TEACHING ARTS TO ENGINEERING STUDENTS
“Artistic and intellectual growth is cultivated by fostering creativity, innovation, critical thinking and technical proficiency". Rachel Grant
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY As a professor of art, my objectives are to build visual, conceptual and creative abilities of students that develop and enrich their art making practice, with the overall goal of implementing a career building education. Through providing a dynamic curriculum, students are encouraged to advance their drawing and design skills, develop innovative solutions and build the visual language essential to their future careers. I describe my foundation for teaching art with “The Five E’s”, establish, educate, expose, engage and encourage. “The Five E’s” – My foundation of teaching art 1.
Establish a strong art-making foundation in drawing and design through academic classroom curriculum.
2. Educate students about the history of art and visual culture, from the cave paintings of Lascaux to the present contemporary art world. 3. Expose students to art beyond the classroom through implementing field trips to museums, galleries, art centers and artist studios. 4.
Engage with the community to create artworks that are relevant and meaningful to the present-day population.
5. Encourage students to create original artwork that is influenced by critical thinking and experimentation of materials and technique. As a practicing visual artist, I have found that throughout my career, self-expression has been key in creating artworks that resonate with me as a maker and a larger audience of members and art patrons. Through maintaining an active professional art studio I am able to share a real-world view of careers in the arts with my students. Artistic and intellectual growth is cultivated by developing creativity, innovation, critical thinking and technical proficiency. In the classroom I grow these skills by first focusing on the foundation of drawing and the history of art. It is important to me to teach a solid classical foundation rooted in art history and traditional drawing techniques while exploring contemporary styles, methods, and materials. My students study visual culture from a range of periods, regions and contexts to enhance their understanding of the artwork that they create. Students who create artwork within the context of art history can engage in critical discourse. I implement visits to museums and galleries as an important teaching tool to build critical thinking skills through critique and analysis. I believe that the arts are an essential expression of the human condition past and present, therefore community engagement is also an important component to building artwork that communicates relevant and timely messages. I am committed to excellence in teaching art, maintaining a robust studio practice, service and scholarship, providing students with the tools to be informed citizens in a global society and to succeed professionally. My classroom environment fosters a welcoming and collegial climate that promotes a culture of diversity, sensitivity, and inclusion. As an educator I believe in establishing a strong core of visual, creative and conceptual skills through knowledge of art history, contemporary art and developing technical proficiency in drawing and design. The result is learning outcomes where students think critically and creatively and are able to apply skills and knowledge to tangible visual art outcomes. Through teaching art, my goal is to produce students who will utilize their talents to not only cultivate successful careers, but to become engaged with the local community, and create art with a solid foundation of art history and contemporary art. Through implementing “The Five E’s” and focusing on a student-centered approach, my classroom environment fosters emerging artists to freely explore and innovate new and personalized methods of reaching their creative potential.
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