A Note About my Process Oriented Art Teaching Style

Hello!  Thank you for taking a class with me or considering enrolling in an art class with me.  I want to explain my teaching style and philosophy.  Whether it’s a virtual class via Zoom or in-person, I believe the best art happens when students use their imagination and problem solving skills as opposed to getting step-by-step instructions or copying, which doesn’t allow much room for either creativity or ingenuity.  My goal is to inspire children and adults with techniques, artworks by professional artists, project examples, and photo reference material.  Alongside this, I teach the elements and principles of art and design.  For school aged children, I always start with a short drawing lesson as that is the foundation for art making.  Then, I let the students use their imagination, explore their art materials, and do their best.    I’ve found that when a child expresses what comes from inside, they show more signs of pride and a self-esteem boost.

In the photos above, you can see the students in this workshop chose to create their flowers in different ways.  They were engaged in the process, exploring their materials, and were “in the flow”.

Art can be Relaxing & Therapeutic if it’s Choice Based

Art making is a distraction at minimum and a great therapy at most.  It’s a proven way to reduce stress and anxiety, and boost self-esteem.  The mere act of even finishing an art project releases dopamine which creates feelings of accomplishment, happiness, and satisfaction.  When art making is open-ended, as opposed to getting step by step instructions, it allows the person to explore the process and just relax in the moment.  It allows the student to make their own choices.  Often, stress comes from not being able to make decisions whether at home, at school or at work.  In art class, I want students to have that freedom to discover their own style – their choices – their colors, their patterns, their shapes, etc…

Relaxing Project examples

There are many examples of art projects that can help students relax, create more happiness, and create more positive emotions.  For example:

• Repetitive line drawings like mandalas
• Scribble drawings
• Using nature to create ephemeral art, teaches about impermanence in life
• It is also very easy to work collaboratively with many art projects so that students may learn better communication and possibly develop friendships as well
• Writing or drawing about an experience that made them feel happy

Keeping a Sketchbook or Journal

Art can be used to focus on positive life experiences by drawing an event along with journaling.  It’s important for all student artists to have a large sketchbook with heavy paper to accept a variety of media.  This will help them feel organized by keeping art in one place and can help them track their progress, or look back on art they created about positivity in their lives or plans for the future.

Creating art is an important tool to help students relax, express themselves, and create positivity in their lives.  Lessons I teach, can be turned to in time of need and recreated in sketchbooks.  Art can be used to express feelings that are hard to put into words which makes it a powerful tool for students of a variety of ages to learn and use when feelings are too big.