National Art Education Association

Teachers as ArtistsAuthor(s): Kathleen ThompsonSource: Art Education, Vol. 39, No. 6 (Nov., 1986), pp. 47-48Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3192975 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 12:21

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

National Art Education Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to ArtEducation.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.210 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 12:21:38 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TWO SIDES

Teachers As Artists

By Kathleen Thompson

In this article... on one of two sides, Thompson writes that art teachers must create art on their own. "When as teachers we continue to produce

our own art, we link ourselves to our students in ways that mere knowledge of theories of

creativity cannot produce."

M r. r. Taylor, a high school art teacher, spends hundreds of hours each year outside of class, planning, preparing, grading, soliciting free supplies, organizing fund raisers for new

equipment, and working in the state art education associa- tion. Last year he even agreed to produce his school's year- book, and, in exchange, the administration built and equipped a darkroom for Mr. Taylor. Art works by his students are of a consistently high quality and are often ex- hibited and win awards, so his efforts have brought results. While he says that he believes teachers should produce their own art work, he never seems to have time. Last year at a faculty show, his entry was a print he did in college five years ago.

An excellent and dedicated teacher, Mr. Taylor fails to understand the need for personal creativeness. To put his situation in perspective, we need to look at the advantages of art production by teachers. Rx for Burn Out Because he is always giving to his students and has little time for himself, Mr. Taylor and teachers like him are prime candidates for burn out. Teaching high school is particularly difficult because students are at an age when they give little positive reinforcement to their teachers. Even interested pupils go off to major in art at college without realizing the part played by former teachers. I recall one dreary day when a former student visited my classroom and told me her college art appreciation course had been easy, having had a year of art in high school;

although she was a science major, she had taken pottery as an elective and enjoyed the class greatly. Although such visits make us feel that our teaching has been successful, they are rare, and teachers need more than the praise of students to avoid burn out.

Creating and exhibiting works of art can give art teachers a source of satisfaction that offsets the emotional drain of teaching. It may seem selfish at first, but we have a responsibility to set aside time for pursuing our own in- terests in art even if it means cutting back on other ac- tivities, lest we become an empty bowl with nothing to of- fer our pupils. Coaching vs Playing When we begin to teach, we must make the transition from player to coach. As a novice teacher, I became so involved in my job that my art production ceased. My sense of worth as an artist; gradually came to depend on what my students produced. Like the stereotypical pushy mother who gave up her career to raise children, I evaluated myself only in terms of accomplishments of my wards. I came to resent the indifference of some students and their attempts to evade working. Instead of seeing their lack of purpose as a reflection of immaturity, common in teenagers, I took it personally. By the spring of each year, I would state that my students did not care about art and that I was going to quit teaching. It got to be a joke among my friends, and they would reply that it was late in the year and I'd get over it; I always did.

One spring, I decided to devote my summer to creating

Art Education November 1986 47

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.210 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 12:21:38 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

works in fiber. I continued in the fall and began to exhibit more successful pieces. Not only was my attitude toward students more relaxed, but to my surprise, the occasional contests of wills ceased. As my self-esteem improved, there was a change in the class atmosphere. When my pupils learned that my art had been on exhibit, a new respect was evident. Creative Theories or Realities A theoretical understanding of creativity and the artist's act of creating are not the same. Last summer, I took a course that examined the nature of creativity and a studio life drawing class. All summer I read the theories of men like Guilford, Lowenfeld, Osborn, Wallace, and Torrance while at the same time struggling to regain drawing skills neglected for nineteen years.

At the end of the quarter, I tried to evaluate what I had read. The experts are, in my opinion, correct; their careful- ly researched models, however, are not enough. All the in- gredients are there and in the right proportions, but something is missing. A theoretical point of view misses the emotions experienced in efforts to create, the moments of frustration, of solutions that do not work out or lead nowhere, and the time when everything seems to finally come together.

If we neglect to exercise our abilities as artists, we are in danger of forgetting what is involved in the processes of, conceiving and expressing ideas for use in art works we ex- pect our students to undertake. Conversely, when as teachers we continue to produce our own art, we link ourselves to our students in ways that mere knowledge of theories of creativity cannot produce. Insights into the Creative Process The creative struggle for pupils and artist-teachers alike oc- curs at several levels and steps in the process of creating. The first difficulty a new art student encounters is the need to master basic skills. When, as teachers, we periodically learn to work in a new media, we are experiencing learning at the same level as our pupils, a humbling experience.

When macrame came into vogue, I asked a friend to teach me the knots. I was incredibly clumsy and had such difficulty remembering steps that I wrote them down and set them before me. Today I can macrame while watching television, hardly looking at the threads I knot; yet each time I teach macrame, I remember how stupid I felt while learning. The experience allows me to tell pupils truthfully that I was equally frustrated to begin with and to keep try- ing.

Another step in the creative process occurs when an art work in progress reaches the point where its completion taxes the artist's skills to the limit. Last summer, I was drawing in my classroom on a six by three foot sheet of paper. As the drawing neared completion, I was shading

the transition between foreground and background. Realizing the difficulty of the task, I had the urge to go home and take my son to the swimming pool. I laughed out loud when I realized that it was at this point that many teenagers would go talk to a friend or waste time in other ways. I had always wondered why even interested students sometimes got restless as a difficult project neared comple- tion.

As teachers, we expect our students to produce original works of art, often forgetting the difficulty of the task. After years of dismissing student protests, I found myself in a painting class making excuses for my own lack of originality. Eventually succeeding, I was able to develop personal strategies for finding unique subjects. To be a Student Again Refining our skills as artists frequently requires that we seek teachers who are accomplished in their field. Whether this is in academic or informal settings, they give us oppor- tunities to observe other teaching styles that can lead to im- provement in our instruction.

A studio professor, whose graduate course I attended, offered class members few positive comments about their drawings. After leaving a particularly depressing critique, I recalled a former student's frustration, "Mrs. Thompson, you always find something wrong with my projects". Since that time, my efforts to sandwich critical comments be- tween positive statements about art work have resulted in better student attitudes.

Another teacher, a well-known art educator, offered class members too much help. When I realized what was happening, I tried playing a game that involved looking helpless and often asking for help. Before long, this pro- fessor had virtually completed my collage. I had to admit that was a tactic my pupils had successfully used. Not only should the negative traits of our teachers be avoided, but we should emulate the ways of those who have inspired and nurtured us as artists. A Path to Improvement Producing artists are not necessarily good teachers, con- trary to common belief. The holder of an MFA is not always a better teacher than one having a degree in art education. Teaching is a complex process. Educators must have certain personal qualities that allow them to relate to young people as well as knowledge of child development. But for Mr. Taylor, with whom I began this discourse, and other teachers like him, producing one's own art on a regular basis can lead to improved teaching skills, personal renewal, and a better understanding of the creative pro- cess, including its struggles, obstacles, and rewards. U

Kathleen Thompson is an Art Teacher at Fannin County High School in Blue Ridge, Georgia.

Art Education November 1986 48

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.210 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 12:21:38 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions