Teaching Philosophy

      Creating Visual Art has to do with the process of transcoding. The world is information and an artist’s role is to convert that information into other forms in a way that brings their own unique perspective into being. A student of Art should be an individual that is open to the potential and possibilities suggested by their own interaction with information. Through visual, verbal, and written communication, the student can become effective in the development of their creative body of work.

      At the university level an Art instructor should balance between the traditional fundamentals of art practice and the potential that exists within the hybrid forms of a contemporary art practice. They should facilitate an understanding of fundamental formal concerns while allowing for the possibility of new connections to develop. I see my role as a way to bring together and contextualize art practice today as an extension of what it has been traditionally. Included in this, is my interest in a “Do It Yourself” or DIY approach and the idea of a creative commons and open-source sharing of information or methods. I look for opportunities to foster student learning to make connections and seek tools that fit their ideas and work well, while at the same time developing a basic flexible skill set. To do this I demonstrations some methods and techniques but also place imporance on a workshop attitude. I believe in working with individual students to develop tactics and strategies that will make their ideas possible in the context of a larger group of students, an academic community, an art community, and the world at large.