For Jake Irvin, art is all about the process — the process of sculpting, disassembling and now, teaching.

Over the course of the semester, Irvin, a junior art education major, has taught art workshops to kids ages 9–11 at the Comstock Art Facility on Saturday mornings. The workshop is a part of his Methods and Practice in Teaching Art class.

Irvin described a lesson where he brought a typewriter to the workshop and told the students to take it apart and to build something new out of the components. It’s part of a broader goal of the workshops to take high-minded art concepts and break them down to teach children how to engage in them using art.

“I think anything with a strong foundation thought-out beforehand, a strong meaning, lends itself to being a strong art piece,” Irvin said.

The workshop’s lesson plans were on a tight production schedule. The initial plans would have to be crafted and revised mid-week. Then the class met on Fridays to finalize the plans for the next day’s workshop. Sometimes it would only take an hour, Irvin said, and sometimes it would take five. Similar to the way they were teaching concepts to the students, the lesson plans needed to be structurally sound.

“What constantly amazed me is what these kids would come up with,” said Irvin, talking about the art pieces and ideas made by his students. “The constant shock throughout the workshops of what the students came up to me with is the most memorable takeaway.”

At the end of the workshops, the students’ pieces were shown in an art gallery, complete with live music, refreshments and a dazzled crowd.

“A lot of care was taken to make sure the students’ pieces created a cohesive gallery space,” Irvin said. “And it paid off.”

In his own art, Irvin varies between mediums and ideas. He likes to sculpt from various materials, take apart electronics and create installations.

Irvin added that it’s also a lot of hands-on work. The art is in the process, and any meaning isn’t immediately apparent.

“I like to hint at the meaning,” Irvin said. “But I don’t want to give it away. That’s what it’s all about.”

Published on April 20, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Momin: mrafi@syr.edu