The innate will only flourish with nurture and development
Technique and Artistry
Technique is a means, not an end. There is a certain beauty in masterful craftsmanship. Yet, without the infusion of feeling, or the color of experience, technique does not fulfill its purpose: to enable artistic expression. Raw expression without craft will lack durability and substance. Craft can be taught, but always in service of expression.
Individual Growth
Students grow and develop at their own individual rates. A natural talent may never fully flourish. The unremarkable may one day astonish. The teacher must not judge. The one certainty is that education latches on a soul and becomes inseparable.
Metaphors
The challenge is to find the right image or metaphor for each individual. That’s the key to unlock their understanding of the work and themselves.
The Benefit of Constraints
Students learn a concept best when it is introduced as a central theme. Multiple exercises built around a single concept can be applied in various relating circumstances. This allows the student to comprehend that single concept through varied experiences. Once absorbed, another complimentary concept enhances understanding. Limiting a lesson to a specific theme brings about the best results.
Cultural Enrichment
Nothing is created in a vacuum. Everything is transformation. An artist should be nourished with the full spectrum of the arts: the best in quality and across time.