I've been a teacher in some form or another since I graduated from college, oh a thousand years ago. It is not what I thought I would do, but life takes us on detours and roads less travelled and thankfully I've always either had the sense to listen to the Universe, or the laziness to just go with the flow. Both have served me well. I wanted to be a veterinarian, a hair dresser and a beauty queen. Seriously. But blood makes me queasy. Dissecting frogs in high school put me over the edge. Fixing Barbie's hair (I finally realized) was not quite the same as doing human heads. Plus I ruined a few good Barbies. I didn't play well with girly girls who had painted toes, since I'd rather be climbing trees, hanging out on the beach and finding stray animals to bring home. Soooo.....I chose art. I knew less about it at the time, so it made perfect sense to me. I liked creating and I could do it alone. Why not? I'd be an art major and if I had to, I'd teach for a few years until I decided what I would do when I grew up. (I grin big here.)
Currently I teach adult painting classes. I've been doing that for about 5 or 6 years now. I love it. I enjoy the challenges and the fun of being around other artists - who actually pay ME to help them become better at what they do. Those aha moments are priceless. I get to have some of those, too, when I see something unexpected happen on one of their canvases. I've always said I learn as much from them as they do from me.
Adult students take painting for various reasons. To explore something new, to get out of the house, to learn a new medium or technique, to pick up where they left off years ago after the kids are grown, to consider a new career....I could go on. Although I don't encourage the career part much, since making art and selling art are on opposite ends of the creative spectrum. A person has to be dedicated to marketing to actually make a living off of art. That's another topic entirely. One thing all of my students do have in common is the desire to do the best they can and get better with each new painting.
Teaching can also be tiring, annoying and frustrating. Working to come up with new ideas only to be ignored has made me realize adult students come with their own agendas. Watching a gifted artist constantly berate him/herself wears me down. I've learned sometimes a student's self-worth is wrapped up in their perceived value of their artistic output. "this painting is awful, I suck!" isn't unusual to hear. I understand, because I'm an artist too, and any of us who are artists have been there, and will continue to go there as long as we are creating. I think it comes with the territory. I wish someone had warned me in college. Then again, maybe if I'd known, I'd actually have tried the veterinarian thing. I don't think there would have been any less angst, though. Just different angst.
I see myself not so much as an instructor with technical knowledge (which I am and have) as someone who uplifts and encourages progress. I bring what I know about painting to the table and my students bring their gifts and talents. All are excellent, some are extraordinary. I don't make them better artists - they do that by working hard. I just meet them where they are and take part of the journey with them.
You can see some of their recent paintings here
Mostly Art with Stray Musings on Occasion: The "Painting Abbey" Wall
No comments:
Post a Comment