What are the Studio Habits of Mind?

1. Studio Habits
of Mind
The studio habits of mind are the eight
different skill sets that the arts teach.
• Develop Craft
• Engage and
Persist
• Envision
• Express
• Observe
• Reflect
• Stretch and
Explore
• Understand the
Art World

2. Develop Craft
Learning to use art tools, materials
and concepts.
Developing Craft Is:
- Learning to use tools and materials
- Learning new techniques
- Improving skills
- Maintaining the Studio
- Creating a Portfolio
- Learning About Studio Practice

3. Engage & Persist
Engaging and persisting is:
- Learning to embrace problems
- Developing focus regardless of the
task.
- Seeing projects through to the end
- Correcting or incorporating mistakes
Committing and Following Through

4. Envision Planning beyond seeing and
learning to mentally envision
what cannot be directly
observed. Imagine what the
next step would be.
Envisioning is:
- Planning
- Generating Ideas
- Sketching
- Designing
- Imagining
- Picturing Alternative
Solutions

5. Express Finding personal visions and
learning to convey an idea,
feeling, or personal meaning.
Expressing is:
- Conveying a Feeling or Mood
- Telling a Story
- Giving an opinion
- Commenting on an issue

6. Observe Seeing beyond the ordinary and learning to look
at things more closely.
Observing is:
- Looking closely
- Comparing and Contrasting
- Noticing Details

7. REFLECT Thinking Metacognitively.
Thinking and talking with
others about your work.
Evaluating your own work,
as well as, the work of
others.
Reflecting Is:
- Critique
- Asking Questions
- Explaining
- Asking “What if?” questions

8. Stretch & Explore Learning to go beyond the familiar or
obvious and reach beyond what you
think is possible. Learning to playfully
explore and embrace mistakes along
the way.
Stretching and Exploring is:
- Experimenting
- Trying new things
- Trial and Error
- Working outside your comfort zone
- Trying something different or new
- Embracing new possibilities
- Seeing what would happen if

9. Understanding the Art World
Learning about art history and how to interact as an
artist with other artists and communities.
Understanding the art world is:
- Learning about art history
- Learning about contemporary art
- Working with other artists
- Sharing ideas and resources
- Learning about and going to museums
or galleries

10. Engage&Persist
Sentence Starters
• What helped me stay focused was…
• The hardest part was…
• When I had difficulty, the way I solved the
problem was…
Follow a task through to completion.
Be able to learn from others.

11. Envision
Be able to generate alternatives, consider other options.
Sentence Starters
• First, I pictured…
• I imagined that if
I…
• My plan for the
project unfolded
like this…

12. DevelopCraft
Sentence Starters
• I improved my technique of…
• I showed great care with…
•My works look polished and well crafted
because…

13. Express
Sentence Starters
• One thing that is unique about my work is…
• This work is an expression of my feelings
because…

14. Observe
Gather data through all
senses: taste, touch,
smell, hearing, and
sight.
Sentence Starters
•The detail that captured my
imagination was...
•I never noticed before
that…
•I practiced the ability to
observe closely by…

15. Reflect
Sentence Starters
• As I reflect on my work, I think…
• What I think makes this a strong piece is…
•What I would do differently next time is…

16. Stretch&Explore
Sentence Starters
• I tried something that I had never done before
when I…
• The unexpected thing that happened in this
work was…
• My mistake helped me to…
Synonym Art & Poetry

17. UnderstandingtheArt
World
Sentence Starters
• I was influenced by studying the art of…
• My classmates on this project helped me
realize that…
• I collaborated effectively with others when I…
Remake of a Diego Rivera Mural