I Am Art

When we begin to practice Art as inseparable from the experiences of daily living, there is no "ART", only a way of being, fully and completely in this world.

I am in my ninth year in a middle school art classroom, but I am NOT a teacher. I see my role as a facilitator, a coach and a guide. That distinction is a significant component in my philosophy of art and how I ask people to engage in the studio experience. This is a challenge (and I do love a good challenge) because I am up against the cultural norms and beliefs about what art is and who is "talented" enough to "produce" it.

At the beginning of each year I ask the students to define art. I get the standard responses: painting, drawing, sculpture, dance, music, imagination, creativity, etc, I ask them to raise their hands if they are artists. With sixth grade, maybe two-thirds of the class will raise their hand, along with a few heads vigorously shaking no and some deer-in-the-headlight stares. By eighth grade only a few hands are tentatively in the air, a multitude of wide-eyed stares, along with several doing everything they can to avoid acknowledging the question all together. When I talk to adults, it seems that they are even further removed from the arts and their own creativity. This baffles me and I have spent years reading, researching and contemplating, trying to understand this phenomenon.

There is not a culture in the world, throughout history, that has not incorporated art in some form or another into their existence. Whether it is embellishing bodies, clothing and living spaces or performance and presentation as ritual and celebration, art has always been an integral part of life. It is paradoxical that our own culture is engulfed in art and design, yet so many people experience it as something separate and outside of themselves.

During the industrial age, creativity and imagination were not skills needed to produce a viable workforce. Since the Cold War and the space race, emphasis has been on science, math and technology and education has focused on skills that can be quantified and measured. Now 21st Century employers list creativity as one of top skill requirements, yet education still predominately leaves this to chance. We are preparing a workforce for jobs that haven't even been created, yet we are not giving them the knowledge and experience they will need most! Beyond employable skills, I believe creativity is a human birth-right, fundamental to our individuality, connection with each other and with our creator. It colors our outlook and how we choose to engage in the world. We use our creativity for vision and hope, communication, collaboration, growth and progress. But we also use it against ourselves and each other, often without cognizance of doing so. In every experience, we develop stories about our interactions. According to author and sociologist Brene' Brown, if the experience involves emotions such as pain, vulnerability or shame, these stories can be confabulations- ones that are told honestly, but that we have made up to protect ourselves. Without awareness, these stories can become our reality and our creativity is a detriment.

In the studio/classroom I always teach multiple definitions of art:

Art = Human Experience + Ideas (our creative stories) + Skill

Art as an acronym: Awareness. Reflection, Telling (your story)

and Art means to BE. To be fully human, to be authentic, to be whole-hearted.

I tell them that they are all artists and their life is their greatest work of art. Let it be a Masterpiece!