Art gives students the opportunity to learn how to communicate their opinions, feelings, and ideas in a creative manner. Students will learn the fundamental skills of art and design which they can use as a base to have the ability to create meaningful artwork. Incorporating current events and social issues into lessons gives students the opportunity to be more aware of what is happening in the world around them, but also how artists are inspired by it.

I find it important for students to be working in a safe and respectful environment where they are motivated and pushed to create their artwork within a framework. This framework gives students the opportunity to work with ideas that interest them and giving them the motivation to put effort into their work. Brainstorming and problem-solving are not just great ways for students to learn about the processes to create artwork but to help them in everyday life and future careers.

As an artist, I push myself to put all of my efforts into my work, and I will expect my students to put a lot of effort into their artwork. Experimenting with different types of materials is extremely important and allows for myself and my students to discover new ways of using or applying materials as well as expanding our knowledge of the material so we can determine how we want to use it in our practices. Everyone makes mistakes, and as an artist, I have learned that mistakes are not failures. I would like for my students to learn that just because their artwork doesn’t turn out exactly the way they want it to, that it is not a failure, and that they learned something about the materials they used or the process of making art, which I think is very important.