SPATIAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR SOCIALLY CHALLENGED CHILDREN – an in-service art teacher training program
Coordinator: Anna Eplényi
Partner: The Art Studio For Children and Youth (GYIK Studio)
Teachers of the training program: Anna Eplényi PhD, landscape architect, art teacher, leader of the GYIK Studio, and associate lecturer.
Gertrúd Schmidt, textile-designer, art teacher, member of the GYIK Studio for 20 years
Rita Terbe, DLA – in spatial modelling with kids, architect, member of the GYIK Studio for 10 years
Dóra Szentandrási, PhD student at MOME in spatial skills, architect member of the GYIK Studio for 10 years.
Partner: The Art Studio For Children and Youth (GYIK Studio)
Teachers of the training program: Anna Eplényi PhD, landscape architect, art teacher, leader of the GYIK Studio, and associate lecturer.
Gertrúd Schmidt, textile-designer, art teacher, member of the GYIK Studio for 20 years
Rita Terbe, DLA – in spatial modelling with kids, architect, member of the GYIK Studio for 10 years
Dóra Szentandrási, PhD student at MOME in spatial skills, architect member of the GYIK Studio for 10 years.
Introduction of GYIK Studio
The Art Studio for Children and Youth (GYIK-Műhely Alapítvány, www.gyikmuhely.hu ) was founded 46 years ago under the leadership of the artist-teacher Árpád Szabados (later Dean of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts), and has since become a creative art studio developing young talent under the auspices of the Hungarian National Gallery. As a creative visual art Studio, GYIK is aimed at the integration of issues of contemporary art into art teaching, and at developing children’s artistic creativity. Artists and art teachers lead 10 afternoon groups once a week, lasting 1,5-2 hours. The topic of these classes is established every year in an effort to explore the links between contemporary art and creative art-education, and to produce works of art. Since 1991, the Studio has operated as a foundation, sponsored partly by the National Gallery and by the parents of the participating students. In the past years, it has brought out 10 publications, 7 books and a digital archive-database on its educational methods, techniques, and imaginative uses of space. Since 2012, the leader of the Studio is Anna Eplényi PhD, landscape architect and art teacher, senior lecturer of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), and secretary of Hungarian Art Teachers’ Association. In the last years, the GYIK teaching staff consists of 15 members. In 2019, the GYIK-Studio was awarded the “Great Pedagogical Prize” of the Hungarian Academy of Arts.
The Art Studio for Children and Youth (GYIK-Műhely Alapítvány, www.gyikmuhely.hu ) was founded 46 years ago under the leadership of the artist-teacher Árpád Szabados (later Dean of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts), and has since become a creative art studio developing young talent under the auspices of the Hungarian National Gallery. As a creative visual art Studio, GYIK is aimed at the integration of issues of contemporary art into art teaching, and at developing children’s artistic creativity. Artists and art teachers lead 10 afternoon groups once a week, lasting 1,5-2 hours. The topic of these classes is established every year in an effort to explore the links between contemporary art and creative art-education, and to produce works of art. Since 1991, the Studio has operated as a foundation, sponsored partly by the National Gallery and by the parents of the participating students. In the past years, it has brought out 10 publications, 7 books and a digital archive-database on its educational methods, techniques, and imaginative uses of space. Since 2012, the leader of the Studio is Anna Eplényi PhD, landscape architect and art teacher, senior lecturer of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), and secretary of Hungarian Art Teachers’ Association. In the last years, the GYIK teaching staff consists of 15 members. In 2019, the GYIK-Studio was awarded the “Great Pedagogical Prize” of the Hungarian Academy of Arts.
The "GYIK-Studio's" art education methods
The mood in the GYIK-Studio is pleasant and comfortable, like an “atelier”. Creative privacy and social interactions as well as games are typical for the lessons, as well as learning the rules and regulations of artistic creation in an easy way. The atmosphere is based on equality and friendship. . The Studio is located in the hidden backstage of the museum, above the city, above our everyday world. This creative space has an atmosphere of familiarity and openness – without parental control. As result of the 40 years we concluded that there are several aspects of a good, creative Atelier-space.
The topics of our creative afternoon sessions are planned according thematic sequences of artistic problems. We pre-plan the story-line which can be based on a book, a tale, a location, a concept, an actor, a material or even a colour. There is a specific topic-frame for each group, the whole year long, which connects the sessions with each other and offers a story-flow. Although we, the teachers are the ones planning the sessions, there is always room for digression, experiment and adventure.
