Portfolio Review - I am an artist

I have passed the portfolio review which is required prior to student-teaching. I have a spot waiting for me at a local school, and I'm really looking forward to the experience. It was grueling, almost, to show all my best works, stand in front of strangers and familiar faces, introduce myself, and wait for the challenging questions to begin. And they made me go first. "Set the tone" Liz said. Wow.

Overall, I feel like it was successful. Something opened my eyes, though - a few of the questions that were posed to me were very broad... so non-specific that it took me a few seconds to narrow down a feeble, yet intelligible response. I actually thought some of the questions posed to my colleagues were far from insightful - one of them was what I would call a DUMB question.

One of the questions related to how I would incorporate Art Criticism in my lessons. I was struck dumb for a few seconds because I include all 5 points of Art Education in every lesson (art production, aesthetic valuing, art history, art criticism and interdisciplinary relations). I don't compartmentalize them - they all go together, and all aspects are addressed. I felt goaded into agreeing with the reviewer when she suggested I use the "old Masters" to demonstrate a successful art criticism. Ugh - three years of being thrust willingly into the arms of multi-culturalism, only to be shoved back into relying on the dead white guys for the "true" example.

So after considering the experience a bit, I have somehing to watch for when student-teaching: how teachers compartmentalize aspects of lessons. I'm not sure this is as good an idea as some others do. I would be naive to think that I could do anything without categorizing and compartmentalizing things.. but isn't it stealing the creative thinking process from the students when you don't present all aspects of art as inter-related? Something to look for.

I got to hang my paintings in my own home, and put my ceramics back up in my cupboard. They've been in my garage for years, now, and have stock-piled as I have made them. Now I can receive enjoyment from my own works - every day. My home reflects more of me.

That has me thinking more about seeing myself as an artist. I know (logically) that I am an artist. There's something that has been engrained in most of us - that your art is what you do on the side, and you are what your occupation is.

I am myself.
I am also an artist.
I'm also now officially a teacher.

It seems like it would be tiring trying to compartmentalize all the aspects of myself - I am all of those labels, and much more. All those compartmentalized things are inter-related.



Shifting focus a bit: the thesis project is evolving, and I now have tons more tools at my use, and at the ready. I'm anticipating a great experience in assembling this project. I hope it won't be too long before I can share it with you all.