In preparation for my “Promote Your Art with Confidence” book, I am looking for art teachers to interview. I am most interested in artists who teach adults both formally and informally.
1. What do you teach?
2. To whom do you teach it?
3. Where do you teach? (venue/city)
4. How long have you been teaching?
Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you!
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31 thoughts on “Looking for Teachers”
Teaching is as important to me, or nearly so, as making art. I teach both formally — in my studio, at national events and at The Southwest School of Art and Craft in San Antonio — and informally — as a guild officer, with my occassional interns and through conversations with other fiber artists. (And I am always learning from all those situations, as well.) Most of my students these days are adults, mostly women, but I taught and designed arts-in-education curricula for more than 30 years for young people and their teachers. I’ve also designed exhibits for children’s museums, another form of teaching. I teach fiber art and design techniques, but more importantly, I teach and model a mastery of creative process, an exploration of the artist’s journey through a not-always friendly world, and the honoring of personal and cultural riches as source material for making art.
Hi Alyson, I teach painting workshops around the USA. I also have a Monday night painting class in my studio. Love, Linda Blondheim
Mentoring of sorts is how I try to balance some teaching into my life. I’m not really cut out for teaching in the traditional sense so I try to take anything I’ve learned and pass it on. I do this in real life with a casual network of artists in London, with fellow artists in my studio group, any new artists I meet at events, and as a guide on Wetcanvas.com. Sometimes I think the hardest thing to learn in our profession is which direction to take, or how to start on the ladder, so I share what I’ve learned and keep learning from those who came before me.
HI Alyson, I teach fibre art classes, quilting, surface design, painting, image transfer,cyanotype and creative journaling; all are creative classes encouraging students to use these techniques to develop their own work style. My classes are offered throughout western Canada for conferences and occasionally for shops and I am looking for more venues. I teach adults mainly through quilting, embroidery and weaving guilds. The website http://www.alternativephotography.com shows a gallery of my cyanotype work as well as an article on quilting using cyanotypes.
Hello Alyson, I teach photography, primarily digital cameras but also digital photo editing, to adults through the public school adult education program and the Rocky Mountain School of Photography here in Missoula, Montana, where I live. I also present a workshop in NC once every spring. This fall I’m expanding to present a weekend workshop about Photoshop in nearby Bozeman, MT in cooperation with a camera store. I have been a teacher all my life, even before I started elementary school! 🙂 I began as a public school English teacher, was a teaching assistant in grad school (writing & literature) and then taught how to use word processing and page layout software as an adjunct to my position as a technical writer at two different universities. Ten years ago I changed gears to concentrate on photography & now that’s what I teach. In total, I’ve been teaching for 25 years. My challenge is how to remain active as the *artist* making pictures because my interest in how to help people become better at making their own photos usually takes the front seat. Best, Kathy Eyster kathy@kathyeyster.com http://www.KathyEyster.com Missoula, Montana USA
I taught Beginning Drawing this summer and in Spring ’07 I’ll be teaching Watercolor/Mixed Media Painting at Mt San Jacinto College in San Jacinto, CA. My students are mainly adults; this past summer I had some high school students looking for college credit. I’ve been teaching at the junior college for about 15 years and I love it – being around the swirl of learning energy with its questions and persepectives is wonderful. However, as you mentioned in another blog entry, I find some younger students to be uninterested in art history and if I ask them to name their favorite artist they’ll come up with some currently popular entertainer.
Postscript…. I also have mentored individual students on both a short- and long-term basis. This has usually included beginning work with cameras and photo editing for people who were unable to attend a formal class. And I’ve also served as a senior high project mentor for 2 students in photography. Kathy Eyster
I wanted to be an art teacher since 4th grade! I taught art in a local elementary when I was in High School, got a degree in Art Education, and taught art in the public schools for several years before staying home to be a mom. After a few years of developing my own style and art, I started doing demos, critiques, jurying shows, and teaching workshops for local and now national art groups and societies. I will be teaching out of state next year. I work in watercolor, pastels, and oils, but teach in watercolor and pastels.
Postscript I forgot too, I have mentored individual students(adults) on everything from how to paint to critiquing work to how to do the business end of being an artist. I also do mentoring every week for 12-18 year old girls in touble with the law in a locked facility doing lots of art related projects.
