Hello everyone,
Today, I was filling out an application for a teaching artists' professional development workshop and they asked me to answer this question:
What are 5 essential concepts/techniques that you would like your students to gain from your experience as a teacher/artist?
This is how I answered. I know it's a little self indulgent (see title of this entry) to post this type of thing, but I am interested in what other artists feel about this question. It's kind of a doozy.
1. Don't take yourself too seriously. Although this is something I try to remember daily, I think it's applicable to art practice as well. It's important to realize that not every critique is personal, not every piece of work is precious, and you always have the capacity to grow.
2. Make a lot of junk. It took me a really long time to realize that I needed to make a lot of work that I might consider 'junk' to arrive at the more successful breakthroughs. This kind of goes along with #1, but the less stock you place in each individual piece, the better, because it allows you to look at your work as a process.
3. Wear a respirator and let your work dry. I lumped these two together because they both have to do specifically with ceramic processes. I think they can be applied to other media as well. There is no need to put your health in jeopardy for the sake of making work. To put it bluntly; wear a respirator and stop thinking you're superman/woman. The second part of this is important because, now and again, I forget that I actually know what I'm doing in clay and think I can put wet clay in a kiln, hang a piece before the epoxy cures, etc. It doesn't work and my advice is to just be patient and wait.
I suggest one of these two options for respiratory safety:
or
4. Acknowledge that you will need to self educate. When I started art school in undergrad, I had a chip on my shoulder about what my professor 'should' be teaching me and how that made him a better or worse instructor. After going through school, both undergrad and postbacc, it became increasingly evident that, if I wanted to know something I just had to figure it out. This is not to say that teachers (like myself) shouldn't be teaching fundamentals and helping students when necessary, I just think it's wise to realize everything is not going to be handed to you.
5. Talk to people. This is one of my favorite parts about being an artist. I get to talk to people about my passion and often make a connection based on a mutual understanding of the drive to make artwork. This might also be just a life lesson, but I don't think it ever hurts to start a conversation, whether it's about art or otherwise.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this question. I think, sometimes, a lot of insight can be gained from filling out applications. I hope you enjoyed this post, and thank you for reading.
Seana.