Jocelyn Rojas

Weekly Sketchbook Spreads

Jocelyn Rojas
9–13 minutes

Intro to Teaching Reflections

Keeping an art Journal and creating Weekly sketchbook spreads relating to what we discuss throughout our intro to teaching course.

Prompt: “I AM”, reflecting on the Dressing up article as well as The Single Story.
My Entry: The right side of this spread has a identity map I made reflecting on who i am as well as a self portrait of me thinking reflecting on the readings and how i present myself or show up in different environments. On the left side i created a doll of myself when i feel most comfortable surrounded my items that symbolize aspects of who I am.
Prompt: What do you make art about? (Time management, spend only 45 minutes on this spread)
My Entry: To make sure I had enough time to complete this in a way that I liked I decided to collect aspects of my art and art notes from sketchbooks, as well as collage from art pamphlets and magazines that I had been saving. I recently finished making a monkey plushy for my son using his baby clothes so I added some of the scrap fabric for a sensory aspect as well as displaying some of the colors i gravitate towards. for my photography I have a piece of tape that was on the back of a test print as well as the notes of what setting I had my camera on when i took the shot. The haiku was part of one of my earliest watercolor paintings I did that was referencing flowers that used to be in the front of my house growing up as well as my memories of growing up with my three sisters and how we would cut them and turn them over to pretend they were dresses to play with, most of my work has to do with the preservation of memory, nature and time but Im inspired by magic realism and surrealism as well as the post impressionist era.
Prompt: Illustrate your thoughts on the traditions and trials of holiday art in the classroom
My Entry: For this entry I used my sketchbook to make notes on some of the key points that the website antiracistartteachers.org makes as well as my key takeaways from the class. I used markers to illustrate the holiday that I researched in class and what i learned about it. On the right side I used pencil and marker to create an archway to symbolize an ofrenda as an example of how people celebrate differently and how its better to create a space/ classroom culture were we can share and express the different ways we all celebrate rather than focusing only on western holidays that not everyone celebrates. the oil pastel illustration of a marigold was one of my sketches from my Studio exploration but i fit with the them as i grow them in my garden in order to have them during this time of the year for my families Ofrenda.
Prompt: Highlight Artists that inspire you. My Entry: Some artists that inspire me are Luis Pinto, Frida Kahlo, Yayoi Kusama, Vincent van Gogh, Banksy, and Jean Michel Basquiat. I finally had the chance to use a sticker that I had bought on my visit to a museum and some washi tape with the Poppy field art by van Gogh that I had been saving for journaling. I used an envelope that i could use to put anything that would influence or inspire my art making or pieces that i might want to save for future journaling. I used crayon to make some polkadots that are found in Yayoi Kusama’s work and included some photos of me visiting art that inspires me and sharing my passion for art with my son.
Prompt: The paint chip poem you crafted in class, your choice of media. My Entry: My paint chip poem was inspired the change in season and some of my art explorations. I have been learning how to create cyanotype prints and how i might create an art lesson based on this technique and I have been working with crayons for my art exploration as well as using different techniques like scrapping off the wax from my work. the Lavender prints look as though they are flowing in the wind and informed some of my color scheme. Reading my poem and the word “Moondance” made me think of the song, Moondance, by Van Morrison and picture the painting, Dance by Matisse so Included them in my illustration of my poem and for future inspiration.

Prompt: Oak View Site Visit My Entry: I felt It was fitting to create a pocket to save some of my memories from my visit as well as the handouts that were shared with use to save for future reference. and created a dancing Wikki stick figure balancing on a bin of scrap paper to remember the lesson plans of both classes as well as the balancing act of teaching. My figure is dancing because after learning about the pocket memories lesson I though I might try helping my son to make one. I found it so interesting hearing all the kids memories and how they were choosing to illustrate them that I wanted to know what my son might pick as well as test how young of an age i might be able to do a project like this. (We didn’t get much further than him telling me his feelings and when he feels them before he lost interest)

Prompt: Museum Visit. My Entry: This was on of the most enjoyable journal entries for me to make because I had such a great time Visiting the Hirshhorn with my family and was looking forward to documenting my trip. While there I bought a sticker sheet of some of Jean Michel Basquiats artwork since it was the Exhibit of him and Bansky that had me wanting to visit this museum. I planned to spend most of my time there and hoped to find inspiration to base my art lesson around. I took so many photos throughout my trip that i thought to make a mini museum or Gallery within my journal. Since I’ve been doing my third art exploration on crayons I thought to use the vibrant Caran d’ ache Crayons to create my spread design a style similar to Basquiat. I used the symbol of a sun for the time i spent with my son as well as titling this “I Spy..” to remember how we played I Spy to look for the symbol of the crown in Jean Michael Basquiats artwork to make the visit fun for him. I ended with a quote that I love by Basquiat and one of my son’s first self portraits.

