Students need a space to create.  They need a place that inspires imagination. They need a place where they feel understood. Somewhere to leave their worries behind or work through them on paper.  Art is a language that transcends.  It gives a voice to the speechless, and hope to the hopeless. Art uses imagery to connect us on a deeply personal level.  My teaching philosophy is a simple one, I want to encourage students to view the world through an artistic lens. It is important to me to inspire students to be problem solvers and think outside the box.

After researching leaders in the field of art education curriculum, the common recurring theme was encouraging teachers to rethink curriculum and its relevance to the community, culture, and time for which we live and teach.  For this reason, I want to teach curriculum that is student focused, hands on, and encourages them to experiment and ask questions.  I want my students to have the freedom to try new things, because you can’t learn if you don’t try. I want to teach classes that not only excite students, but also incorporates the elements of STEAM and allow students to apply what they are learning in other subjects in an art setting.  I also want to encourage my students to recognize problems within their communities and within the world and use their art as a form of activism.  

When students leave my class, I want them to be knowledgeable about the artists that came before us.  I want them to know the artists that paved the way and the mark they left on this world. I want my students to know that you can say a lot with the swipe of a paintbrush. If a picture is worth 1000 words, then a well-planned artwork can be worth so much more.  I want their takeaway to be that the world is full of possibilities, and that through art, anything and everything is possible.