(more on) How I Teach

At the introductory level I present a traditional course of perceptually based representational drawing and design theory. This introduction to tradition acts primarily as a foundation and then subsequently as a point of departure for advanced or independent work. My initial focus is on presenting a thorough experience of method. I approach method in three ways, the first of which is to emphasize the development and refinement of seeing. Most students entering an introductory level course aren't aware of the extent to which what they see is influenced by learned assumptions. Many students are also unaware of how much visual information their brains automatically screen out. In my drawing courses, the first homework is often a series of measured self-portraits in line. Students invariably struggle with the observation that the eyes are actually close to mid way between the top of the head and the chin. This gives us the opportunity to discuss how we tend to exaggerate the size of the face in our minds because of its importance in communication (we tend to look someone's face, especially the eyes, when we talk to them). So, by asking my students to continue looking, beyond what it takes to simply name what is seen, I give them responsibility for what they see. The second way in which I stress method is through the development and refinement of technical skill. I believe that the best way to understand a concept is to try to express it materially, and this necessitates technical skill. I also believe that skill acquisition enables students to have choices about how they want to express themselves. In my classes, I stress the interdependence of technique and ideas and place them on equal footing. The third way in which I emphasize method is through the acquisition of a working knowledge of the formal language of art. From the first day forward I ask my students to analyze their own visual art and a variety of examples from the history of art which I use to illustrate new ideas. I think it is important that students be able to talk about what they see so that they can shape what they want to express more effectively.

Towards this end, my classroom projects and homework assignments are designed to expose students to a wide range of materials, techniques, and ideas through rigorous and disciplined work in the studio. This approach may appear narrow at times but I think that it is necessary to get enough technical skill to address concepts in depth. At the intermediate and advanced levels, I ask my students to use the technical, conceptual, and analytical skills they have developed at the introductory level to test their own voice through more sophisticated investigations of pictorial conventions and explorations into current contemporary practices. At all levels, I emphasize the importance of disciplined practice as the most effective means of developing skill, investigating method, and exploring individual interests.

It is my experience that student effort is limitless in circumstances where the goals of the course are clearly stated and students have a reasonable expectation of getting honest, well considered, and frequent feedback about their progress towards these goals. Engaging students in this way helps me address the individual interests of each student and encourage the development of these interests. Therefore, I attempt to create a classroom dynamic that is serious and intense without being stifling or intimidating. I assign a substantial amount of weekly homework in order to establish continuity and give me an opportunity to closely evaluate every student's progress in the written criticism that I return with each graded assignment. In critiques and in the written responses, I detail my students' successes in addressing the requirements of the project and also comment on those aspects of the work that reveal individual expression. I stress the value of revision as I believe that the assimilation of feedback is made concrete by the process of returning to work with new insight, and seeing the results of that insight on the page. I encourage students to rework and resubmit assignments for a new grade on the basis of the criticism they receive. I find that students respond enthusiastically to this opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to learning.

A challenging studio course is one that excites students and illuminates the connections between the course material and each individual's interests. It is therefore critical to create an environment in which opinions are developed, offered, and exchanged freely. Extensive one-on-one attention in the studio is one way that I establish an atmosphere where students can articulate their ideas and concerns. Equally important are group critiques where students share the practice of voicing their insights, ideas, and intentions. Furthermore, I encourage students to meet with me outside of the studio for conferences or informal meetings to discuss their work and college experiences. I believe that it is especially important in the context of a clearly defined set of conceptual and technical goals in class that each person feels both that their individual aesthetic vision is valued and that they are encouraged and expected to pursue it. It was my experience as a student in liberal arts schools that the goal of a broad and deep education is not to render individuals more like one another by virtue of a common base of knowledge. Rather, my experience led me to the beliefs that the goal of the liberal arts philosophy is to empower each person with the tools that they will need to undertake individual investigations into the nature of the human experience, to seek out and appreciate both commonality and difference. In this sense, I believe that my responsibility to my students consists of the effort to reach them as individuals, in order to better facilitate the formulation and expression of their ideas.

Critical thinking is of paramount importance in my classes. Therefore, I create an educational experience that is the result of a synthesis of disciplined studio practice, the expression of individual interests, and intellectual development, especially critical thinking. My courses are structured to present new ideas cumulatively, each new idea building on what we have just worked on. I ask that ideas be engaged first through hands-on experience and then through studied evaluation. This process of evaluation is practiced during group and individual critiques, slide lectures on historical and contemporary subjects, reading and writing. Notwithstanding some persistent myths about the artist's unreflexive gift, I believe that reading provides an opportunity for framing the studio experience, and that writing about the experience of making art reorders the student's critical perspective. Each of the readings I assign addresses the importance of questioning assumptions, a central tenet in the development of critical thinking. The readings also help give form to the idea that culture shapes how we see the world. In my introductory level courses, while I am dedicated to the idea of establishing a firm traditional foundation in western conventions of visual art, I feel compelled to point out and discuss the fact that there are many equally sophisticated artistic traditions throughout the world, each with its own specific concerns. By asking my students to grapple with the cultural relativity of artistic conventions, I am asking them to move their critical thinking from the local project in the studio to the global questions of investigation and expression.

All of these processes are essential to my own development as a teacher and an artist. Each term, I participate in the exchange of learning and incorporate what I learn into my lesson plans. Through my own passion as an artist, I try to model for my students an intensity of inquiry and experimentation, commitment and discipline, and of intellectual engagement. I also work hard to draw connections between what goes on in the studio and what goes on in classrooms around the campus, both on an analogical level and on a practical one. I often suggest the relationship between the development of a painting and the writing of a paper, with its many drafts and revisions. Recently, I leapt at the opportunity to trade guest lectures with Professor Davenport of the Dance Department, who did a movement workshop with my Introduction to Drawing students. Professor Davenport and I went on to work together with a group of students on an interdisciplinary project entitled "Ladders and Chutes." "Ladders and Chutes" was an investigation in movement of the ideas that underlie my work in my studio. The integration of academic fields of study is essential to the liberal arts experience. Ideas encountered in art classes, for instance, about how composition or "framing" defines what a viewer can consider, are useful for thinking about the material presented in other disciplines. The methodologies of the natural sciences, social sciences, other humanities disciplines, athletics, and other extra curricular activities give students insight into their artistic investigations. I make a point to be involved in campus life and integrate discussion of school, local, and world events into course work in the studio.