The need for SPEED (art)

Do you do "speed art" or quick drawing exercises in your classroom? I have never done them before this year but I have been doing them in the 2D Design class and I am thinking that they are here to stay. I like them so much that I actually might adapt them to the 3D Design class. I find that they really loosen the students up (especially when I find them holding fast to their very in-the-box ideas) in addition to it teaching them to think a little more spontaneously and on their feet. Something else it does? It debunks the myth that a successful piece of artwork does not always require immense amount of time, intense effort, or ridiculous planning. This isn't to say that really successful works of art should only be done on the fly and in the moment per se but it's much more to help the students to see different ways to carry out a creative process for the purpose of creating visual art.

It absolutely warms my heart to look at all of the students so deeply invested AND interested in the task at hand.

During my most recently finished 2D Design project venture and also their current project (that I cannot decide on a better name for), I have done quick drawing exercises in the midst of their creative processing and each time I have been more excited and encouraged to keep doing them. I mean, have you ever seen students to fully engaged and invested as this?

One thing that I have found is very helpful to help facilitate the excitement and establish proper pacing for speed art/quick drawing type exercises is to use music to keep time. I prefer to use pieces that do not have lyrics and the one I used while the students were working in the picture taken above was Bach's English Suite 2 in A minor BMV 807 - Prelude. Here is the exact version I played. It is a solid four and a half minutes long and it even seems like it slows down to stop all together part way through which really makes it tricky for the students since they will almost stop and then realize that they have at least another minute left to keep working...

I feel like the Bach piece really has a good rhythm to keep things moving, it's interesting and appealing to the ear, and it also exposes them to another great type of art! Some of my other music selections I think are appropriate are jazz pieces. I am a huge fan of jazz standards specifically.