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Channeling The Art Spirit

Art educators should continually educate themselves through the use of art history as well as the contemporary work that is being completed today.  It is through immersing ourselves in as much knowledge of current issues and events that we gain understanding, which becomes a great tool in deciding what artist of today need most in order to succeed.

My goal as an art educator is to give students a strong base of traditional skills to stand on:  being strong in knowledge of different materials, methods, concept and form.  Class exercises such as contour line, quick gesture, life drawings, and sketchbook documentation of ideas foster skills and discipline that every artist needs in order to be successful.

Art educators should be well versed in art movements that have shaped the contemporary/conceptual movement that is taking place today.  Educators should have knowledge of material safety, archival processes, and urge young artist to work in a safe environment while they are exploring new materials and processes.

As an educator I want to enable the students to become responsible for their own learning.  I recognize that students learn in different ways and I am committed to including all students in the learning process.  I want to instill confidence in their own visual communication and I believe this can be done through class exercises and classroom critiques.  I am committed to fostering an appreciation of diverse subject matter because I believe that greater diversity leads to depth in learning.  By introducing ways to organize thoughts and ideas in a sketchbook: I will empower them with the best way to visually communicate ideas.

In order to be effective, teachers must know their students.  We must be aware of what students know when they come into the classroom as well as how to tap into that knowledge and build on it.   Through building on this knowledge I believe that my students will be equipped with a way of seeing that will enable them to experience life more richly.

A teacher is responsible for building relationships with students and must believe that each individual has something to contribute to the learning experience.  Through class discussion and critiques we will all learn from one another’s contributions.