The Visual Arts Component is designed to offer students with artistic ability an opportunity to participate in a futuristic, high level thinking program. Students, on their own, develop a piece of artwork that shows their vision of the future. While not everything in life is “happily ever after,” the goal is that students will create a vision of hope for a positive future. The purpose of Dr. E. Paul Torrance, the founder of the Future Problem Solving Program, was to, “…teach kids a process that would help them to create their own positive futures.”
The study and research required to investigate the topic are still required, but the format for presenting the creative problem solving process is a two or three-dimensional piece of artwork that can be presented via photos rather than a Global Issues booklet. While students need to be trained in the FPS Six-Step Problem Solving Process, the intent is to reach students who prefer to express themselves with art instead of words. When competitions are onsite, we plan to have the opportunity for students to display their original artwork so it should be transportable. An example of where the original work would not be presented might be sidewalk/chalk art. In this case, a good photo or photo series of the work is acceptable. If questions arise, contact: cheryl@mnfpsp.org
The following materials are examples that have been created by students in the Minnesota Program and are offered as guidelines and are not hard and fast rules that must be followed.
Digital Examples
This group exemplifies work that was created using exclusively digital resources. This type of medium is very accessible to students who may not own traditional art supplies or have the means to obtain them.
Mixed Media Student Examples
This group includes a mix of mediums from the mundane to extreme. Creativity thrives when the boundaries of single mediums are removed. Anything and everything can become art when pushed in the right direction. This category is especially good for students who like using multiple mediums already or can’t quite pin down what they prefer.
Paint Student Work Examples
This group has a more traditional medium; paint and canvas/paper. Even so, there is still a wide variety of methods and types of paints used to create the artwork. If a student wants to stick to canvas, these pieces show how many ways singular mediums can be used. Of course, even with paint, there are many application methods; brush, knives, spray, and more; which create a unique texture for each piece.
