Developing sustainable oriented creativity in printmaking art studio: An action research

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and effects of sustainable creativity-focused activities in printmaking workshop courses. In the research, "action research design" was used because it was planned to develop sustainability-oriented creativity and introduce new applications in original printing workshop courses. The study group of the research was formed by two different sampling methods within the framework of the sub-objectives of the research. For the 1st sub-objective, the research consisted of three instructors who teach original printing workshop courses at different universities and four 4th grade visual arts teacher candidates studying in the Painting Department of Pamukkale University Faculty of Education. Criterion sampling, one of the purposeful sampling approaches, was decisive in determining these participants. For the second sub-objective of the research, the study group consisted of twelve visual arts teacher candidates studying at Pamukkale University, Faculty of Education, Department of Painting. These participants were determined by typical situation sampling, one of the purposeful sampling methods. In the research, data were collected in two stages. In the first stage, interviews were held with faculty members and teacher candidates who had previously experienced the printmaking workshop course. During these interviews, information was obtained about the current status of printmaking workshop training with a focus on sustainability. In the second stage, action plans were developed and implemented. In this process, data; It was obtained from personal information form, self-evaluation form, reflective diary, researcher diary, artistic works obtained from the process and focus group interviews. The collected data were analyzed by content analysis. Research findings show that faculty members tend to stay away from the use of toxic materials due to the threat it poses to both their own health and the health of students. It is seen that they resort to different solutions in the workshop environment due to the cost of water-based printing inks and various original printing materials or because they have difficulty in accessing some important materials of traditional techniques. Solutions such as being more economical in the use of materials, frequent use of waste materials during the course, and planning the use of toxic contents such as acids or solvents are the methods used by instructors. Teacher candidates find toxic ingredients such as acids and solvents harmful to their health during the lesson. Research findings show that faculty members include activities aimed at creating narratives through sustainable creativity in a more limited context. The print workshop process focused on sustainable creativity provided cognitive, affective and social contributions to teacher candidates and encouraged them to think creatively about the artistic transformation of waste materials and creating new compositions. Pre-service teachers questioned their responsibilities towards the environment, especially during the creative action process. They showed attitudes towards understanding the value of working collaboratively and generating ideas together, which is a priority in environmentally focused education programs. Keywords: Sustainability, Sustainable creativity, Printmaking, toxic material