Hi Alyson, I lead two lives: jewelry artist by night, full-time community college administrator by day, and I’m really starting to make a go of it with my art. What a thrill! Love your website, by the way. My sister (also an artist,) sent me your link, and it’s been a great way to learn the business of being an artist. I’m most excited that I’m slowly creating a positive cash flow that enables me to fuel my passion for beautiful, wearable art! I started teaching wire working classes several months ago at a nearby bead shop and you’re absolutely right, it has stretched me, and brought my own work to a higher level! And what a bonus, that it has been lucrative enough “feed” my passion and afford more materials, as silver and gold prices continue to rise. I never dreamed how much fun teaching would be, and how much I would learn from my students. This is definitely a two-way street. Turns out, I must be good at it, too, because for my September classes, people are calling to sign up for “anything Maggie’s teaching.” I think it’s so important to give people permission to experiment and make mistakes, and also to feel free to embellish with their own ideas. Adults so need to learn how to play again, and trust their own creativity. At first, I was a little concerned about “giving it away,” meaning my techniques and ideas. I no longer feel that way at all. I have come to believe that by giving it away, I get something else back, tenfold! Besides, most of the techniques I’m teaching are thousands of years old, passed down through the hands of other artists. I’m honored to be a member of a venerable society.
Hello Alyson I teach photography, film and digital, darkroom and photoshop to lifelong learners through Ivy Tech Community College and the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette in Lafayette, Indiana. These classes usually meet once a week and run for 6 to 8 weeks. I teach 2 sessions per class a year, winter/spring and fall. I have been doing this for 12 or 13 years. It is the perfect amount of teaching time for me and I look forward to my classes starting again in late September.
Hi there–I have been teaching drawing, painting and clay classes to both children and adults for many years. It has definitely helped me articulate my own beliefs and methods and it has also opened me to the many ways students approach learning to draw and paint and generally express themselves which in turn gives depth to my own work. Teaching kids is really different than adults and both have many rewards. I try and teach kids real skills and build their confidence in their own imaginations, percepttions and abilities. Lately I have been focusing on teaching adult beginners because so many adult students seem to come with so little real experience. Mostly they need confidence and hope and that seems to be something I am good at offering them. I believe we are all artists. Some of us just haven’t discovered that yet. I feel very lucky that my students share their process with me and always feel in awe of their willingness to be so vulnerable and so brave. Learning a visual art is so public and out there. I love my students and we have a great time together.
HI, Alyson I have just recently moved into a 2000 sq.ft studio after teaching in my home for 8 years (total 10 years).The studio is located in the industrial park in our small city. I have a small gallery and frameshop attached. I teach realistic art( oils watercolors and acrylic) ala Old Masters, landscapes to portraits and focus on teaching my students to “see”. The majority of students are adults, ages 40-60+, female, divided between professional and retired. Younger students under 40 are most likley stay at home moms. I now have a teen following 12-18 that is very rewarding. I have followed your advice and have a web site-www,laurawatmough.com, held Marketing Salons( great results) and am now bloggin-www.myartschool.blogspot.com and soon to be doing a newsletter-paintingnewsletter.blogspot.com. I would like to thank you for your online support. I look forward to your newsletter for info and motivation!
