Moments of Becoming Artist-Teachers

Abstract

In this article, I re-present the findings from my arts-based dissertation that examined the ways five preservice art teachers (two graduate and three undergraduate students) perceived and used matter in their responses to studio prompts, reflective visual journals, and PK-12 art curriculum they created within the context of an art education curriculum course. After providing a brief overview of the study and arts-based methods, I re-present each of my findings by means of excerpts from original found poems, brief narrative summaries, and mini visual essays comprised of images of participants’ artwork and visual journals. This article, therefore, provides a glimpse into both the process and product of my dissertation as well as my attempts to continually make sense of it as I search for ways to share portions of it with the world. Ultimately, this study, including the results, presentation, and now re-presentation, reveals the nuances of a brief moment along preservice art teachers’ journeys of becoming artist-teachers. These findings and re-presentation carry implications for PK-12 art education, art teacher preparation, as well as arts-based research as a methodology.