My point of view on the topic of problem solving has changed greatly over the course of the unit. Originally i believed that problem solving was simply finding the best solution to the problem at hand to get around it. Now at the end of our art unit, i see problem solving as a multi-step process of creativity. First you have to identify the problem and limitations. Next you must conjure up a list of solutions and pick the best one for what you want to do. not necessarily the one that will work the best. Lastly you must make your solution work and modify it if you need to. Also, sometimes its best to work with the problem instead of against it and "embrace the shake".
For this piece the problem or limitation was using found objects we gathered outside to make art. To solve this problem we were given a list of ideas we could spin off of and were allowed to use any objects we found outside. I applied my problem solving strategies by incorporating a variety of materials and by trying not to plan in out too carefully. This way i could have a variety of options for the theme of my artwork. I settled on the theme of a cat watching birds. The leaves reminded me of wings and the dandelion fluff reminded me of flight. The newspaper ripped in a way that looked like ears. By being loose in my interpretation and restrictions outside of the ones that had already been set i was able to solve the problem.
This piece was the one of many. My limitation was working with my paint brushes taped to the fingers of my left and non-dominate hand. This restricted me in movement and accuracy. By improving my movements and application of color I was able to keep the colors from mixing together to form brown. I also improved my solutions for creating an image, instead of trying to paint an image, I used tape to create an image in the paint.
This piece was created later on in my final project. For this piece i planned more with taping the images and with my color scheme. By applying my past knowledge of how this limitation worked i was able to create this piece the way i did. I got the colors to stand out where i wanted and to mix where i wanted.
This painting was my final piece. For this one I problem solved to get the shape of the tree right using ripped tape. I also was able to better blend the colors. My work evolved into this final piece by analyzing and changing things from my previous pieces to improve the outcome. The limitation I chose to work with was harder than i expected when i tried to create something that wasn't just splotches of tempura paint. However, the more i worked with it the more i was able to adapt to it. My work definitely evolved over the course of this unit as i learned to "embrace the shake" and embrace the limitation instead of working around it.