I have been teaching art classes since 2001, but making art all of life. My clases include basic jewelry-making, fused glass and silver clay. (I am a certified Senior Instructor for Art Clay (one of the two silver clay products on the market–both are made in Japan). I teach part-time in my studio in Indianapolis, IN and occassionally give demos for arts organizations. I generally teach adult classes, but I have taught children’s classes. My teaching experience is not, however, limited to art classes. I have spent many years in the corporate classroom teaching many different computer software applications, although now my corporate position focuses on elearning. So, for this year, my goal is to promote myself as an artist and art instructor. Of course, self-promotion takes time. And time is, of course, my biggest enemy since I still need my full-timje corporate position to pay the bills while I am a part-time artist. Marti Icenogle Email: martii@indy.rr.com Website: http://www.magickaldragondesigns.com
Hi Coach, I always said that teaching will be the last thing I’ll do for my income, but here I am, an art teacher in 2 elementary schools, an instructor of mixed media/printmaking in art retreats and I also teach teachers about ways to include art with their regular curriculum in schools. I love all 3 of these teaching experiences for all the reasons you mentioned in your newsletter but also because it is such a great feeling to see when your student suddenly “gets it”, and he/she produces amazing art. Another reason is that my students also inspire me as an artist. I am always surprised by how many new and different ways they find for doing what I just thaught them. dorit elisha (dorit_elisha@yahoo.com)
Hello Alyson, today’s newsletter is “right up my alley”. I have taught silk painting since 1986 and I am as enthused about it today as I have been when I first started. I came to teaching like the Madonna to the child: by divine intervention. As a fashion designer out of work (and out of my own business and money)I needed something to carry me over the abyss. I always thought I didn’t know enough to teach but when the opportunity arose I said “yes”. Blind faith helped me through my first sewing class. Then I added pattern construction, sewing for fashion design and, ultimately, silk painting. Eight years ago I moved from Germany to the United States and I started a similar cycle, this time concentrating on silk painting. I am passionate about this art form; to a large part I define myself by it. Sharing what I have learned/experienced/discovered gives me a satisfaction that borders on bliss. I derive joy out of my students’ successes and I have been blessed with fabulous students throughout. I teach informally in various settings, i.e., my studio, art centers, Vo-Techs. My students are children, at-risk youths, and adults of all ages. What I get back is this: The children keep my brain agile and teach me to not think too long about color choice, layout, design, etc., but instead paint and see what happens. Teenagers remind me of how much my belief in their abilities encourages them to believe in themselves. Adults are re-connecting with the desire to “do their own thing” after years of doing everyone else’s. Painting on silk is so liberating (I think) because it has different rules than painting on a solid surface. It is this “surprise effect” that helps me to be the teacher I am now.
1. What do you teach? I teach the fine art of collage 2. To whom do you teach it? I teach to adults mostly. 3. Where do you teach? (venue/city) I teach all around the western suburbs about 30 miles west of Chicago. I teach for art leagues and do workshops also. 4. How long have you been teaching? I’ve been teaching for about 7 years. Volunteering for my children’s schools in the art programs for about 15 years.
I began teaching oil painting soon after I started my own quest to learn to paint in 1991. In the beginning it was a way for me to fund more classes for myself, but quickly I learned it was a way to share my love of art, reinforce my knowledge, and develop my own skills. I thrill to see a students eyes light up when they realize they too can create a work of art. I teach both local and national classes and seminars through art groups such as Society of Decorative Painters, where I earned the certification of “Teacher of Decorative Arts”. This program encourages the development of good teaching skills. As we all know, being a good artist does not necessarily equate to being a competent teacher.
Hi, Alyson, I taught art on all public levels from K-12 in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia school systems and enjoyed it immensely. I “retired” from teaching two years ago and decided to pursue the passion for the making of art that was always there. I was fortunate enough to “find” you via online and start out with my new career with your personal support and it looks like the doors are finally opening thanks to your guidance. I have been asked if I still teach, but now I am finding that I no longer have time to do so, although I might do so again some day. I am grateful that my teaching years provided me with the opportunities to take art history students to some of the places which now are the inspiration for my paintings and it was always exciting to see the students who ordinarily might never visit a museum “light up” and discuss art with the docents. I will always treasure the memories I have from a thirty year teaching experience.
Hi, Alyson! I never thought I’d teach anything other than Sunday School, but in 2001 I got desperate for income and started teaching two Continuing Education classes for a local community college. Actually, I started with one painting class and someone mentioned that they’d like to have a class in basketry offered. I said, “Hey, I know how to do that!” and the new class was born. Since then I have also had private students and have become a painting instructor at the Icehouse Center For Creativity in Davidson, NC. The age range of my students is 12 to 80-plus! Most enjoyable is working one-on-one with private students; however, being in a class can be creatively stimulating for me as well as the students. Over the years I have learned a lot, especially from some of the older people. They tell me that I am a good teacher; I prefer to think of myself as a coach, since it’s mainly a matter of bringing out the abilities they already have. Sort of like what you do: right, Coach?
