For my junior and senior year I had an art teacher, Anderson, who really pushed me into art. He made his classes work hard, art was no longer a blow off course, art was hard work with a lot of reward at the end of the year. Each Monday we had a whole 18x24 piece due for critique, and it better be completely finished or Anderson would literally rip it off the wall. He was harsh and upfront, but there’s something about that that really helped me look at my work objectively and push myself as an artist.
The projects were a list of topics paired with a list of mediums, the topics were in a scheduled order so everyone was working on the same concept but in their own ways. You could work in whatever medium you wanted as long as you completed every medium on the list by the end of the first semester. The second semester was always a series of work based on a teacher/student contract.
We worked independently and for the most part silently, each person at their own drafting table or easel. Occasionally you might comment on someone's work on your way to the sink or lockers but for the most part we kept to ourselves. Anderson played the same Pink Floyd album on repeat every day for two years (the album could play through 3 times in two hours), most of us kept our headphones in, but still when I hear a Pink Floyd song I want draw.
The projects were a list of topics paired with a list of mediums, the topics were in a scheduled order so everyone was working on the same concept but in their own ways. You could work in whatever medium you wanted as long as you completed every medium on the list by the end of the first semester. The second semester was always a series of work based on a teacher/student contract.
We worked independently and for the most part silently, each person at their own drafting table or easel. Occasionally you might comment on someone's work on your way to the sink or lockers but for the most part we kept to ourselves. Anderson played the same Pink Floyd album on repeat every day for two years (the album could play through 3 times in two hours), most of us kept our headphones in, but still when I hear a Pink Floyd song I want draw.
One of the most memorable moments I have of Anderson was when he told another student that their painting wasn’t working and they needed to start over. Not wanting to start over and being too attached to their piece, they continued working on it anyways; after a few days Anderson had had it and threw a bucket of black paint right in the middle of her canvas. There were many times that Anderson wasn’t my favorite person, but he did teach me that my art isn’t precious, it’s just work. That sounds harsh but when I arrived at college, it really saved me from a lot of pain that others had to work through.
Some recent news about Anderson's success:
http://dev.sjpsf.org/fhhs-art-student-alaina-scheffer-wins-state-art-competition/
http://www.islandguardian.com/archives/00004592.html
Some recent news about Anderson's success:
http://dev.sjpsf.org/fhhs-art-student-alaina-scheffer-wins-state-art-competition/
http://www.islandguardian.com/archives/00004592.html
RSS Feed
