Katelin Phelps

ARTE 302
Dr. E. Delacruz
1/27/10

Today’s readings not only deal with ideas about creativity and artistic development and
how these develop in children, but also with artistic giftedness. The articles also discussed how
creativity and artistic development are addressed, viewed, and function within the school system.
What exactly creativity or artistic giftedness is depends on who it is that is discussing
them and what their own aesthetic views are. A child who shows a rare ability to realistically
depict an image at a much younger age than when these abilities usually develop or who’s ability
is significantly above their peers could be considered one that expresses artistic giftedness. This
is how I experienced views of artistic giftedness throughout my own educational experiences in
grade school and high school. The students who excelled in their drawing skills, in respect to
realistic depiction, seemed to be the ones that excelled in art class. Their abilities were praised
and supported by both teachers and their peers, as this is what they viewed as gifted. However, I
wonder how many children who may have had an artistic giftedness in sculpture/ceramics or
other mediums lost interest in art because they did not receive the support or attention they
needed to thrive artistically. The main reason I continued to gain interest in art and develop my
own art skills in grade school and high school was because I was one of those students who
could draw fairly well and I was pushed to succeed. I hope that as views change and people
begin to move away from the concentration on realism and drawing that artistic giftedness will
be based on more than just these skills, but also creativeness, unique approaches, skills in other
mediums, etc.
Overall, I am not sure how schools support students who are artistically gifted or excel in
the arts on a general basis. In my own high school experience there were only 4 art classes, Art
1, Art 2, Art 3, and Art 4. In each of these classes the projects were vary limited and a vast
majority of them were based on the realistic depiction skills. The majority of the mediums we
used were different types of drawing materials. I only remember doing a couple of 3-D projects
throughout my entire experience in high school. Also, my high school did not provide any type
of AP class for art students, although this has changed since I graduated. However, my high
school does make some effort to help support students who excelled in the arts. Each year it
holds an art show where students are able to display their art and receive awards for their
artwork. Students who are in the Art 4 class are able to have their own designated area to show
their artwork, as a type of “senior show”. Students are given not only ribbons for their artwork
but also a few are eligible to be awarded a scholarship. Although I know that some schools do
not even provide this for their artistically gifted students or even have art programs I don’t think
that at my high school the students who are artistically inclined receive as much attention as
those who excel intellectually. For example art classes are not eligible for honors credit until the
art 3 level class. Because of this a number of students were tempted to take other classes
because they were worried how an academic class would affect their GPA. I know that it has
been a few years since I was in high school and schools have begun to recognize and support art
programs. I hope this only continues and that I am able to teach within a school or school district
that has strong art programs and does provide support for their artistically inclined students.