| Teaching Statement My approach to teaching stresses that art is a discovery process, a way of coming to terms with something, a mode, model, or experiment for reflective understanding. Art making is so directly connected to the roots of experimentation, discovery, and invention. As such, studio art classes should be active environments, where experimentation and risk-taking are encouraged. Naturally this de-emphasizes the product-orientated approach, and emphasizes a process, material, and inner-dialogue approach. This elicits an attitude of freedom to learn, to discover, to fail, to take chances, to grow, to expand, and to succeed. I nourish and foster individualism, collaboration, interaction, diversity, generosity, and creativity. I look at a student's personality, values and sensibilities, and then use this knowledge to empower the student to recognize, embrace, and challenge his/her own self. This assists the individual student in acknowledging who they are, what they do, what their tendencies are, where their potentials lay, and ultimately what roles they may play as an artist and individual. I also stress the importance of and the lessons of art to aspects of our lives through the idea of having connective and meaningful experiences in our lives, as well as to ideas of self-discipline, self-acceptance/denial, perception and creativity. I have the ability to teach both sides of the coin. One, an approach that can teach both painting and drawing as a discipline of accuracy, naturalism, and technique, but also, an approach that teaches expression, process, concept and identity. Students should have a solid foundation in basic skills such that rely heavily upon drawing and its lessons. It is also integral and necessary for students to develop content in their work. My style emphasizes the creative process itself as a way of helping them to accomplish both. As an artist/teacher I have a lot of traditional and contemporary knowledge about education, creativity, art, and art making. Additionally I have melded these approaches into my own teaching style that has had considerable and proven success with my students. |
STUDENT GALLERY
| Teaching Positions Held Adjunct Professor of Studio Art- Des Moines Area Community College Lecturer of Drawing- Iowa State University Visiting Assistant Professor of 2D Foundations-Texas Tech University Adjunct Professor of Studio Art- New Mexico State University Adjunct Professor of Studio Art- El Paso Community College Adjunct Professor of Studio Art- University of Texas -El Paso |