Here is a brief description of our art education methodology:
• We often use artworks as a starting point and engage in adaptations of contemporary art,- artist,− issues with a special emphasis on non-figurative, abstract topics.
• We focus on a creative visual question – and the kids search for their own artistic answers. We employ expressions, symbols, metaphors, idioms, or phrases in the works of art. We try to avoid figurative, illustrative topics (house, tree, princess, horse, etc.) and offer a more abstract, non-conventional start for the creative process (cave, weather, labyrinth, seed, etc.).
• We emphasise the senses and empirical experience – art with synaesthesia. We use all our senses, hands and legs for creating objects or painting; art sessions may be combined with dance, drama, play, music or acting.
• We intend not to give them ready-made or semi-finished articrafts from hobby-shops. Instead, we prefer collage, montage, integral or mixed-material sculptures, temporary spatial installations, or we work with light and shade effects.
• We give the kids various tools and extremely sized materials as soon as possible, according to their ability, because we believe that experience and knowledge gained while the process of solving the visual problems is as important as the outcome.
• We create a flow experience to break down social and personal barriers, and make it possible to experience failure and success. We often use extreme sizes (large and small), pair-work, or smaller/bigger group-work or ephemera creation, which cannot be taken home. This way, we also support the experience of the creative instances of drawing or painting, instead of the final-result.
The mood in the GYIK-Studio is pleasant and comfortable, like an “atelier”. Creative privacy and social interactions as well as games are typical for the lessons, as well as learning the rules and regulations of artistic creation in an easy way. The atmosphere is based on equality and friendship. . The Studio is located in the hidden backstage of the museum, above the city, above our everyday world. This creative space has an atmosphere of familiarity and openness – without parental control. As result of the 40 years we concluded that there are several aspects of a good, creative Atelier-space.
The topics of our creative afternoon sessions are planned according thematic sequences of artistic problems. We pre-plan the story-line which can be based on a book, a tale, a location, a concept, an actor, a material or even a colour. There is a specific topic-frame for each group, the whole year long, which connects the sessions with each other and offers a story-flow. Although we, the teachers are the ones planning the sessions, there is always room for digression, experiment and adventure.
Here is a brief description of our art education methodology:
• We often use artworks as a starting point and engage in adaptations of contemporary art,- artist,− issues with a special emphasis on non-figurative, abstract topics.
• We focus on a creative visual question – and the kids search for their own artistic answers. We employ expressions, symbols, metaphors, idioms, or phrases in the works of art. We try to avoid figurative, illustrative topics (house, tree, princess, horse, etc.) and offer a more abstract, non-conventional start for the creative process (cave, weather, labyrinth, seed, etc.).
• We emphasise the senses and empirical experience – art with synaesthesia. We use all our senses, hands and legs for creating objects or painting; art sessions may be combined with dance, drama, play, music or acting.
• We intend not to give them ready-made or semi-finished articrafts from hobby-shops. Instead, we prefer collage, montage, integral or mixed-material sculptures, temporary spatial installations, or we work with light and shade effects.
• We give the kids various tools and extremely sized materials as soon as possible, according to their ability, because we believe that experience and knowledge gained while the process of solving the visual problems is as important as the outcome.
• We create a flow experience to break down social and personal barriers, and make it possible to experience failure and success. We often use extreme sizes (large and small), pair-work, or smaller/bigger group-work or ephemera creation, which cannot be taken home. This way, we also support the experience of the creative instances of drawing or painting, instead of the final-result.
GOALS OF THE TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM ON SPATIAL MODELLING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL ARTISTIC SKILLS
Around 2012, two colleagues, creative architects, joined the teaching staff of GYIK-Studio, and gave new dynamic for our modelling and 3D- activities. After exhibitions, conference presentations, publications and cooperation with the Chamber of Hungarian Architects, the GYIK-Studio published a book for its 40th year anniversary: TÁJ- TÉR- TÁR (LANDSCAPE – SPACE – COLLECTION), listing 40 various spatial, mapping, and modelling activities. Based on these results, we developed a Teacher-Training Program on Developing Spatial Modelling and Three-Dimensional Artistic Skills, lasting 60 credit hours.
