Jason Mills and I were asked to teach/lecture at the St. Louis Community College Florissant Valley, March 31st of 2010. We were given the entire class period to come up with our own presentation and collaborative student/group assignment.
Jason and I talked a few times over the phone and came up with a project we felt would not only tie the students together as a collaborative effort, but also introduce critical thinking for a later, work place environment.
At the beginning of class, Mr. Langnas gave a brief introductory of 20 minutes or so, of our work via Internet providing Jason Mills website and including that both of us attended STLCCFV, and in addition that I have lectured and have had past exhibitions in their gallery facilities.
From there, we began the opening of our more in depth, presentations for about an hour or longer. Jason exhibiting charcoal drawings and sketch layout ideas for the company he works at. And I had brought an array of examples of different types of sketchbooks.
After our presentations we moved on-ward with our assignment.
We provided the students with large sheets of paper, I believe it was something like "24x"24, and also provided them with charcoal. Jason and I came up with broken sentences/fragments and shuffled them into a box and clockwork, walked around the classroom, individually having the students pick out a piece of paper with a fragment. After each student had a fragment sentence, they were to draw whatever came to mind on their sheet of paper. We told the students that they would be drawing for an hour.
The idea behind our assignment was that we wanted the students to become attached to their drawings and the charcoal was selected because in a way it is permanent. We used our materials and ideas as an analogy to life and the difficulties and opportunities they may later come across.
It was nearing an hour with twenty minutes left on the clock and we told them, "STOP".
We did not critique their work. Instead, we told them, "Now, take your drawing and rip it into four sections". In almost horror, their faces unlocking their jaws; had dropped. One by one we then had each student, starting from left to right, pick one of their pieces of their drawing and pin it against the bulletin board on the side wall. We wanted them to come up with a, 'bigger picture', so to speak. Each of them, working together, forming an elaborate composition of, darks, lights, lines, and flow - a large unity.