Prompt: Optical Illusions My Entry: This was inspired by current events (daylight changes, our political climate, war, climate crisis) and the feelings that I was having during this time feeling similar to an optical illusion. I also thought the difference in perspectives and realities we all have based on our experiences. looking head on the crane looks flat, shift your viewpoint and its coming off the page. the paper i used was of a news print that I felt juxaposed the symbolism of the crane. The crane is a symbol of peace, good fortune, wisdom, transformation and leadership so I suppose this entry was a little wish of mine for our future.

Prompt: Circle Back- Review of our previous class (catching up on discussions) My Entry: My Sketchbook entry was started by the staples left over from my classmates previous entry recounting our elementary school visit. Because we hadn’t been able to meet up since the visit and had had our museum visit day it had been a while since we were able to have a class discussion so the class period that my sketchbook reviews is a combination of different discussions we had regarding our art teaching journey. I used the three staples pockets to divide the main topics of conversation: Our museum visits, Oak view Elementary, and creating our lesson plans (self assessments and learning outcomes). All of these topics are building blocks to preparing to become an art teaching. My artist that I viewed on my museum visit is the inspiration for my lesson plan that I will be making and my experience at the elementary school is informing how I frame my lesson and imagine my future as an art teacher. The title on my second page ” tell me about your experience”, speaks to the conversations with other educators, fellow pre-service educators (peers), as well as the students within the art class rooms. Having conversations about art, learning and teaching helps guide your practices both as an artist and teacher. In the frame I illustrated what I remembered learning about from my classmates sharing their museum visit experiences as well as being an exercise to think about my final art piece that will pair with my lesson plan, Express yourself like Basquiat. I used fabric in my spread because one of my classmates visited the Renwick Gallery to view the exhibit , Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art By Women. I chose a sparkly grey fabric that reminded me of stars in a cloudy or foggy sky because another classmate visited an exhibit called Lights Out, at the Natural History Museum which discusses the impact of light pollution. This fabric is that what carries over into my next spread for the next student to build off of.

Prompt: Marshall High school Site Visit My Entry: For this entry I wanted to reflect on some of the Lessons that were being taught on the day of my site visit as well as the factors of this school that set it apart from others as having such a strong and positive art culture. One of my big takeaways from talking with the teachers and instructors is how important is its for you to keep learning as an artist and reflecting on your teaching practices and lesson plans to improve your practice. I Illustrated some of the art lessons that stood out to me as well as including some photos it took as references.
Prompt: Sandburg Middle School My Entry: I was so impressed by collaboration and partnership portrayed by these two classrooms. I particularly loved the Artist/Teacher bio found in the doorway of each class and how the teachers used relatively the same systems for organization, instruction and classroom management while maintaining their individuality. Each side is dedicated to one of the classrooms and what stood out most to me for each of them.

Prompt: Reflect (Incorporate mirrors into your Sketchbook spread) My Entry: I used my mirrors as portals going from one page to another. The first page symbolizes our first day of class and our first activity that served as an icebreaker and entry point into the Art of teaching. The Second spread is where I stand today. It includes cut pages from our sketchbook assignment description with our rotation dates for out traveling sketchbook which cataloged out collected experiences throughout this course. I saved a note from one of my classmates who reviewed my lesson plan for encouragement as I build my curriculum and as a memory to how we have all supported one another’s growth. The blue monster is a reference and reminder of a lesson plan that I would like to make discussing feelings and color, inspired by the book, the color monster. I had this idea when reading the draft of a classmates lesson plan. I chose the blue monster because i feel sad that my class is ending because I enjoyed the connections I made while in it and the rich conversations we had surrounding art and education. surrounding the sad monster are the other feelings that I have been having when reflecting on my experience in this class: Green for calm, Yellow for happy and Pink for love.

Prompt: Priority Mail My Entry: We were given time in class to answer each of the 5 questions to the right of this spread on a sheet of paper and then on a priority mail sticker create our spread illustrating our answers and discussion surrounding these prompts. I saved my answers in a the red folder at the back for me to be able to review in the future while being able to see the questions on their own to answer without seeing my previous answers. this way I can look at how my thoughts develop over time. to the right I used symbols to depict some of the key takeways I had from our conversations. bordering the sticker are some of my answers to the 5 questions that were given.