The goal of this training program is to develop spatial thinking based on contemporary artistic and architectural topics, and to improve manual skills in modelling and spatial creation. Thematic clusters:
Around 2012, two colleagues, creative architects, joined the teaching staff of GYIK-Studio, and gave new dynamic for our modelling and 3D- activities. After exhibitions, conference presentations, publications and cooperation with the Chamber of Hungarian Architects, the GYIK-Studio published a book for its 40th year anniversary: TÁJ- TÉR- TÁR (LANDSCAPE – SPACE – COLLECTION), listing 40 various spatial, mapping, and modelling activities. Based on these results, we developed a Teacher-Training Program on Developing Spatial Modelling and Three-Dimensional Artistic Skills, lasting 60 credit hours.
The goal of this training program is to develop spatial thinking based on contemporary artistic and architectural topics, and to improve manual skills in modelling and spatial creation. Thematic clusters:
- Theory and artistic practice of spatial representation: contemporary architecture, landscape design, terrain modelling, cartography, sculpture, installation, and land-art.
- 35 ‘how-to-do’ activities to expand teacher’s manual skills and practice in 3D representation.
- Showing artworks: in organising a pop-up exhibition
- Create a booklet with five individual art tasks on the five topics of the course. The five tasks for art education were explained in detail (inspiration, description, techniques, outcomes, social side, etc.)
EXAMPLES OF THE ART ACTIVITIES IN THE IN-SERVICE TRAINING
The leaders prepare a detailed, 1,5 hours long introduction to each of these topics and share theoretical background knowledge, and show works by artists as examples for the optimal solution of the topics:
- "MAPS, PLAN-VIEW, SHIFTS IN SCALE": Contemporary art maps; , map-coding and legends; ancient maps; cartography; body-maps; aerial photography: landscape from above, landscape patterns; local maps of our neighbourhood; board games.
- "TERRAIN MODELLING, SURFACE, RELIEF” Local topography, field names of mountains, caves, quarries, contour lines, terrain – relief, industrial forms, 20th century sculpture, reliefs.
- "NONFIGURATIVE, SPATIAL INSTALLATIONS” 20th century and contemporary sculpture, land art, kinetic art, installations: artists working in greater space.
- “ARCHITECTURE OF FLORA AND FAUNA” Special places for animals and birds; cages, nests, structures built by the nature; natural geometry and its adaptation in architecture and open space design, playscapes.
- “CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE” 20th century and contemporary architecture: modern designers, the Dutch school of architecture, the German Bauhaus, contemporary trends and tendencies in architecture, form and function, designers and new structures.
Methodology
- Seascapes, fantasy maps, sea-paintings / montage + painting
- Polynesian ‘mattang’ stick maps - navigation / sculpture form wood, sticks, knitting
- Google Earth landforms, landscape pattern analysis / painting in groups with mixed materials
- Planning a board-game based on a map for social activity / assemblage in groups with mixed materials
- ‘Stoneman’ pillars from pebbles and rocks / painting with a cooperative technique
- ‘Spaghetti junctions’- layers of crossroads on black paper / individual painting
- Hole-finding labyrinths from wood / individual woodwork and painting
- Large-size relief painting created by contour lines / tempera painting
- Paper wrap-mountains / creased paper sculpture with watercolours
- Amorphous play sculptures from the ’70 / individual paper montage
- Social playground surface – relief inspired by I. Noguchi / white clay activity with tales
- Drop stone painting on brown papers / tempera painting
- Marble quarry relief of industrial landscapes / clay and plaster
- Paper-flex composition inspired Mobius / paper-sculpture
- Ice floating composition of plastic foam cardboard / modelling with paper and needle
- Fantasy structures built on bamboo legs / modelling with sticks and knots
- Amorphous sandstone-based natural sculptures / soap carving with gouge and knife
- Landform pictures of soap / cooperative soft pastel-painting
- Moon crafts, satellites, futuristic objects from paper box and metal ware / mixed modelling
- My dream-canopy-house / social collage with oil pastel and balsawood
- Our local building materials – our social heritage / assemblage
- Reflection of past and future, self-portrait / sculpture from glass and mirror
- Roof-forms of our local neighbourhood, our village / modelling from cardboard
- Field walks with artistic interventions, learning to be inspired by the local settings