studio at school.

i made myself a little studio space in my office at school.

i've been meaning to do this for awhile now and a few days ago i finally did it.
it had been a rough morning...a kid puked in my classroom for the first time in 9 years...chaos ensued. post clean-up and in a class of seniors i looked around for a minute and every head was down, looking intently at their work. they were all doing something totally different and i had already met with each of them individually for some amount of time. i thought to myself...i'm tired and my work here is done. they are doing what i tried to teach them...working like artists. it probably won't surprise any of my friends that as a teacher i tend to hover. that being said i teach a population of kids who are a bit needy and i hear my name more than i'd like but sometimes...sometimes...they don't need me and when that happens i'm often unsure of how to proceed without feeling guilty.

so i threw a pile of stuff on a table next to them and went to work myself. something about working with the kids at school was freeing for me. i wasn't worrying about who would see the work or where it would end up. i was just playing like i taught them to do. also, i was using a lot of their cast-off's as raw materials which was hugely inspiring and gave me lots of ideas. so when they left i moved the pile in to my office and made a home for it and now i plan to try to grab a little time each day to work on it the way some people try to get outside for a walk during the workday. i suppose i should be doing that too...

a little help from my friends?

when you go to art school, making art seems so easy.
then you go out into the real world and suddenly it's hard to keep it up.
for me, there have been two key elements to keeping the practice going: developing routines and rituals and creating a certain kind of studio space that works for me.

next term i'm teaching a class for seniors, the focus of which is making a body of work to be in the "Senior Show". i'd like to start by talking to them about developing their own process to keep themselves working and am looking for some ideas. i thought who better to ask than all my clever artist friends. so, if you could, would you take a minute to respond to this post in a comment with any examples of what you do on a regular basis that feeds your work?

mine would go like this:
studio must haves: sewing space, display space for both paintings and drawings, light, reading chair, dog bed.
3 ring binder: for images that might inspire color combinations or compositions.
routines & rituals: work on paper everyday before school, read arts section NYT and write friday mornings, blog, find some time during school day for sketchbook, go to 1st friday openings in boston
when i get a chance and as often as possible: talk to artist friends for feedback, go see art

i realize few people over-plan like this, but without these things i would not be productive.
what keeps you productive?
if you know of someone who has an interesting routine or ritual share that too.
help me out. if you'd like, send pics to dukebecky.at.gmail.com.
thanks!

open...closed.

 

this is literally one of the most important teaching tools i have. 

i started to use it in brooklyn when the kids would not leave me alone. they were always wanting to chat with me and tell me their problems and i loved the feeling of being able to help them. but i wasn't getting any "work" done at school which led to me staying up late at home and coming in tired the next day. the more tired i got from staying up late (and not having a personal life) the less effective i became in the classroom. it took me a long time to figure out that it might be ok, and better even, for me to refuse to see the kids for limited periods of time during the day so i could plan effective lessons and assess their work. 

i found this sign at staples and have used it ever since. at the school i teach at now i have my own office, with a door....that you can't see through. i have the kids trained. if the sign says closed i set the clock for when i'll be available. this calms them down and makes it easier for them to wait. if it says open and the door is closed they can knock if they need something important. my advisees have special permission to knock at any time. this system works so well. i get a lot of work done during the school day and no longer stay up late. i've even got a personal life and a fledgling art career.

i have always believed that modelling behavior for students is one of the best ways to teach. my students know that i have a studio at home and another career i care very much about. they see me budgeting my time wisely so that i can do both things well (at least that's the goal). 

a very wise person once said to me that the best thing i can do for my students (especially as a female role model) is to let them watch me walk out the door. school is important but it's not the only thing...

t.g.i.f.

student: "are we gonna make any abstract paintings in this class?"

me: "no."

student: "that's too bad. i was hoping we would. abstract paintings are so easy."

t.g.i.f.

my art comes to school

one of the best things about my current job is this group of people, my department. we have a lot of fun together socially and we also love sharing our ideas about teaching. we are a creative bunch if i do say so myself. 

so it gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling to have my work hanging with theirs in the faculty exhibit which happens every three years in the gallery here at school. the reception was this week and although receptions in the gallery are never as well attended as i would like...quite a few of our colleagues came to support us which was really nice. many of them asked smart questions and showed great interest in what we do outside of school. a few who couldn't be there sent sweet emails too.

 

i was very disappointed and a bit surprised that almost no parents were at the reception. i know evenings are a tough time for people with kids, especially teenagers. but it would have been such a big demonstration of support if a few had come. i will say that i did get emails from three parents who said they couldn't make it but that they had already been to see the show and thought it was great. and one even said she would trek to the south end to see my work in the boston drawing project. 

it's funny seeing my work in school. usually i keep the two worlds pretty separate.