The Spark
I created this piece as a celebration of my past, present, and future evolution as an art educator. In my last year as a photography instructor in Dallas, Texas I began a body of artwork that studied the different forms of light energy unseen by humans but felt by the human psyche in nature. This semester I unconsciously chose light as my subject which serendipitously bridged my past educational experiences to my present. Through use of color, contrast, textures, layering, and depth of field I have created a mysterious, magical, and symbolic moment in time.
This semester offered a multitude of learning experiences which refined some of my past teaching perspectives and completely transformed others. BRAINY introduced me to the concept of a detail-oriented plan and how quickly that plan can be altered when teaching children. And peer teaching was a deep dive into comprehensive lesson planning while simultaneously integrating current technologies and social justice issues. Overall, these experiences have strengthened my teaching ability and confidence.
Both BRAINY and peer teaching heavily influenced the outcome of my final mixed media art piece this semester. In journal entry number seven I added a blue green to represent my ideation color from our peer teaching project. It was also in that journal entry that I added a single light source which represented knowledge and inspiration. In journal entry eight I added small bubbles to represent all our BRAINY students. Some students are attracted to and curious about the glowing light source while others drift away apathetically. And in journal nine I added fifteen additional light sources, which brings the total to sixteen. This newly created grouping of lights formed the constellation of Draco and represents my fourteen classmates, myself, and my teacher seemingly guiding all the children. I chose to represent my class this way because we all share an invisible bond as art educators.
Material choices and subject matter go hand in hand throughout the creative process. As a photographer by trade, I chose glass, paper, and ink to bring my ideas into the physical world. Glass itself and the type of glass was essential to my story. My final photograph needed to have deep color, good contrast, and muted reflections. My desire was to have the feel and depth of an encaustic painting while softly glowing from within. My bottles, meanwhile, needed to be a variety of ages, conditions, sizes, surfaces, shapes, and colors to create a sense of nostalgia. When looking at the orbs of light in my photograph I am transported to when I was a child catching fireflies in glass bottles. For this reason, I needed each glass bottle to feel distinctively different in my hand.
The creative process is always fun, time consuming, and exhausting, but I love everything about it. The most challenging part of this process was at the beginning. I did not know where I wanted to start or what I wanted to say. With guidance from my professor Dr. Claire Chien and time, I grew more comfortable, and I found my story.
I have come away from this process with a greater understanding of how I can help my Colorado community and continue my path as an art educator. I know going forward that I will have to be flexible, learn new art skills and technologies, stay informed on social justice issues, and integrate some form of choice learning to fit my style of teaching, my future school, and my future students.
In closing, I would like to thank Dr. Claire Chien for the inspirational journey you led us on this semester. I know that Dr. Patrick Fahey would be so proud of the job you have done and your continued growth as an art educator. I want to thank every one of my classmates for the kindness and support you have shown me throughout this past four months. I am going to miss you all so much! I would like to thank Cecelia Kreider for your knowledge, support, and friendship. I’ve really enjoyed our conversations next to the laser cutter. Thank you to Michael Highsmith for all the technical support you gave us during our peer teaching projects in the courtyard. Thank you to Elizabeth Sorensen for your help throughout the semester with random requests we brought your way. Last, but not least, I would like to thank Ben Bongers for helping me get into this program. You changed my life path for the better.
I would not be where I am without each of you. Thank you.
I guess it is on to the next chapter… Are you ready Nikki and Malea?
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