The human experience is realized through a study of relationships. The relationship between materials, space, process, language, and the sensory experience, inform my studio practice and influences my classroom dynamic. Similar to the pressure, resistance and time necessary to form material things, the educational process is a product of challenges, resistance, guidance, time, and in-process problem solving. These influences are key to my continually developing teaching philosophy.

Within the study of art and design, technical and theoretical knowledge is built upon inquisition and experience. Through material exploration, conditioned ideation, and practiced public communication an implicit creative knowledge develops in the student. I strongly advocate for a curiosity in the potential of materials and in the experimentation of new ideas in material handling. As material knowledge grows, aesthetic investigation and conceptual thinking is continually conditioned. I also advocate for a critical investigation of social roles, aesthetic frameworks, and personal responsibility.

The student begins to understand the relevance of what she is making by exploring aspects of social context: tradition and culture, history as driven by multiple social frameworks, nature as challenged by environmental industrialization, and contemporary expression within a global society. Design is defined by problem finding and subsequent problem solving. Artistic expression is found in dialogue with a shared social experience. I am committed to student artists finding a personal language to examine, express, and re-examine the society and physical environment around them.

Students in an atmosphere of collective participation should be motivated to discuss the undefined position of the artist in society and culture. Critiques, guest lectures, topical discussions, collaboration, and individual research are catalysts for growth. These experiences help students develop skills as critical thinkers and speakers. It is vital that students use the critique as tool for improvisational testing of ideas. Critique is a time to help the individual artist focus ideas, exposing possibilities for further investigation. Cooperative educational environments challenge students to explore art and design’s unique parameters. This encourages independent thinking simultaneously with shared experience, discovery, and learning from peers. I am committed to an integration of skills, ideas, research, and philosophy that is developed individually and conditioned communally.

Maintaining an awareness of developments in the continually evolving contemporary field of art and design stimulates the instructor to effectively direct students to sources of individual interest, development, and practice in new media. I strongly value the resources available in an academic community. I enjoy the progressive synergy of work produced and ideas generated by cooperating with other department instructors, schools, industries, communities, organizations, and cross-disciplinary arenas. Contemporary art is not autonomous in form, material, or media, but attained through interdisciplinary methods of working in a world of multidisciplinary resources. The goal of this enterprise is a long-term commitment, building a creative community where learning and teaching become reciprocal.

Art is human dialogue in a shared sphere of human experience. To teach art is to guide perception, find questions, and challenge thinking; To present students with the tools to find their own critical and unique lens in which to experience and engage with the world & society.