In the educational process, creativity and curiosity meet. Their interaction is dynamic and initiates problem solving, synthesis and innovation.

I respect the students I mentor for their unique, pre-existing capabilities within the group, particularly in the field of art where there are few universal "right" answers. As a class, we examine our views and perspectives as we blend introspection and identity with wider global and cultural perspectives and question our social aesthetics. The primary goal is to expand the skills and conceptual range of each student, respectful of the student's personal concerns, curiosities, interests and passions. I do this by presenting multiple attitudes and approaches to the making and viewing of art; defined widely and inclusively across cultures and disciplines.
My teaching focuses on the diversity of the world around us for information and inspiration. Examples are drawn from historical references as well as contemporary art. We look at the world from micro to macro, building first from the student's individuality, later widening the possibilities, and then re-examining the individual focus. This process is designed to help students identify who they are, what they want, and how to use their energy to express, experience, create, and build.

Studio sessions are dynamic and engaging; the students are mentored to continually question, contemplate, research, sketch, and interrelate the topics we discuss. Students imagine, experience, research and create in 2-D, 3-D, and 4-D time based and sculptural media. This process increases capacity for observation and for creating visual and physical metaphors. Short introductions to tools and diverse building processes increase the students’ knowledge of materials and the relationships of form and content. Additional workshops focus on color basics, texture/surface, drawing/scale, pattern making, composition, sequencing and design. Experimentation and conceptualization are recorded in journals, computers, and sketchbooks and enable students to develop ideas sparked by research and discussion. Studio time allows students to practice and experiment; collaborate and inter-relate as they cross disciplines and hybridize techniques, to transform their ideas into constructions and presentations. The class will expand the definition of "supplies" and "tools" by exploring many materials for inherent, implied, and humorous characteristics. Students will assemble a "portfolio" of skills, reflections, experiments, finished works, installations, and events. This extended concept of "portfolio" emphasizes process, practice, discipline, and invention so that students become confident and competent in expressing their ideas.

On occasion, I require students to collaborate within their larger community to give artists experience in proposing and realizing installations outside of the studio setting and across disciplines. The students, through research and interactive mentorship, design collaborative projects to reflect their values and interests as well as the values and interests of the community groups related to a site they select. Teamwork, humor, work ethic, synthesis, foresight, analysis, and creative troubleshooting will be required on projects that are intentionally beyond the physical and mental scope of an individual. Students will experience both positive and negative aspects of compromise, combined ability, and diversity within the perceived goals of the groups. They will also be challenged to be resourceful, to listen and to "do the most with the least."

Issues surrounding water, climate, and food will define the future of our daily lives. It is the visionaries and innovators who are the first members of our society to address those issues and changes from diverse perspectives. As a teacher, mentor, and fellow artist, I want to equip young artists with the conceptual and technical tools to continue as innovators and visionaries for the future.

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