In November 2022, when generative artificial intelligence (AI) became widely available, I initially avoided using it with my visual arts students. That’s mostly because the College Board, which develops and manages the Advanced Placement program, banned the use of AI in any part of the creation process, and all my advanced visual arts students take the AP course and submit a portfolio of images. If students couldn’t use AI at the highest level, I thought, I shouldn’t teach them to use it at lower levels.
However, at my school, Parish Episcopal School (TX), teachers are encouraged to experiment with AI. In January 2025, a professional development opportunity included a speaker from the Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools (ATLIS), who shared different ways to use AI in the classroom. That event and support from leadership emboldened me to introduce AI in my classes.
As a ceramics teacher, I’ve learned that technology rarely provides the exact answer I’m looking for, but I use it to reach the answer more quickly. AI is great for rapid prototyping and is faster than I could ever be. When brainstorming is the hardest part, or when I’m not sure how to combine different elements, AI can be really helpful.
So, what if we help art students test the waters with AI to make the entry point less intimidating? In doing so, we might be able to leverage technology to foster a new generation of creative learners.
Project: Concepting with AI
I work with middle and upper school students in my classes to create functional and sculptural projects. Each year, I organize a Soda Soirée where middle school students design funky drinking vessels, and then we have a party to drink soda from the creations. I’ve attempted a similar activity with my upper school students, but it never seems to resonate. So this year, I was determined to make it a more authentic experience.
Many artists work in a commission-style relationship, so to give my students a taste of working for a client, I tasked them with finding a “client” and creating a drinking vessel with their input. Students found clients across campus from the associate head of school to a middle school math teacher.
Just before introducing this project, I realized that my students likely didn’t have the vocabulary needed to ask their clients what they might want in a drinking vessel. That’s when I turned to ChatGPT to generate lists of themes, color palettes, patterns, and other important options. From there, I created a questionnaire that the students could use when discussing design options. I also used ChatGTP to draft a script to help guide them in their conversations.
With completed questionnaires and an idea of what their clients had in mind, the students then sketched three ideas. But, before going back to the client, we explored what it would be like to use AI to create a few more designs.
First, we needed to learn a little more about the opportunities and limitations of AI and visual arts, so we played a game using the Google Arts & Culture experimental AI called “Say What You See.” In this game, players have 120 characters to describe an image, and then the AI produces a new image based on the description. We learned about specificity and how AI can fill in gaps that aren’t explicitly mentioned. After several rounds of that exercise, we tried ImageFX, a Google Labs tool that could transform the students’ questionnaires into designs. Some of the results were impressive while others missed the mark—as is often the case with AI-generated work.
Then, with six sketches—some original and some created with AI—the students presented options to their clients. Each client shared feedback and selected the design that best aligned with their vision. AI enhanced and expedited this assignment, and it helped students ideate without detracting from their learning experience. The students crafted their entire project by hand and, interestingly, none of them opted to replicate AI’s suggestions for their final designs.
In a second section of the same class the following trimester, almost every student reported that their ideas were better than the AI’s solutions. As I train the students to use these tools, they are getting better results. One student who has struggled to visualize her ideas and often requires reassurance was able to create a reference image for a project that would have previously taken her days. She recently expressed her pride, saying, “Wow! I did this without your help this time.”
Creative Uses of AI
My colleagues at Parish Episcopal have been curious about AI, and in the art department, we knew we had an opportunity to lead the way because of the work we were already doing. In June 2023, we led a professional development session for arts faculty focused on prompt engineering and how to use AI programs to enhance efficiency. Some faculty members eagerly participated, while others were reluctant to embrace the tools.
Since then, the art department has held discussions during divisional and schoolwide meetings about the role of AI in education, and I have become a resource for all faculty experimenting with AI. Some faculty members started asking about school-approved AI platforms, so I started a series of lunch-and-learn sessions that focus on the main platforms recommended by the ATLIS speaker. I have led sessions on Perplexity and Diffit and upcoming sessions will focus on Magic School AI and Inkwire’s Kaleidoscope. Our director of educational technology also just rolled out a usage guide for students.
It's exciting to see faculty using AI. In spring 2024, Dallas was in the path of totality for the total solar eclipse. To celebrate this event, Parish organized a day of activities for our students, culminating in a community watch party. The middle school theater teacher used AI to create a short play about the eclipse. With just 85 minutes to put the play together, she was able to specify the style, limit the number of characters, and set the desired length for the script. The performance was informative and fun, and the kids enjoyed bringing it to life.
Last fall, when our school held our annual Parish Printfest and Steamroller Smackdown—a steamroller printing event with other private schools—AI saved the day when one of the participating schools couldn’t complete their carving in time. Our art director and I used an AI program called DALL-E to turn their sketch into a usable carving. During the event, students, parents, and teachers all carved on the block that AI helped us design, and the print turned out amazing.
While the College Board isn’t allowing students to use AI just yet, I hope one day it will reconsider the use of AI in the ideation phase as long as it is cited. With AI becoming ever more present in the professional world, isn’t it our responsibility as educators to train our students on how to use it? I encourage teachers everywhere—especially in the arts—to explore how they can leverage AI to bring authentic work to their classrooms. I know that’s what I’ll be doing.