run recycling program that I am constantly reminding students the parameters of no staples or plastic in the BLUE bin. They should be GREEN.

Personally, I love plants. As spring approaches, I stroll my gardens while drinking my morning coffee if time allows. Small buds are growing and opening up on the lilac tree that I transplanted from my great-grandmother’s yard seven years ago. I read that it would take this long of it to bloom- this is the year!!! Most of my plants have been given to me my friends and neighbors who also have a passion for rooted life. I enjoy the connection of gift, friendship, and appreciation of nature.

Each year I plan a new garden or at least to enlarge one. My goal is is have the smallest lawn possible: the hum of the lawn mower is not that pleasing. Transplanting plants to better conditions or combinations is every after. Spreading seeds in the fall and spring and watching the magic will never ease to embrace me. In a world that can be fast and loud. I find peace in knowing my garden will be there of me even in the middle of the night. I have been known to pull weeds with a head lamplight. Having a compost pile, you are known as the best worm farmer for our fishing friends.

My favorite bloom is the red China Boy poppy with a black interior. The seed heads are beautifully designed with a hard protective shell and delicately scalloped edges. Euphorbia is my other favorite which is an evergreen ground cover with chartreuse flowers.

Slowing down to really look at nature is something I wish to teach all of my students to do. Whether they draw or grow a garden, it is a world of it’s own to cherish.

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History of Ecology Art Education

Lynne Hull, Reservoir Tree for roosting and nesting by colony nesting water birds (greenmuseum.org, 2007)

Lynne Hull, Owls of Huitapec- Housing project for endangered owls (greenmusuem.org, 2007)

The 27 th Avenue Solid Waste Management Facility and Recycling Center. © City of Phoenix. This could be a museum but it is the Phoenix Solid Waste Treatment Facility.

Environmental art in the late 1960’s and 1970’s was site-specific and included land art which was a response to the traditional outdoor sculpture that didn’t relate to it’s natural surroundings. However, the works of that time are now criticized for their lack of respect for the environment. Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (1969) was provocative in its day. Now it is seen as causing permanent damage to the wildlife and the actual land. Christo also was criticized for wrapping the coast line of Sydney, Australia in fabric. Even though it was a temporary art work, the fabric affected the wildlife in a negative way.

In the classroom, art teachers for years have been addressing recycling and conservation. Making art with found objects and unwanted items from home has been happening for decades. Now with the internet and technology available as resources, students can understand the importance of ecology on a global scale. Goggle Earth as an educational tool has endless possibilities in the art room. The early ecology art educatio project of June Julian at http://www.nyu.edu/projects/julian/ illustrates the meshing of art, ecology, and technology.

“In our present situation, reconnecting art with life and with the natural environment is a matter of absolute priority. We have the freedom to choose other courses, but for each of us at the present time, this is the biggest challenge to our creativity in the deepest sense of the term.”
(Gablik, 2004)

Now a resurgence in ecology art is causing artists to not damage or disrupt nature in its natural form. Andy Goldsworthy’s work is biodegradable and could actually help the environment. Christo is still creating outdoor spaces but with greater sensitivity to the spaces and materials he uses.
Environmental art “helps improve our relationship with the natural world”. ( Hull, 2007)

Ecology art has made its way in to education. By integrating art and environmental awareness, one learns that our impact on the earth is permanent and that it needs to be addressed. Al Gore’s 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth has brought more attention to the issue of pollution and depleting recourses. Now as educators, we need to inform our future students of the implications of their actions. Preservation and conservation of nature are crucial to the survival of the earth, not just humankind.

Ecological art encompasses the political, ethics and aesthetics of responsible art making. The work of Emmet Gowin brings social consciences to the public though his photography of the “scars of the earth”(Williams, 2004). Through ecology art education, design doesn’t have to be limited to “green” materials, however, the awareness and sensibility to our future is in the forefront.

Works cited:

Gablik, S. (2001). The art critic .
Retrieved April 14, 2007, from http://greenmuseum.org/generic_content.php\

Julian, J. (1997). A world community of old trees.
Retrieved April14, 2007, from http://www.nyu.edu/projects/julian/

Williams, T. (2002). The earth stares back. In Gowin, E. (Ed.), Changing the earth (pp. 125-131). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.

Eco-Art Education Curriculum Philosophy

An ecological art curriculum employs art as a means for studying and promoting respect for the relationship and interaction of all living things. It should be exciting, hands on, interdisciplinary, and should engage students through various methods, such as teamwork, research, integration of technology, and exploration of ecological issues in the students' community. The goal of an eco art education curriculum should be to inform and enable students to utilize art and technology as a means of exploration, expression, and communication, in order to understand and assume their role within their community and the environment.

Eco-Art eConversations

Introduction to the Curriculum

Ecology Hall of Fame, Google Earth & SketchUp Lesson Plans, Personal Introductions

Monday, April 2, 2007

Personal Introduction: Christina Roberts

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History of Ecology Art Education

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