It is my belief that the role of the artist/teacher is to increase the sense of possibility within one’s students – possibility in themselves as artists, in the use of materials and techniques, as well as in their depth of perception and potential modes of expression. The role of artist/educator is not to serve as catalyst to a student’s production but to provide a structure wherein they will find for themselves motivations and methodologies that will lead to an engaged practice. To do so one must create an environment that fosters exchange and encourages listening and response.
I believe that each student should acknowledge the role of audience they play to one another’s work and accept this responsibility with respect. I am intensely aware of the effects of physical presence and proximity with one another and so ask that attendance be carefully considered with this in mind. How can we receive one another without time being spent alongside?
As it takes some time to marry one’s conceptual and technical facility, opportunities for the development of written, spoken, and performed communication should occur alongside the production of the plastic arts – particularly with artists at an emerging level. This allows a teacher to highlight existing abilities within a student and enable them to build a stable platform from which to work. These activities increase the potential for a student ‘s intentions and desires to be understood, and therefore, fully responded to, and will lead to better developed professional practices.
This teaching environment must be principally activated by the instructor but then allowed to grow into the space that will most satisfy each specific group’s needs. I consider the teaching process to be one of exchange as I recognize fully that learning occurs through points of contact with one another, regardless of stated roles. My peers have taught me as much as my own teachers so anticipate the same for my students and seek to facilitate and encourage this. I am persistently excited to enter this relationship anew.