I've worked as an Art teacher in a variety of levels and media, from College Level Drawing and Elementary Art classes to Adult Learners with Continuing Education. As a middle school Teaching Artist at Marian Middle School, I've learned to teach about everything, but I believe my specialties are in Painting, Animation, Video, Drawing, and Design. I continue to learn how to be a better teacher and it nurtures my own creativity to witness my student's discoveries and experiments.
Teaching Philosophy
At the beginning of an adventure, be it physical or intellectual, the hero leaves the familiar in pursuit of a consciousness missing in the world they inhabit. My favorite heroes and teachers possess a common interest, a pursuit of self-understanding and illumination. While one can look back upon history for techniques and context, ultimately each artist is clearing her/his own path. The classroom I cultivate encourages investigation and participation. I don’t believe in filling students with facts, but rather stimulating them with examples that might assist their own explorations. Working with the personal history that each student brings to their art making, I am determined to help students gain the techniques they need to meet their visual goals. I do my best to provide a variety of instructional modes including written, verbal, and visual instructions, even pulling from films and YouTube.
Joseph Campbell wrote that the difficult task after a quest was to integrate the new findings into the previous life. My intentions as a teacher are to motivate the students in such a way that when they leave, they have the tools to create more opportunities for themselves and/ or to simply persist in their practice.
Teaching Philosophy
At the beginning of an adventure, be it physical or intellectual, the hero leaves the familiar in pursuit of a consciousness missing in the world they inhabit. My favorite heroes and teachers possess a common interest, a pursuit of self-understanding and illumination. While one can look back upon history for techniques and context, ultimately each artist is clearing her/his own path. The classroom I cultivate encourages investigation and participation. I don’t believe in filling students with facts, but rather stimulating them with examples that might assist their own explorations. Working with the personal history that each student brings to their art making, I am determined to help students gain the techniques they need to meet their visual goals. I do my best to provide a variety of instructional modes including written, verbal, and visual instructions, even pulling from films and YouTube.
Joseph Campbell wrote that the difficult task after a quest was to integrate the new findings into the previous life. My intentions as a teacher are to motivate the students in such a way that when they leave, they have the tools to create more opportunities for themselves and/ or to simply persist in their practice.
