EARTH SCIENCE INTEGRATED ART AT INNOVATION DIPLOMA PLUS HIGH SCHOOL Art and science intersect in a unit on cyanotypes Integrated learning focuses on building connections between skills and content that are traditionally taught as separate academic subjects. Our Creative Art Works’ integrated art program helped students in the Earth Science class at Innovation Diploma Plus High School make connections between the scientific method and the artistic process – both of which embrace experimentation and reframe “mistakes” as a learning opportunity. Most students at Innovation, a transfer school on the Upper West Side, do not self-identify as artists, so Teaching Artist Ashli Sisk introduced them to cyanotypes (also known as blueprints or photograms), which are a way of making an image by placing objects on photosensitive paper and exposing them to the sun or UV light. Cyanotypes offered students a lowrisk introduction into making art that puts the emphasis on creativity rather than technique. Nevertheless, as students became familiar with the process, they began to experiment with new methods and materials. They quickly progressed from making random designs to composing images with the intent of representing specific ideas about astronomy, geology, and meteorology. Regardless of the outcome of a print, learning this printing process encouraged students to ask relevant questions, research answers and work to find a way to creatively synthesize the new information. Students learned to modify their prints with paint, often salvaging art that they had considered “mistakes.” As we teach our students, “There are no mistakes in art, only happy accidents.” Likewise, in science, no experiment is ever a failure but an opportunity to gather more data. View more work from this class in the youth art gallery on our website by clicking HERE.
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