Philosophy of Teaching

My personal approach to teaching is that I must learn along with my class.  It is important that you ask questions of me as well as yourselves.  Learning is a challenge, or rather should be a challenge for both student and instructor.  Let’s challenge each other and learn.

This statement is taken directly from all my syllabi and is truly how I feel about my pursuit of teaching and creating art. What I ask of my students in the statement above is the same I ask of myself and my peers in the field of teaching and creating art.

I am a firm believer in the teaching of basic skills. As an instructor, it is my job to collect and pass on information that will enhance a student’s education. I am constantly searching for new and more interesting ways to approach the act of creating and teaching art. Along with the teaching of composition, line, value, form, etc., it is necessary to discuss the current status of art and its role in our society. Gender and ethnic issues have had great influence in the evolution of my work, just as they have had in shaping contemporary art in modern society. I have found these topics to be of great interest to students as they develop their own, personal concepts in the creation of art.