Statement of Teaching Philosophy

I love teaching. It is truly one of the most challenging, creative and rewarding jobs I have ever had. It changes constantly, is very demanding and yet profoundly rewarding. Teaching has informed my personal work in ways I never thought possible. It has made me a better artist, more articulate and a more patient person. I wish to do it as a career for the rest of my life.

I feel teaching is a natural extension of my personality so it was hard to pin down what I do and why I do it. I realize that there are three main things I want my students to learn from me. From my guidance, students will learn objective skills, personal visual literacy and enhanced independent learning habits.

I want to impart objective skills to my students. I teach a wide variety of visual arts classes to a diverse population. My student body range in age from 16 to 70, often in one class. While it is important that my students in my software-based classes learn to use the tools that help them operate the software, it is also important that they create visually interesting work. I start each of my classes by introducing software, materials and methodologies to my students. I’ve found that my students first want to learn how to handle the medium. When they cannot express themselves in the manner they want, they become frustrated. If a student understands how to work with a tool they have gained knowledge that can help them develop a more critical eye.

Context is an important factor in developing visual literacy. As my students gain knowledge of software and media, I encourage them to examine historical and contextual aspects of their chosen form of expression. Why did this artist, historically use this tool and express himself in his manner. Visual literacy is an overarching subjective skill that begins when the student enters my classroom and never really ends. The more a student “sees” the greater the development of their visual literacy. By introducing history to my curriculum I give students a structured opportunity to compare, contrast and analyze their own work in context of other visual artists.

Lastly, I teach with a student-centered learning environment. Because the student body is diverse, I teach the broadest skillset, and approach more advanced students individually. When students whose skill levels are higher are available and willing to help, encourage students to work with their peers to better their own skill sets. By creating an environment where students can learn not only from me but their peers enables students to develop a community. Fostering an environment where thoughtful, provocative and constructive criticism is the norm helps students to analyze their own work outside of the classroom environment. Students must approach each project or piece of art, in or out of the classroom with the same consideration they apply to their daily lives. By arming each student with objective skills, visual literacy, context and a critical eye, students leave my classroom with the knowledge and skills to continue their own education independently. I realize that many of my students will not go on to become academic artists, what I hope to do is to fan the flames of their own desire to create personal, meaningful work, whether that is in the medium they have chosen to learn from me, or another more familiar medium.