Hi. I am embarking on a career in Art Facilitation, after a thirty-one year career. I have been wondering where the road would lead from here. Things have been falling into place. I know it is where I am meant to be. Some of the people I will be teaching are mentally challenged adults, some have mental disorders, but not all. So it will be multi level classes. One of the aims of the program is to integrate artists with disabilities into the mainstream. I will be writing the curriculum, which I am happy about, because I can teach what I feel. My training begins this week, which is centered around disabilities, and also behaviours. I am really looking forward to this, and I may work toward art therapy, which will be a natural progression, after my long career as a ‘hair’ therapist. LOL. http://blumoon.blog.ca/
H Allyson, Thanks you for being a place of sense and caring in this art world. We need you! My cousin Karen Pollart suggested I look you up and is the reason I found you. I have taught art for about 10 years but not always for pay. I have volunteered at nursing homes; most recently at the Life Care Center in Pueblo Colorado,and in Dallas, Tex.; and in a hospital in Farnham, England. After moving back to Colorado, (I am a Pueblo native), I began taking more classes, buying more books and painting regularly. Then I started teaching at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center in Pueblo, making watercolor cards, books, birdhouses and hats. Now I only teach colored pencil at SDC to ages 14 to adult. At the “Sheppard Arts Institute” at the Senior Center I teach oils to adults who often need to come on scholarship. We have lively conversations and learn about one another. I find great comfort helping people become successful. My motto is “Don’t dislike someone because they fail. Love them until they succeed.” Another is “You never know what you can do unless you try.” At my home I teach watercolors, mostly to retired professionals who come as they can when they are not traveling and we become great friends as well. I truly believe that overall I learn more from them than they do from me. It is challenging to find new ways to explain, demonstrate and sort out the best for each individual. Sincerely, Reveille Kennedy
Hi, Alyson! I felt a need to teach following the deaths of those who had been my teachers. An impulse, almost an imperative, at that point set me off to teach, to pass on some of what had been shared with me, granted me. Since I was well beyond the freshly minted stage, I was really far removed from institutional circles. So I developed a course proposal for the University of California, Berkeley Extension Art Studio Program. Initially titled, “Drawing as a Visual Journal,” the course provided me with an opportunity to process my own art convictions-prejudices-and also discover that I had developed a particular vision. The thrill of teaching not just the rendering of object or figure, but how to see and the reasons for making art, the syntax and logic of visual language, this rested for me in the breakthroughs students had when they evolved their own personal iconography within a body of work. This course has been retitled by UC and is now called “The Artist’s Journal;” however, though more direct, not quite as all encompassing as I view drawing. Yet this has been flexible enough so that I have never been bored during the ten years I have taught this class: I never have to listen to my own voice repeating something, and I am never shown work by students which does not startle or delight in its freshness. Without a doubt, teaching has been stimulating, intellectually engaging, and personally a great source of satisfaction. My students range in age from serious, precocious 17 year old artists to architects, graphic designers, and art teachers with years of training and experience. It has been a privilege to have this experience. Along the way I have had the opportunity to teach Fundamentals of Drawing and Figure Drawing for UC Extension as well as other courses for the Associated Students of the University of California Art Studio. I would most welcome an opportunity to teach within the institutions where I studied, to stand in that lineage and to be a part of that cultural fabric. With best regards, Jan Wurm
Dear Alyson, I began teaching only fairly recently and have found it very rewarding. I have been offering “Creative Abstracts in watermedia” at a new Gallery in my town north of Dallas, TX. I have found that many of my students, especially high schoolers (who I consider adults) are lacking in design elements and principles since they often become discouraged when their art pieces don’t “work”. I use a lot of humor along with design, to help guide them through their difficulties and it’s so rewarding when you see their light bulbs turn on when they apply the design elements to their own artistic expression and are then successful. I’m also teaching “mini mixed media” in our towns new “active” senior center. Sincerely, Sally Meding http://www.sallymeding.com
