“We’re making a change, we just don’t have enough time to present in 3D, we’ll do a digital presentation.” 

The students greeted this announcement with a sigh of relief, I think, but they caught themselves as Can continued. “You’ll still do the vector work and the summative assessment is updated in Google classroom. We will present these one by one, so be ready to speak about your designs.”

There’s still work to do before the end of the semester.

We’re sitting in the art room, an immense space that spans the cafeteria and large meeting hall a floor below. It was built with financial support of a former family of a student. Thick blond beams overhead, lots of storage areas for art supplies, lots of spaces for students to work on sculpture, painting, pottery, and all the stuff of creativity.

Design. Art. Aesthetics. 

The students are designing clothes. Each student is working on a theme they have created. Comfort Athletics, Sustainable Beachwear, Underground Streetwear, Ski Clothes for Bluebird Days. Modern Vintage catches my eye. Vintage is so yesterday, I guess. One student is working on Dreamwear Calm PJs. That sounds very hyggelig.

Can puts up examples from one of the students. School uniform designs that are unlikely to be taken up by any school I know. Fuzzy coats, lots of pink, a creative beach theme that you wouldn’t find on the beach, but as Can says, you can see the beach in the clothes, these clothes are relaxed, ready for a day sans stress, lots of lounging and enjoying the sun and sand and wind and each other. “I’d wear that to school” say a few students. Me, I’d be a little self-conscious of my varicose veins below those pink dungarees. Hard to concentrate on Shakespeare or trigonometry or the French Revolution if you’re afraid your classmates are sneaking peeks at your shins. 

And then the students are off and working. The first part of the lesson was part organization, part inspiration. Changes to the plan, due dates, how to submit the work online. Then off to create and think and to let yourself go and isn’t that a cool looking outfit? The students work, individually, some of them swapping ideas, asking for help. Can encourages, shows more images of student work. He puts up an image that a student designed for a tshirt. 

“Robert, was this you?” 

“Yeah.”

“It’s really cool.”

“OK.”

Robert is a tough sell. Can knows how to get to him.

“You spent a lot of time on those letters.”

“Yeah, yeah I did.” And now we hear the interest in Robert’s voice. A bit of pride perhaps. Can leaves Robert’s design on the large screen in front of the class as he starts circulating again, checking in with individual students. He hasn’t overdone it, but he’s made sure Robert gets attention. That’s motivating. Robert was seen and heard today, recognized as skillful. Can does the same for other students, connecting and uplifting. His feedback isn’t of the generic “good job” type, but rather specific observations about each student’s work. A suggestion or two about how an OK idea might become a better idea, how a design is working – or not – and what the student might alter, add, adjust.

Class is a workshop, a discussion, an imagination. They talk about a Balenciaga bracelet that looks like a roll of tape. If you know the right people I suppose you could buy your own, for something over 3,000 US dollars. 

Design. Art. Aesthetics. Money.

And the question that is so frustratingly impossible to answer. “What is art?” asks Can, not expecting an answer. And no one tries. They just keep working on Modern Vintage and Dreamwear Calm.