Art Shows Us Ourselves

This was our first day of school project. Each student, grades 1 through 8, "doodled" their way across their own puzzle piece.

Our emphasis was on using doodling as a form of visual brainstorming. The only rule: Black marker outside the bold lines, colored marker inside the bold lines.

I wanted the statement to set the tone for the school year, approaching art as self-exploration. The exercise also serves as a good initial assessment of students abilities and comfort with creativity. It's also fun to see the developmental progression from 1st grade to 8th, left to right.