Greetings from Blooms. Teemie here. I have been teaching my folk art since 1987 to both adults and youth. Old fashion embroidery and ribbonry and now gardening and floral design. Seeing the creative spirit awaken in others is my thrill in life. I’m addicted to it. I have taugh mainly through other shops and my kitchen table. Both formally and informally. Last year I opened a floral desing studio up town thinking I would let go of my folk art and move it to a hobby. Since then it has grown into a much stronger part of my life. A very pleasent surprise indeed. Now I’m in the process of creating a formal studio here at the farm nearer my greenhouse, by moving a rescued barn from 2 mile down the road. My artistic business of vintage goods, embroidery and ribbonry along with herbs and florals speaks to women of all ages. It touches their spirit as much as mine. By pressing forward through all the naye-sayers and the obstacles I have become a better person, braver,more confident. It is my hope in sharing through the studio, teaching, my gardens, my art work, through living a creative lifestyle, to waken as many creative souls as possible. Thanks for this great site! Teemie
Hi Alyson, i teach classes in most anything art related – painting, drawing, fiber arts, collage, etc. i teach to ages 4 – adult at the local art incubator, art center, after school programs, local community college and anywhere else i can. i am also an adjunct prof at the community college working in the art department. i have been teaching art for about 15 years. i am now in the process of promoting my work and trying to get it sold along with doing classes to make ends meet. thanks, Kelly Parker Olivet Michigan http://www.kellyparkerdesigns.etsy.com
Thanks Alyson for your wonderful blog-I’ve been reading for months now and have learned so much, but I do believe my favorite post was your post on teachers. I have a degree in El. Educ and Art Education. I’ve taught everything from Elem. classrooms to Jr. High art to adult craft classes. In the past year I have transitioned from classroom art teaching, into licensing, gallery work and a wide variety of teaching venues outside of the traditional classroom. I have taught adults at scrapbook stores, churches, national leadership training events, scrapbook conventions and held a summer art camp for kids in my home. I am usually teaching about painting, scrapbooking, paper crafts, photography, calligraphy, or classes on creativity in general. I have especially enjoyed the switch to teaching adults in the last few years, due to the fact I have younger children at home and this allows me some “adult time”. However, I was also refreshed by the summer art camp for kids in a new way this year. They bring out a spontaneous creativity in me-I learned just as much from them as they learned from me. They always say in the education world that if you want to really learn something…teach it. I have found that to be so true! Thanks for encouraging all the teacher/artists who read your blog and newsletters. Melynda Van Zee http://www.scrapbookwithpassion.com
Hi Alyson – I teach individual adults as well as classes in acrylic painting, printmaking, silk painting, papermaking, collage, and encaustics. Depends on what the student or the venue wants me to teach. I’m in the Tampa Bay area. Thanks! Martha Marshall
Hi Alyson, I am an oil painter. I have been teaching art at my studio in Spring Tx. and other locations, mostly privately owned studios and formally organized venues such as local and state art leagues, for several years. I have been painting about 20 years total. Right now I teach adults in regular weekly classes but have also taught workshops. I love teaching. It is very rewarding to see students grow from a limited knowledge of art and the skills it takes to become proficient as an artist to someone who appreciates the process as well as grow to love art in general. I try to expand my students ideas about what art is and what it encompasses. I teach the basics: value, edges, composition and design, color and how to mix it, along with basic drawing skills. I teach “everything you need to know about putting an oil painting together” and I try be diligent about encouraging my students to move beyond what they think they know and to learn to see and think in a different way. Thanks! Judy Crowe Contact info judyacrowe@EV1.net, visit my website http://www.judycrowe.com
Hi, Alyson. I’m a painter first, but teach acrylic landscape classes or workshops to adults with some experience. Most often my classes are Color Confidence, Light in the Florida landscape, and Landscape Inside and Out, (studio and plein air.) Classes are based on the principles of art and elements of design. I have an occasional private student, and have taught at a local art center since 2004.
Hello,
I am an illustrator by trade and teach private classes. I focus primarily on drawing and the observational process. I teach workshops focusing on engaging students with subjects of interest, for example DRAWING: The Horse. I have been teaching for more than 20 years and though I can teach master classes in illustration technique… I really enjoy introducing drawing and painting to newcomers or folks that have long since abandoned the idea that they are capable of art. I really like offering them experiences that turn the idea of talent in it’s tracks. Please see my site http://www.Brown-WingArtStudios.com, (540) 359-0539. I teach all ages above 6 years old and am located in Northern Virginia.