I remember the joys of collaborating with friends to create art that was stylistically similar but expressed our individual creative vision as early as first grade. The drawing part of any book report or assignment was always my favorite bit; I got to create something visually interesting that coupled well with the written component. Throughout high school I got to create art in classes, and the work of my peers drove me to create better imagery.
More than anyone, my peers and my own internal motivation have been the two things that have pushed me into my artistic practices. There's so much to learn from others, and knowledge passing from one to another is incredibly invaluable. There's something to be said about learning on your own, what with facing failure and learning how to problem solve, but there comes innovation and playfulness when part of your artistic practice was built off of someone else's teachings and then extrapolated and envisioned through a different lens.
I seek to aid my students in building their art practice from their own curiosity while also showing them the value of learning collaboratively and being a mentor to each other. Ultimately I want to create an environment where my students are both individuals as well as part of a collective, where we grow and explore together. There should be an emphasis on the individual, as art making is often times a solitary action, but ideas, influences, and the ever changing world interconnect artists to one another in the things they navigate, explore and consider. No artist creates on their own, and Pablo Picasso even said the best artists are those who copy and don't get caught. We are built to question and learn from one another, and as a teacher, its as important to incite that curiosity about the world and art, as well as student's interest and care for each other.
Beyond that I think its also important to envision teachers and students in an expanded care network that ties us to each other and our families. As students connect and learn from their parents and from their living experiences, so do teachers play a role in shaping and guiding students through the challenges and successes of their life. It's so vital as a teacher to recognize that continual role of guidance and support in student's lives beyond the curriculum and knowledge building. Teachers are part of what build student's understanding of their world, their emotional intelligence and well being, and teachers are in part responsible for seeing students potential and what resources and influence they need in order to push into that new realm of growth and learning.
More than anyone, my peers and my own internal motivation have been the two things that have pushed me into my artistic practices. There's so much to learn from others, and knowledge passing from one to another is incredibly invaluable. There's something to be said about learning on your own, what with facing failure and learning how to problem solve, but there comes innovation and playfulness when part of your artistic practice was built off of someone else's teachings and then extrapolated and envisioned through a different lens.
I seek to aid my students in building their art practice from their own curiosity while also showing them the value of learning collaboratively and being a mentor to each other. Ultimately I want to create an environment where my students are both individuals as well as part of a collective, where we grow and explore together. There should be an emphasis on the individual, as art making is often times a solitary action, but ideas, influences, and the ever changing world interconnect artists to one another in the things they navigate, explore and consider. No artist creates on their own, and Pablo Picasso even said the best artists are those who copy and don't get caught. We are built to question and learn from one another, and as a teacher, its as important to incite that curiosity about the world and art, as well as student's interest and care for each other.
Beyond that I think its also important to envision teachers and students in an expanded care network that ties us to each other and our families. As students connect and learn from their parents and from their living experiences, so do teachers play a role in shaping and guiding students through the challenges and successes of their life. It's so vital as a teacher to recognize that continual role of guidance and support in student's lives beyond the curriculum and knowledge building. Teachers are part of what build student's understanding of their world, their emotional intelligence and well being, and teachers are in part responsible for seeing students potential and what resources and influence they need in order to push into that new realm of growth and learning.