b'NEW TITLE!Check it out at the Davis Booth #201 in November!Chapter 3The Ar t Room as Sanctuary and as the month went on, I began to reconsider the notion of safe. I looked out the window and then back into my classroom. Coffee house jazz JessicaKirker played quietly in the background, and a blend of lavender, clary sage, and bergamot EDITORS INTRODUCTION breezed through the air. It was my lunch periodthough one would never know it, As a certified art teacher, Jessica Kirker focuses on inclusivity, diversity, and helping people of allsince almost every seat in the classroom ages find joy through the arts. As you read Jessicas narrative about creating an art room sanctu- was taken by students who were eating, ary, we invite you to consider the sights, sounds, and smells that give you a sense of refuge. quietly talking, and making art. I felt like it was an art sanctuary.but was I alone in this feeling? Educational sanctuaries W hen the call for papers for thisparticular December was unlike any other.should be spaces where students perceive1publication came out, I was havingcare for their physical, emotional, and a particularly difficult month. DecemberAs with many high schools across thepsychological safety. Comparing the chaos is always a tough month in our school,country, violence was at an unprecedentedoutside the window with the seemingly as cold weather and holidays exacerbatehigh. As I gazed out my classroom windowspeaceful indoor surroundings, I asked financial difficulties in many householdsat the six police cars lined up in front ofmy students, Are you all okay? Do you in our community. These stresses areour school that day, I got a text from afeel safe? compounded by the academic challengesfriend asking if I was okay and safe.The questions prompted conversations that seem to set in for high schoolersWithout thinking I responded, Yup, allthat lasted the rest of the lunch period, and around this time of the year. However, thisgood! The truth is, I had gotten many textsI reintroduced the conversation at various of that nature during this harsh December,times in the weeks that followed. I wanted to unpack the word safe. Ive read/heard/said, The art room should be a safe space2more times than I wish to admit. In a timec 3 a -2t p Ta r o c v h t i i d le em e a o te t a h rb i i a n r l ge a e n k x gf a r g o r e i m n t e c n e t si n f n oa r l r os t g tr u o - oms when the phrase safety is our top prior- de n swon so d e pee echo y. ity is heard in the context of nearly everyn e mservice contemporary society utilizes, I wonder: what makes us safe? And is that the same as feeling safe? Is the art room a safer space than other spaces in thewas overwhelming frustration with getting school? Is the art room safe for everyone?to know you activities that require them to share overly personal or conversely meaningless information with teachers Building a Better Art Room who have no intention of using the data. Research suggests that a generally positiveAs one student said, When you give us art projects that make us put our own person-classroom environment is not as impact- ality into it, we have to look into ourselves, ful on student well-being as a students3 and then we get to decide what we want individual relationships. Through studentto share. Thats the only way you can truly feedback, I learned how authentic andknow us. Its on our terms. This made me meaningful interactions with teachersrealize how much artistic choice means, 3-1 Beginner-level ceramic students build their foundational slabs for expression mugs. make a big difference to students percep- not only to students artistic development, tions of safety and care towards them.but also to their sense of belonging and 26 Many of our conversations emphasizedsafety. how much students want to be known,Considering the art room as a site and described what that looked like. Therewithin a larger school context, I started to take notice of the traffic of students in Chapter 3 The Art Room as Sanctuary 27Restorative PracticesIN EDUCATION THROUGH THE ARTSEdited by Lisa Kay, Beverley Johns, and Donalyn HeiseWhen restorative practice is embedded in art, it provides students with ways to express themselves in an accepting and safe environment.Restorative practice can be defined as actions put in placeExplore practical arts-based examples and to support, encourage, and build relationships. It also buildsstrategies on important topics such as: resilience to cope with adversity. The arts are specifically Creative healing practiceswell-suited to this as they restore well-being through creative processes. Developed for flexible application by experts in the Visual and performing arts as therapyfields of art and education, this new title provides meaningful Trauma-informed methodsinsight and practical strategies for developing and implement-Transformative learninging restorative practices that are applicable to classrooms, Restorative indigenous practicesprofessional development, and teacher preparation. Visit DavisArt.com/RestorativePractices for more information.Committed to Art Educators Since 1901 | DavisArt.com | 800.533.2847 | ContactUs@DavisArt.com'